Asian Studies
Home to major philosophical, religious, artistic, and political traditions that have shaped global history, Asia remains critically important in understanding the contemporary transnational marketplace and international politics. The Asian Studies Program offers students a variety of courses and a multidisciplinary framework for the exploration and interpretation of the diverse societies, cultures, and politics of Asia and the Asian diaspora. Faculty with research and teaching expertise in Asia from a wide range of departments within the College work together to develop courses and activities that create opportunities for students to understand traditional and contemporary histories, social and political movements, religious foundations and transformations, economic development, philosophical traditions, and artistic productions within Asia, globally, and in diaspora. Students can receive training in Asian languages at the College or through other programs, such as Study Abroad or the Higher Education Consortium of Central Massachusetts. In addition to serving as a focus of a broad liberal arts education, Asian Studies provides majors and minors the benefit of interdisciplinary training that can lead to careers in international affairs, public policy, law, business, journalism, technology, health development, scholarship, and the arts.
Study Abroad and Off-Campus Study Opportunities
Students are encouraged to study in Asia for a semester or an academic year. Currently, Holy Cross offers programs in China, Indonesia, Japan, Sri Lanka, and Vietnam.
Listed below are courses in departments that count toward the Asian Studies major and minor. Please refer to the individual departments within the catalog for full course descriptions. Each year faculty offer new courses that are not yet in the Catalog but that count toward the Asian Studies major and minor. Please refer to the course guide and the Asian Studies website for these additional listings.
| Code | Title |
|---|---|
| ASTD 110 | Asian American Studies |
| ANTH 269 | Fashion & Consumption |
| ANTH 310 | Ethnographic Field Methods |
| CHIN 101 & CHIN 102 | Elementary Chinese 1 and Elementary Chinese 2 |
| CHIN 103 | Introduction to Chinese Culture |
| CHIN 201 & CHIN 202 | Intermediate Chinese 1 and Intermediate Chinese 2 |
| CHIN 250 | Traditional Chinese Literature |
| CHIN 251 | China and the Environment |
| CHIN 255 | Chin Cult Through Camera's Eye |
| CHIN 260 | Chinese Linguistics |
| CHIN 270 | The Legend of the Monkey King |
| CHIN 301 & CHIN 302 | Third Year Chinese 1 and Third Year Chinese 2 |
| CHIN 401 & CHIN 402 | Fourth Year Chinese 1 and Fourth Year Chinese 2 |
| CHIN 404 | Introduction to Literary Chinese 1 |
| CHIN 491 | Tutorial |
| CHIN 492 | Tutorial |
| CLAS 188 | Alexander the Great and Asia |
| ECON 221 | Econ Development Modern China |
| ECON 309 | Comparative Economic Systems |
| ENGL 356 | American Immigrant Narratives |
| ENGL 375 | Asian American Literature |
| HIST 155 | World War II in East Asia |
| HIST 280 | Modern India |
| HIST 281 | Imperial China |
| HIST 286 | Modern Japan |
| MUSC 231 & MUSC 232 | Music Of Bali-Gamelan 1 and Music Of Bali-Gamelan 2 |
| MUSC 233 | World Music |
| PHIL 112 | Chinese Political Philosophy |
| PHIL 255 | Asian Philosophy |
| PHIL 300 | Emotion and Reason: East & West |
| PHIL 320 | Self-Realization & Transcendence |
| PHIL 361 | Confucian Values & Human Rights |
| POLS 275 | International Political Economy |
| POLS 276 | South Asian Politics |
| POLS 278 | East Asia in World Politics |
| RELS 106 | Buddhism |
| RELS 107 | Islam |
| RELS 108 | Hinduism |
| RELS 120 | Comparative Religions/World View |
| RELS 165 | Ancient and Medieval Hinduism |
| RELS 216 | Readings: Asian Sacred Texts |
| RELS 255 | Ecology & Religion |
| RELS 260 | Comparative Mysticism & Human Ecology |
| RELS 311 | Zen Buddhism |
| RELS 312 | Theravada Buddhism |
| RELS 340 | Gardens & World Religions |
| THEA 126 | Asia on Stage |
| THEA 131 | Balinese Dance 1 - 2 |
| THEA 232 | Balinese Dance 3 - 4 |
| VAHI 203 | Arts of Asia |