Dec 05, 2025

2025-2026 Undergraduate Catalog

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2025-2026 Undergraduate Catalog

World Languages and Cultures Major, BA - Asian Studies/Islamic World Concentration

Megan Bryson, Religious Studies, Chair

College Requirements

Arts and Sciences

Concentration Requirements

Majors will be required to take a total of 31 hours of courses.

I. Complete:

ASST 499 - Capstone in Asian Studies 1 Credit Hours

II. Select 12 hours:

ARAB 320 - Middle Eastern Film 3 Credit Hours
ARAB 321* - The Israeli-Palestinian Conflict in Literature, Film, and Popular Culture 3 Credit Hours
ARAB 331* - Culture and Daily Life in the Arab World 3 Credit Hours
ARAB 332* - Contemporary Issues and Current Events in the Arab World 3 Credit Hours
ARAB 351 - Languages of the Middle East and North Africa 3 Credit Hours
ARAB 415 - Topics in Arabic Literature, Language, History, and Culture 3 Credit Hours
ARAB 431 - Media Arabic 3 Credit Hours
ARAB 432 - Introduction to Modern Arabic Literature 3 Credit Hours
ARTH 443* - Islamic Art in Global Context I: Medieval 3 Credit Hours
ARTH 444* - Islamic Art in Global Context II: Early Modern 3 Credit Hours
HIME 366* - History of the Middle East and the Islamic World, 600 – 1050 3 Credit Hours
HIME 369* - History of the Middle East and the Islamic World, ca. 1050 – 1500 3 Credit Hours
HIME 370 - History of the Middle East in Global Context 3 Credit Hours
HIME 384 - Studies in Middle East History 3 Credit Hours
HIME 450 - Food, Health and Society 3 Credit Hours
HIME 484 - Studies in Middle East History 3 Credit Hours
POLS 463 - Politics and Power in the Middle East 3 Credit Hours
POLS 465 - Nuclear Politics of the Middle East: Conflict, Energy, and the Environment 3 Credit Hours
REST 332* - Introduction to Islam 3 Credit Hours
REST 335* - Islam and the Body 3 Credit Hours
REST 339* - Islam in the Modern World 3 Credit Hours
REST 436* - Seminar in Islamic Studies 3 Credit Hours

III. Select 6 hours (other geographical-cultural areas):

ANTH 321* - Anthropology of South Asia 3 Credit Hours
ARTH 411 - Art of South and Southeast Asia 3 Credit Hours
ARTH 413 - Art of China: Neolithic Period Through the Song Dynasty 3 Credit Hours
ARTH 414 - Art of China: Yuan through Qing Dynasties 3 Credit Hours
ARTH 416 - Chinese Art of the 20th and 21st Centuries 3 Credit Hours
ARTH 419 - Art of Japan 3 Credit Hours
ASST 301 - South Asian Cinema: Bollywood and Beyond 3 Credit Hours
CHIN 300 - A Kaleidoscope of China 3 Credit Hours
CHIN 331* - Advanced Chinese I 4 Credit Hours
CHIN 332* - Advanced Chinese II 4 Credit Hours
CHIN 401* - Contemporary Chinese Studies I 3 Credit Hours
CHIN 402* - Contemporary Chinese Studies II 3 Credit Hours
CHIN 430 - Women in China 3 Credit Hours
CHIN 431 - Chinese Literature and Culture 3 Credit Hours
CHIN 432 - Advanced Reading and Composition 3 Credit Hours
CHIN 469 - Gender and Sexuality in Chinese Cinema 3 Credit Hours
CHIN 471* - Introduction to Chinese Linguistics 3 Credit Hours
GEOG 374* - Emerging Landscapes of East Asia 3 Credit Hours
GEOG 375* - Society and Spaces of South Asia 3 Credit Hours
HIAS 389* - Pre-Modern Chinese History 3 Credit Hours
HIAS 390 - Modern Chinese History 3 Credit Hours
HIAS 392 - History of Pre-Modern Japan 3 Credit Hours
HIAS 393 - History of Modern Japan 3 Credit Hours
HIAS 394* - Chinese Intellectual History: Early Times 3 Credit Hours
HIAS 401 - Life in Early Modern Japan (1600-1868): Society, Culture, and the Outside World 3 Credit Hours
HIAS 480 - Traditional Chinese Medicine 3 Credit Hours
HIAS 490 - The Samurai: Fact, Fiction, Fantasy 3 Credit Hours
HIAS 494* - History of Tokyo 3 Credit Hours
JAPA 300 - Kanji for Japanese II 3 Credit Hours
JAPA 313 - Premodern Japanese Culture 3 Credit Hours
JAPA 314 - Food, Fiction, and Film in Modern Japan 3 Credit Hours
JAPA 315 - Asian Film 3 Credit Hours
JAPA 321 - Japanese Popular Media 3 Credit Hours
JAPA 351* - Advanced Japanese I 3 Credit Hours
JAPA 352* - Advanced Japanese II 3 Credit Hours
JAPA 365 - Japanese for Business 3 Credit Hours
JAPA 413* - Topics in Japanese Literature 3 Credit Hours
JAPA 451 - Introduction to Classical Japanese 3 Credit Hours
JAPA 452 - Reading in Modern Japanese Texts 3 Credit Hours
KORE 330 - Korean Media and Culture 4 Credit Hours
POLS 454 - Politics in China and Japan: Culture, Power and Competition 3 Credit Hours
POLS 455* - Identity, Conflict, and State Building in South Asian Countries 3 Credit Hours
REST 372* - Contemporary Buddhism 3 Credit Hours
REST 374 - Hindu Traditions 3 Credit Hours
REST 375* - Theravada Buddhism 3 Credit Hours
REST 376* - Buddhism 3 Credit Hours
REST 379* - Chinese Religions 3 Credit Hours
REST 383 - Japanese Religions 3 Credit Hours
REST 479* - Seminar in East Asian Religions 3 Credit Hours

