Asian Studies

The economic and political centers of Asia include the two most populous nations in the world and two of the three largest economies in the world. Asian Studies challenges students to explore some of the most influential and widespread cultures on the globe. The Asian Studies minor is cross-disciplinary and designed to supplement a chosen major. The Asian Studies minor combines a core of team-taught interdisciplinary coursework with courses with an Asian focus from the following disciplines: art and art history, economics, history, English, international languages and cultures, music, philosophy and religious studies, and theater, film, and media studies.

St. Mary's Project (SMP)

Students within the Asian studies minor often pursue research that combines Asian studies with their major area. Recent examples include:

• Acculturation and multicultural counseling concerns for Asian American students
• The Path of a hero: Ethics and traditional Chinese warriors in the romance of the Three Kingdoms
• Arya Tara: A feminist reconciliation of Tibetan Buddhism
• Emerging middle class in the People's Republic of China
• The mountains are high and the emperor is far away: Catholic architecture in Yunnan Province
• Paper to flesh: The Chinese-American immigration experience (presented with traditional Chinese food)
• Cell phones and Coca-Cola in the land of prayer wheels: Tradition and modernity in contemporary Tibet subculture in the United States
• Craving the spotlight: The desire for fame in Buddhists vs. non-Buddhists

Travel Abroad

The Asian Studies faculty strongly recommends that students anchor their study of Asia in language study and study abroad. In addition to Chinese language offerings on-campus, St. Mary's offers a study abroad program at Fudan University in Shanghai, one of China's most distinguished universities. St. Mary's also has offerings at Lingnan University in Hong Kong and Payap University in Chiang Mai, Thailand.

The Asian studies minor also sponsors study tours. One recent tour allowed students to study the religions of India through a tour entitled "Himalayan Odyssey." Students received lectures and instruction by various scholars in India, including Tibetan Buddhist monks, Sikh, Hindu and Jain practitioners, as well as from the St. Mary's faculty members who served as tour leaders.

Life After St. Mary's

Participation in the study area is possible in any major, and in addition to broadening student horizons in the liberal arts, it provides excellent preparation for a future career in the U.S. Foreign Service, the United Nations, international non-governmental organizations, multinational business, and advanced academic studies.

Special Opportunities

St. Mary's professor John Schroeder and five St. Mary's students received a fully funded research grant from the 2005 ASIANetwork Freeman Student-Faculty Fellowship to study Engaged Buddhism in Thailand. During their study in Thailand students pursued independent research in issues of women in Thai Buddhism, various forms of alternative education, and Buddhist environmentalism and sustainable living.

In the Fall 2005 a group of 11 Tibetan Monks preformed Sand-Mandala painting on the St. Mary's campus. They also gave daily presentations of Tibetan chants and traditional dances, an introductory lecture describing Tibetan art and the ancient tradition of sand-mandala painting in Tibet, and an evening lecture on Tibetan Buddhist philosophy and religion.

The student run Asian Studies Club also sponsors many events including movie nights, Japanese New Year celebrations, and guest lecturers

For more information, visit the Asian Studies Department Web site at http://www.smcm.edu/Asianstudies/index.html