Asian Studies

Founded in 1964, the program in Asian Studies is administered by a committee of faculty drawn from multiple departments. It involves a wide variety of courses and activities aimed at enhancing appreciation and understanding of the art, life, and thought of the cultures of Asia, past and present. We concentrate on three regions: East Asia (China, Japan, Korea, Vietnam), South Asia (Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Tibet), and Central Asia (Afghanistan, Bhutan, Iran, the Islamic former Soviet republics, Manchuria, inner and outer Mongolia, Tibet, Xinjiang). The program consists of courses on Asia in nine departments, extracurricular events on campus, and off-campus studies. An interdisciplinary, regionally-focused major in Asian Studies is offered, which is especially suitable for students with an overriding interest in one or more regions of Asia whose academic needs cannot be met by majoring in a single discipline. Students who do major in single discipline departments are strongly encouraged to minor in East Asian Studies or South Asian Studies, although in exceptional cases a double major with Asian Studies can be approved.

Major Requirements – 66 Total Credits

Disciplinary-Based Department Courses – Required 18 Credits

Art History, Asian Languages, History, Political Science/International Relations, Religion, and Sociology and Anthropology which must include:

Additional Asia Related Courses – Required 42 Credits

Including appropriate off-campus credits, excluding ASST 400: Integrative Exercise and language-department courses below 228 or their equivalents; these must include:

Senior Integrative Exercise – Required 6 Credit

Normally taken during winter term of the senior year.

• ASST 400: Integrative Exercise (6 credits)

Additional Departmental Notes

• ASST 101.07 Buddhist Studies India Program: Elementary Hindi

  An introduction to basic colloquial Hindi speaking and writing skills for everyday interactions in Northern India. Essential grammar is introduced and reviewed in morning meetings, and conversational and reading abilities are developed in afternoon practice. Students are encouraged to practice speaking and listening comprehension by conversing with Hindi speakers outside of class.

  • Offered: Fall 2025
  • Liberal Arts Requirements: No Exploration
  • Prerequisites:

    Acceptance in the Carleton OCS Buddhist Studies in India program.

  • Tags: CL: 100 level SAST Support Literary Artistic Analysis
  • Faculty: Arthur McKeown 🏫 👤

• ASST 101.08 Buddhist Studies in India Program: Elementary Tibetan

  This course seeks to develop students’ level of proficiency in spoken Tibetan for basic communication, as well as the ability to read and write simple sentence constructions. Learning is grounded in written Tibetan, covering the alphabet, pronunciation, grammar, and basic vocabulary. Reading and comprehension skills are enhanced through direct translation of essential texts such as the Heart Sutra and a prayer of Manjushri. Students gain facility with spoken Tibetan through classroom drills and informal practice with Tibetans in Bodh Gaya. Students will also improve their understanding of Tibetan culture and society through this course.

  • Offered: Fall 2025
  • Liberal Arts Requirements: No Exploration
  • Prerequisites:

    Acceptance in the Carleton OCS Buddhist Studies in India program.

  • Tags: CL: 100 level SAST Support Literary Artistic Analysis
  • Faculty: Arthur McKeown 🏫 👤

• ASST 103 Buddhist Studies India Program: Intermediate Hindi

  This course builds on the student’s previous training in spoken and written Hindi language. Students will gain the ability to initiate and sustain conversations with Hindi speakers, read and write in Hindi about personal and social situations, as well as extract the main idea and information from descriptive and narrative texts. Students will apply their language learning and deepen their understanding of Indian culture through interaction with local residents and participation in seasonal festivals and other activities.

  • Offered: Fall 2025
  • Liberal Arts Requirements: No Exploration
  • Prerequisites:

    Acceptance in the Carleton OCS Buddhist Studies in India program.

  • Tags: CL: 100 level SAST Support Literary Artistic Analysis
  • Faculty: Arthur McKeown 🏫 👤

• ASST 110 Elementary Hindi Language

  This course will introduce students to basic spoken and written Hindi and Urdu, languages spoken widely across India and Pakistan. The course will teach speaking, listening, reading and writing skills as these are used in everyday social and cultural situations. While in elementary spoken form Hindi and Urdu are almost indistinguishable, they are written in two distinct scripts, both of which students will learn. 

  • Offered: Spring 2026
  • Credits: 6
  • Liberal Arts Requirements: No Exploration
  • Prerequisites:

    Not open to students that have studied the Hindi Language through the Carleton OCS India: Globalization and Local Response program OR received a score of 1 or better on the Language Fluency Exam for Urdu OR received a score of 1 or better on the Language Fluency Exam for Hindi.

  • Tags: CL: 100 level
  • Faculty: Brendan LaRocque 🏫 👤

• ASST 130 Globalization & Local Responses in India Program: Tourism and Development in India

  This course will examine concepts and practices regarding socio-economic development in India, with a special focus on the role of tourism as part of the process of globalization. We will study the scholarly writings and debates around the varied agendas and ideologies concerning development, and analyze the different approaches to economic growth that have historically been dominant in India. As part of our learning process, we will visit numerous sites wherein economic development is being undertaken, including urban and rural locales as well as tourist and pilgrimage sites. This course will include scholarly readings, instructor and guest lectures, and require student presentations of their work.