IV. Select 12 remaining hours (no more than 8 hours may be at the 200 level):

ANTH 321* - Anthropology of South Asia 3 Credit Hours
ARAB 200* - Everything You Wanted to Know about the Arab World 3 Credit Hours
ARAB 215* - Human Rights in the Middle East 3 Credit Hours
ARAB 221 - Intermediate Arabic I 4 Credit Hours
ARAB 222* - Intermediate Arabic II 4 Credit Hours
ARAB 231 - Arabic for Heritage Speakers I 3 Credit Hours
ARAB 232* - Arabic for Heritage Speakers II 3 Credit Hours
ARAB 251* - Whole New Worlds: Fantasy, Sci-Fi, and Dystopia in the Middle East 3 Credit Hours
ARAB 320 - Middle Eastern Film 3 Credit Hours
ARAB 321* - The Israeli-Palestinian Conflict in Literature, Film, and Popular Culture 3 Credit Hours
ARAB 331* - Culture and Daily Life in the Arab World 3 Credit Hours
ARAB 332* - Contemporary Issues and Current Events in the Arab World 3 Credit Hours
ARAB 351 - Languages of the Middle East and North Africa 3 Credit Hours
ARAB 415 - Topics in Arabic Literature, Language, History, and Culture 3 Credit Hours
ARAB 431 - Media Arabic 3 Credit Hours
ARAB 432 - Introduction to Modern Arabic Literature 3 Credit Hours
ARTH 411 - Art of South and Southeast Asia 3 Credit Hours
ARTH 413 - Art of China: Neolithic Period Through the Song Dynasty 3 Credit Hours
ARTH 414 - Art of China: Yuan through Qing Dynasties 3 Credit Hours
ARTH 416 - Chinese Art of the 20th and 21st Centuries 3 Credit Hours
ARTH 419 - Art of Japan 3 Credit Hours
ARTH 443* - Islamic Art in Global Context I: Medieval 3 Credit Hours
ARTH 444* - Islamic Art in Global Context II: Early Modern 3 Credit Hours
ASST 301 - South Asian Cinema: Bollywood and Beyond 3 Credit Hours
CHIN 210* - Introduction to Chinese Culture 1-3 Credit Hours
CHIN 230 - Popular Culture in China 3 Credit Hours
CHIN 231 - Intermediate Chinese I 4 Credit Hours
CHIN 232* - Intermediate Chinese II 4 Credit Hours
CHIN 235* - Queer Asia 3 Credit Hours
CHIN 300 - A Kaleidoscope of China 3 Credit Hours
CHIN 331* - Advanced Chinese I 4 Credit Hours
CHIN 332* - Advanced Chinese II 4 Credit Hours
CHIN 401* - Contemporary Chinese Studies I 3 Credit Hours
CHIN 402* - Contemporary Chinese Studies II 3 Credit Hours
CHIN 430 - Women in China 3 Credit Hours
CHIN 431 - Chinese Literature and Culture 3 Credit Hours
CHIN 432 - Advanced Reading and Composition 3 Credit Hours
CHIN 469 - Gender and Sexuality in Chinese Cinema 3 Credit Hours
CHIN 471* - Introduction to Chinese Linguistics 3 Credit Hours
GEOG 349* - Geography of Human Rights: Europe and Asia 3 Credit Hours
GEOG 374* - Emerging Landscapes of East Asia 3 Credit Hours
GEOG 375* - Society and Spaces of South Asia 3 Credit Hours
HIAS 360 - Making of Modern Asia 3 Credit Hours
HIAS 383 - Studies in Asian History 3 Credit Hours
HIAS 389* - Pre-Modern Chinese History 3 Credit Hours
HIAS 390 - Modern Chinese History 3 Credit Hours
HIAS 392 - History of Pre-Modern Japan 3 Credit Hours
