The Major in Global Studies — Concentration in Global Asias
“Global Asias” provides the means for students to study Asia transnationally and transculturally, thereby expanding the geographic concept of the region beyond a set of political entities occupying a specific world region. East Asia, South Asia, Southeast Asia, Central Asia, and the Asian diaspora are all part of this concentration, with the goal of recognizing that the flows of people, objects, ideas, and practices of Asia have spread across the region and around the globe. Drawing on a range of approaches, the Global Asias concentration provides the means to study "Asia" in its many manifestations — in the past and in the present — in our world today.
General Requirements
One semester of language must be completed before declaring the major.
- Students must complete a minimum of 36 units in Global Studies, including at least three courses focused on a world area.
- Students must complete at least 24 units at the 300 level or above, including courses across a minimum of three academic disciplines.
- Students must complete at least 6 units at the 400 level, no more than 3 of which may be directed research or independent study.
- In addition to the 36 units, students must complete a four-semester sequence of courses in one modern language appropriate to their concentration.
These requirements may be fulfilled only with college-level course work undertaken during a student's undergraduate enrollment. Courses must be taken for a grade, and a student must receive a grade of C+ or higher in all courses.
This concentration requires 36 units of course work:
- 3 units of introductory course work (100-200 level)
- 6 units of multiethnic, diaspora, transnational, or transregional Asia-related course work (at least 3 units at the 300-400 level)
- 24 units of advanced Global Asias course work (300-400 level; at least one course must focus on premodern Asias [pre-1850])
- 3 units of core course work: GS (IAS) 4976 Global Asias
- East Asia, North Asia, South Asia, Southeast Asia, Central Asia, and the Asian diaspora are the relevant areas for the Global Asias concentration. A student must complete one course in at least three of these areas or with a transregional focus.
- Students must fulfill the standard Global Studies language requirement with Arabic, Chinese, Hindi, Japanese, Korean, or Urdu. Russian may be considered upon petition if a student is a native speaker of one of the listed languages or has tested into the fourth year of one of the listed languages.
Note: A single course may satisfy more than one of the distribution requirements (i.e., disciplinary or regional). Some of these requirements may be completed while abroad.
Introductory courses (choose one from this list, for a total of 3 units):
Course List
| Code |
Title |
Units |
| Art-Arch 111 | Introduction to Asian Art | 3 |
| Art-Arch 146 | First-Year Seminar: Beijing and the Forbidden City | 3 |
| AAS 200 | Doctors and Terrorists: The Fictions of South Asian America | 3 |
| Chinese 227C | Chinese Civilization | 3 |
| GS (IAS) 111 | First-Year Seminar: The Vietnam Wars | 3 |
| GS (IAS) 135 | First-Year Seminar: Chinatown: Migration, Identity, and Space | 3 |
| GS (IAS) 207 | Crossing Borders: An Introduction to Institutions and Concepts in Global Studies | 3 |
| History 193 | First-Year Seminar: Silk Roads and Empires | 3 |
| History 2157 | First-Year Seminar: The Meaning of Pakistan: History, Culture, Art | 3 |
| Japan 226C | Japanese Civilization | 3 |
| JIMES 210C | Introduction to Islamic Civilization | 3 |
| Korean 223C | Korean Civilization | 3 |
Multiethnic, diaspora, transnational, or transregional Asia-related course (choose two from this list, for a total of 6 units; at least one course must be at the 300-400 level):
Course List
| Code |
Title |
Units |
| AMCS 202 | The Immigrant Experience | 3 |
| | 3 |
| | 3 |
| Anthro 3313 | Women and Islam | 3 |
| Anthro 3775 | Ancient Eurasia and the New Silk Roads | 3 |
| Anthro 4033 | Culture, Illness and Healing in Asia | 3 |
| | 3 |
| AAS 200 | Doctors and Terrorists: The Fictions of South Asian America | 3 |
| | 3 |
| Chinese 4891 | Topics in Chinese Literature and Culture | 3 |
| | 3 |
| | 3 |
| East Asia 484 | Core Seminar in East Asian Studies | 3 |
| Film 443 | Memory, Tears and Longing: East Asian Melodrama Film | 3 |
| FYP 116 | Ampersand: Geographies of Globalization and Development | 3 |
| FYP 117 | Ampersand: Global Population on the Move: Refugees, Resettlement, Education, and Advocacy | 3 |
| GS (IAS) 103B | First-Year Seminar: International Public Affairs | 3 |
| GS (IAS) 111 | First-Year Seminar: The Vietnam Wars | 3 |