  Not offered in 2025-26

  • Credits: 3
  • Liberal Arts Requirements: HI, Humanistic Inquiry IS, International Studies
  • Prerequisites:

    Student has enrolled in the Carleton OCS India: Globalization and Local Responses program.

  • Tags: ACE Applied ACE Theoretical CL: 100 level SAST Support Humanities

• ASST 255 Buddhist Studies in India Program: Introduction to Field Methods and Ethics

  This course introduces students to the skills and ethics needed to conduct fieldwork for their independent study project in South Asia. In consultation with their adviser, students generate an independent study proposal (ISP) concerned with some aspect of Buddhist Studies (philosophy, ritual, meditation, the arts, culture, etc.) utilizing the unique resources available in India and neighboring countries. The ISP proposal outlines the topic, research methods, and resources located/developed by the student. Topics covered in the course include: introduction to research ethics; conducting a literature review; design and implementation of data collection protocols, interviewing, and survey questionnaires; summary, analysis and presentation data.

  • Offered: Fall 2025
  • Credits: 4
  • Liberal Arts Requirements: No Exploration
  • Prerequisites:

    Acceptance in the Carleton OCS Buddhist Studies in India program.

  • Tags: CL: 200 level
  • Faculty: Arthur McKeown 🏫 👤

• ASST 285 Mapping Japan, the Real and the Imagined

  From ancient to present times, Japan drew and redrew its borders, shape, and culture, imagining its place in this world and beyond, its From ancient times to the present, Japan drew and redrew its borders, reimagining its cultural and racial identity, and its place in this world and beyond. This course is a cartographic exploration of this complex and contested history. Cosmological mandalas, hell images, travel brochures, and military maps bring to light Japan’s religious vision, cartographic imagination, and political ambition that dictated its geopolitical expansion and the displacement of minority peoples at home, defining its real and imagined boundaries. We will explore a variety of maps, focusing on those in Carleton’s unique library collection.

  • Offered: Spring 2026
  • Credits: 6
  • Liberal Arts Requirements: HI, Humanistic Inquiry IS, International Studies WR2, Writing Rich 2
  • Tags: ACE Theoretical ASST East Asia CL: 200 level EAST Supporting MARS Supporting POSI Elective/Non POSC RELG Pertinent Course RELG XDept Pertinent ASST Humanistic Inquiry DGAH Cross Disciplinary Collaboration RELG Buddhist Traditions DGAH Humanistic Inquiry PPOL Forgn Policy & Security
  • Faculty: Asuka Sango 🏫 👤

• ASST 319 Buddhist Studies India Program: History of South Asian Buddhism

  This course provides students with an introduction to the history of South Asian Buddhism. Using primary and secondary sources and resources available to us in Bodh Gaya, we evaluate competing perspectives on the history of Buddhism and debate significant historical and ethical questions. How did Buddhism relate to other ancient Indian religions? What was the relationship between Buddhism and ancient Indian political, social, and economic structures? How did Buddhism change during its 2000 years in India? What impact did South Asian Buddhism have on the ancient and medieval world? What is the relationship between modern Buddhism and ancient Buddhism?

  • Offered: Fall 2025
  • Liberal Arts Requirements: IS, International Studies No Exploration
  • Prerequisites:

    Acceptance in the Carleton OCS Buddhist Studies in India program.

  • Tags: CL: 300 level SAST Support Humanities
  • Faculty: Arthur McKeown 🏫 👤

• ASST 394 Directed Research in Asian Studies

  Students work on a research project related to a faculty member's research interests, and directed by that faculty member. Student activities vary according to the field and stage of the project. The long-run goal of these projects normally includes dissemination to a scholarly community beyond Carleton. The faculty member will meet regularly with the student and actively direct the work of the student, who will submit an end-of-term product, typically a paper or presentation.

  • Offered: Fall 2025, Winter 2026, Second Five Weeks, Winter 2026, Spring 2026
  • Grading: S/CR/NC
  • Credits: 1 – 6
  • Liberal Arts Requirements: No Exploration
  • Tags: CL: Faculty Research
  • Faculty: Asuka Sango 🏫 👤 · Kathleen Ryor 🏫 👤

• ASST 400 Integrative Exercise

  For the Comprehensive Exercise in Asian Studies students write a long essay, often on the model of a journal article.  Majors design their own topics to investigate based on their previous coursework and in consultation with faculty. While the program is interdisciplinary, students must locate their research in specific disciplinary methods or methods. In addition to the final paper, students defend their completed projects in an oral examination with two faculty readers.

  • Offered: Fall 2025, Winter 2026, Spring 2026
  • Grading: S/NC
  • Liberal Arts Requirements: No Exploration
  • Prerequisites:

    Student is an Asian Studies major AND has Senior Priority.

  • Faculty: Asuka Sango 🏫 👤