HIAS 393 - History of Modern Japan 3 Credit Hours
HIAS 394* - Chinese Intellectual History: Early Times 3 Credit Hours
HIAS 401 - Life in Early Modern Japan (1600-1868): Society, Culture, and the Outside World 3 Credit Hours
HIAS 480 - Traditional Chinese Medicine 3 Credit Hours
HIAS 484 - Studies in Asian History 3 Credit Hours
HIAS 490 - The Samurai: Fact, Fiction, Fantasy 3 Credit Hours
HIAS 494* - History of Tokyo 3 Credit Hours
HIME 366* - History of the Middle East and the Islamic World, 600 – 1050 3 Credit Hours
HIME 369* - History of the Middle East and the Islamic World, ca. 1050 – 1500 3 Credit Hours
HIME 370 - History of the Middle East in Global Context 3 Credit Hours
HIME 384 - Studies in Middle East History 3 Credit Hours
HIME 450 - Food, Health and Society 3 Credit Hours
HIME 484 - Studies in Middle East History 3 Credit Hours
JAPA 200 - Kanji for Japanese I 3 Credit Hours
JAPA 213 - Introduction to Japanese Culture 3 Credit Hours
JAPA 251 - Intermediate Japanese I 4 Credit Hours
JAPA 252* - Intermediate Japanese II 4 Credit Hours
JAPA 300 - Kanji for Japanese II 3 Credit Hours
JAPA 313 - Premodern Japanese Culture 3 Credit Hours
JAPA 314 - Food, Fiction, and Film in Modern Japan 3 Credit Hours
JAPA 315 - Asian Film 3 Credit Hours
JAPA 321 - Japanese Popular Media 3 Credit Hours
JAPA 351* - Advanced Japanese I 3 Credit Hours
JAPA 352* - Advanced Japanese II 3 Credit Hours
JAPA 365 - Japanese for Business 3 Credit Hours
JAPA 413* - Topics in Japanese Literature 3 Credit Hours
JAPA 451 - Introduction to Classical Japanese 3 Credit Hours
JAPA 452 - Reading in Modern Japanese Texts 3 Credit Hours
KORE 211 - Intermediate Korean I 4 Credit Hours
KORE 212 - Intermediate Korean II 4 Credit Hours
KORE 230 - Korean Culture 4 Credit Hours
KORE 330 - Korean Media and Culture 4 Credit Hours
POLS 454 - Politics in China and Japan: Culture, Power and Competition 3 Credit Hours
POLS 455* - Identity, Conflict, and State Building in South Asian Countries 3 Credit Hours
POLS 463 - Politics and Power in the Middle East 3 Credit Hours
POLS 465 - Nuclear Politics of the Middle East: Conflict, Energy, and the Environment 3 Credit Hours
REST 280* - Religions of Asia 3 Credit Hours
REST 319 - Gender, Sexuality, and Religion in Asia 3 Credit Hours
REST 332* - Introduction to Islam 3 Credit Hours
REST 335* - Islam and the Body 3 Credit Hours
REST 339* - Islam in the Modern World 3 Credit Hours
REST 372* - Contemporary Buddhism 3 Credit Hours
REST 374 - Hindu Traditions 3 Credit Hours
REST 375* - Theravada Buddhism 3 Credit Hours
REST 376* - Buddhism 3 Credit Hours
REST 379* - Chinese Religions 3 Credit Hours
REST 383 - Japanese Religions 3 Credit Hours
REST 436* - Seminar in Islamic Studies 3 Credit Hours
REST 476* - Contemporary Asia 3 Credit Hours
REST 479* - Seminar in East Asian Religions 3 Credit Hours
* Meets Volunteer Core Requirement.