A significant development of the global environment is the increasing interdependence of nations and cultures. Nations rely on each other for goods, markets, labor and capital. Ecological crises, medical concerns and political movements do not respect national boundaries while global communications systems and international travel have fostered interconnectedness. In the future, American citizens will need to understand and be prepared to interact effectively with people from different cultures, including the many non-Western cultures that are economically and culturally prominent today and promise to become even more prominent tomorrow.
Asian Studies is an interdisciplinary, liberal arts doorway into a significant portion of the world of tomorrow. Its purpose is to provide a broad knowledge base and a significant understanding of the political, economic, cultural and social systems of the world's largest and most populous land mass. Likewise, Asian Studies aims to develop the skills which students need to enter graduate school or to begin professional careers in everything from government service to international business and teaching.
By contributing to the international offerings of Randolph- Macon, Asian Studies strives to increase the level of intellectual engagement on campus, to stimulate reflection about values, and to create a welcoming environment for campus diversity.
Curricular Information
The Asian Studies minor consists of 15 credit hours drawn from the list of courses outlined below. A minor must include at least two courses from each designated area of study: Group I - History and Politics; and, Group II - Humanities and Language. Although not a requirement of the minor, the Asian Studies Department recommends that the collegiate language requirement be satisfied in an Asian language (Chinese or Japanese). The International Studies program offers a major with a concentration in Asian Studies; that major does require an Asian language.
Course Offerings
Group I - History and Politics
Introduction to East Asia; Tyoko Past and Present; Ancient, Mughal & British India; Modern India, Pakistan and Bangladesh; Modern China, 1800-present; The Political System of China; The Political System of Japan; Special Topics: Seminar or Research; Internship
Group II - Humanities and Language
Oriental Art; Intermediate Chinese; Chinese Culture & Society; Intermediate Japanese; Japanese Culture & Society; Asian Literature: Islam & India; Asian Literature: China; Asian Literature: Japan; Philosophy East and West; World Religions; Special Topics: Seminar or Research; Study Abroad
Special Programs
In keeping with the purpose of the Asian Studies Program, students have the opportunity to study abroad. Randolph-Macon has semester or year-long programs in Japan at Nagoya Gaukin and Hiroshima Universities, and at Yonsei University in Seoul, Korea. Contacts also exist at Capital Normal University in Beijing, China. Faculty who staff the overseas colleges and universities are native to their respective countries but are experts in teaching students from abroad. In addition, students have the opportunity during January Term for travel courses to China and Japan.
Moreland Lecture
Each Spring, the J. Earl Moreland Lecture on Asia brings a distinguished expert to the Randolph-Macon campus for a three day visit of classes and a public lecture. The purpose is to create greater student understanding and interest in Asian affairs through direct contact with distinguished scholars and prominent professionals.
1978 Joseph Yu-Shek Cheng, Hong Kong, Chinese University of Hong Kong, Recent Developments in Chinese Foreign Policy
1988 Bishop K.H. Ting, Nanjing, Chairman, Three-Self Patriotic Movement
1989 Yan Si-guang, Bejing, Fulbright Professor at Harvard & Stanford, American Studies in China
1990 Dr. William Theodore deBary, Columbia University, The Asian Classics and the Core Curriculum
1990 Xiang Xianji, graduate student, Columbia University, Student Democracy Movement in China
1991 Takeshi Yamanaka, professor at Saga University, Understanding Japanese Character Paul Anderer, Columbia University, The Uses of the Past in Modern Japanese Fiction
1992 Tu Wei-Ming, professor of Chinese history and philosophy, Harvard University, Confucius and Confucianism
1993 Prof. Thelma Chow, instructor of Chinese, Lynchburg College; Dr. John Goulde, associate professor of religion, Sweet Briar College; Dr. M. Thomas Inge, Blackwell Professor of the Humanities, Randolph-Macon College, Reading the Red Dragon: Reflections on Chinese Life and Culture 1
994 Willy Wo-Lap Lam, associate editor, South China Morning Post, China after Deng Xiaoping
1995 Dr. Karen Lang, Director, Center for South Asian Studies, University of Virginia, Body and Non-Soul: Buddhist Reflections on Morality, Pain, Sexuality, and Personal Identity
1996 Mr. Martin C. M. Lee, Q.C.; Barrister and leader of Democratic Party of Hong Kong, Countdown to 1997: The Future of Hong Kong
1997 Mr. Bernard Fong, Writer & Journalist, Hong Kong, China and America, War or Peace
1999 Dr. Wong Gungwa; Director of the East Asia Institute & professor at the National University of Singapore, Keeping People In or Sending People Out: Chinas' Historical Dilemma
2000 Dr. Henry Rosemont Jr., Distinguished Professor of Liberal Arts at St. Mary's College of Maryland, "Confucian Reflections on Freedom, Equality, and Human Rights."
2001 Dr Ki Che Angela Leung, Director of the Sun Yat-sen Institute for Social Science and Philosophy at the Academia Sinica, Taipei, Taiwan, "Philanthropy in Traditional Society: Comparing China and Europe."
2002 Mr. Henry Chu, Beijing Bureau Chief fo the Los Angeles Times, "(Un)Covering China: Reporting from the People's Republic."
2003 Dr. Anne Allison, Chair and Associate Professor, Department of Cultural Anthropolgy, Duke University, "Japanese Monsters in the Era of Millennial Capitalism."
2004 Dr. Michael O'Hanlon, Senior Fellow: Foreign Policy Studies, The Brookings Institution, "The Greatest Threat in a Generation? Dealing With a Nuclear North Korea."
2005 Dr.Howard Goldblatt, Research Professor in the Department of East Asian Languages and Literature, University of Notre Dame, "Contemporary Chinese Fiction."
Thomas Porter, Chair
Email: tporter@rmc.edu
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