| GS (IAS) 127 | Migration in the Global World: Stories | 3 |
| GS (IAS) 135 | First-Year Seminar: Chinatown: Migration, Identity, and Space | 3 |
| GS (IAS) 140 | East Asia in the World | 3 |
| GS (IAS) 155 | First-Year Seminar: Mapping the World: Introduction to Human Geography | 3 |
| GS (IAS) 280 | Soph Seminar: The Public Servant and Other Heroes: A Political and Social History of Japan Thru Film | 3 |
| GS (IAS) 3512 | "Model Minority": The Asian American Experience | 3 |
| GS (IAS) 3822 | From McDonald's to K-pop: New Movements in East Asia | 3 |
| GS (IAS) 386 | Empire in East Asia: Theory and History (WI) | 3 |
| GS (IAS) 4036 | Children of Immigrants: Identity and Acculturation | 3 |
| History 193 | First-Year Seminar: Silk Roads and Empires | 3 |
| History 301T | Historical Methods — Transregional History | 3 |
| History 3165 | Chinese Diasporas | 3 |
| History 3167 | Economic History of China: From the Silver Age to Reform and Opening, 1500-1990 | 3 |
| History 3192 | Modern South Asia | 3 |
| History 3194 | Environment and Empire | 3 |
| History 3455 | Cultural Encounters: China and Eurasia Since the Middle Ages | 3 |
| History 39SC | Imperialism and Sexuality: India, South Asia and the World: Writing-Intensive Seminar | 3 |
| History 4154 | Decolonization to Globalization: How to End an Empire | 3 |
| History 4872 | Colonial Cities and the Making of Modernity | 3 |
| History 4914 | Advanced Seminar: Japan in World War II — History and Memory | 3 |
| JIMES 210C | Introduction to Islamic Civilization | 3 |
| JIMES 351 | Muhammad: His Life and Legacy | 3 |
| JIMES 354 | Anthropological and Sociological Study of Muslim Societies | 3 |
| Re St 3090 | Chinese Thought | 3 |
| Re St 311 | Buddhist Traditions | 3 |
| Re St 403 | Topics in East Asian Religion and Thought | 3 |
Advanced courses: Choose eight courses from current, relevant, internationally focused course offerings in the following departments.* All courses must be approved by the student's Global Studies adviser in order to count for the major. Visit the concentration webpage and master course list for the full list of options.
Course List
| Code |
Title |
Units |
| Anthro 3055 | Contemporary Chinese Culture and Society | 3 |
| Anthro 3163 | Archaeology of China: Food and People | 3 |
| Anthro 3313 | Women and Islam | 3 |
| Anthro 376 | Warriors, Merchants, Monks and Courtesans: Ancient Narratives of Globalization in Google Earth | 3 |
| Anthro 3775 | Ancient Eurasia and the New Silk Roads | 3 |
| Anthro 4011 | Popular Culture and Consumption in Modern China | 3 |
| Anthro 4033 | Culture, Illness and Healing in Asia | 3 |
| Anthro 4041 | Islam and Politics | 3 |
| Anthro 474 | National Narratives and Collective Memory | 3 |
| Anthro 4761 | The Pleistocene Peopling of Eurasia | 3 |
Course List
| Code |
Title |
Units |
| Chinese 3211 | Contemporary Chinese Popular Culture | 3 |
| Chinese 330 | Topics in Chinese Literature & Culture: Chinese Cities in the Global Context | 3 |
| Chinese 341 | Early and Imperial Chinese Literature | 3 |
| Chinese 342 | Modern and Contemporary Chinese Literature | 3 |
| Chinese 467 | The Chinese Theater | 3 |
| Chinese 479 | Reading Seminar in Modern Chinese Literature:Envisioning a New China: The May Fourth Era (1919-1949) | 3 |
| Chinese 480 | Reading Seminar in Chinese Popular Literature and Culture | 3 |
| | 3 |
| Chinese 489 | Topics in Modern Chinese Literature | 3 |
| Chinese 498 | Guided Readings in Chinese | -3 |
Course List
| Code |
Title |
Units |
| Comp Lit 375 | Topics in Comparative Literature | 3 |
| Comp Lit 449 | Topics in Compartive Literature: Pastoral Literature | 3 |
- East Asian Languages and Cultures
Course List
| Code |
Title |
Units |
| E Lit 307 | The Writing of the Indian Subcontinent | 3 |
Course List
| Code |
Title |
Units |
| Film 326 | Samurai, Rebels and Bandits: The Japanese Period Film | 3 |
| Film 341 | Transnational Cinema(s): Film Flows in a Changing World | 3 |
| Film 431 | Renegades and Radicals: The Japanese New Wave | 3 |
| Film 443 | Memory, Tears and Longing: East Asian Melodrama Film | 3 |
| Film 458 | Major Film Directors | 3 |
| Film 485 | Visualizing Orientalism: Art, Cinema and the Imaginary East 1850-2000 | 3 |
Course List
| Code |
Title |
Units |
| Hindi 353 | Understanding Indian (Hindi/Urdu) Literature: Through Text and Images (Visual) | 3 |
- Interdisciplinary Project in the Humanities
Course List
| Code |
Title |
Units |
| IPH 3587 | From Genghis Khan to the Taliban: War and Peace in Central Asia | 3 |
Course List
| Code |
Title |
Units |
| Japan 324 | A User's Guide to Japanese Poetry | 3 |
| Japan 332C | Japanese Literature: Beginnings to 19th Century | 3 |
| Japan 333C | The Modern Voice in Japanese Literature | 3 |
| Japan 346 | Japanese Literature in Translation: Mystery Fiction | 3 |
| Japan 445 | Japanese Fiction: Images of Demonic Women (Writing-Intensive Seminar) | 3 |
| Japan 4451 | Topics in Modern Japanese Literature | 3 |
| Japan 449 | Modern Japanese Women Writers: Writing-Intensive Seminar | 3 |
| Japan 4491 | Modern Japanese Women Writers | 3 |
| Japan 491 | Topics in Japanese Literature & History: | 3 |
| Japan 499 | Guided Readings in Japanese | -3 |
- Jewish, Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies
Course List
| Code |
Title |
Units |
| JIMES 351 | Muhammad: His Life and Legacy | 3 |
| JIMES 354 | Anthropological and Sociological Study of Muslim Societies | 3 |
| JIMES 3622 | Topics in Islam | 3 |
| JIMES 445 | Topics in Islam | 3 |
Course List
| Code |
Title |
Units |
| Korean 352 | Literature of Modern and Contemporary Korea | 3 |
| Korean 355 | Topics in Korean Literature and Culture | 3 |
| Korean 370 | When Tigers Smoke: Songs and Stories from Traditional Korea | 3 |
| Korean 437 | Contemporary Korean I: History, Literature, and Popular Culture | 3 |
| Korean 438 | Contemporary Korean II | 3 |
| Korean 455 | Topics in Korean Literature and Culture | 3 |
| Korean 497 | Guided Readings in Korean | -3 |
Course List
| Code |
Title |
Units |
| Music 3585 | Islam, Music, Muslim Media | 3 |
Course List
| Code |
Title |
Units |
| Pol Sci 330 | Topics in Politics | 3 |
Additional Requirements and Information
Study Abroad
- We strongly encourage students to study abroad. For those who do not study abroad and receive credit toward the Global Studies General Requirements, an additional 3-unit course at the 300 or 400 level is required.
- We strongly prefer students to select a study abroad location and regional specialization consistent with their chosen language of study (e.g., if a student wishes to study in Latin America, they must satisfy their language requirement with either Portuguese or Spanish).
- Students may receive a maximum of 6 credits from a single semester, 12 credits from a year, or 3 credits from a summer term of study abroad.
- Students may apply no more than 12 total credits to the Global Studies major from study abroad, University College, summer school at other U.S. universities, or any combination thereof.
- To receive credit for a summer course completed at another institution, a student should fill out the Approval for Non-WashU Course Credit form with Arts & Sciences to take the course for "general credit" and then petition to have the course count toward their Global Studies major.
Latin Honors
- Students must confidently expect to graduate with an overall grade-point average of 3.65 or higher to qualify for Latin Honors.
- Students should enroll in GS (IAS) 485 Preparation for Global Studies Honors Thesis during the fall of senior year and in GS (IAS) 486 Global Studies Senior Honors Thesis during the spring of senior year (under the corresponding section number of the faculty member overseeing the student's thesis).
Language Requirement
- All Global Studies majors must satisfy a language requirement that entails the successful completion of four semesters of one modern language appropriate to their concentration. For some students, this may mean the first four semesters of a language; for others who place into advanced language classes — and with approval from Global Studies language faculty — this may include literature, culture, oral communication, and linguistic courses in the target language, once such students complete the basic language sequence.
- Students are encouraged to study more than one language at Washington University, but they must satisfy their Global Studies language requirement by demonstrating competence in at least one language through the fourth semester. Available modern languages include Arabic, Chinese, French, German, Hebrew, Hindi, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Persian, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, and Swahili. Students should consult the course listings for details about the language sequences. (On the "A&S IQ" tab, click on "Courses," and then toggle "Area Requirement" to "LS Language & Cultural Diversity-Language" and click "Search" to see a list of available language courses.)
With the permission of the major adviser, advanced literature and culture courses taught in the native language may be used to satisfy the Global Studies language requirement and may count as advanced elective credit as long as these courses are cross-listed with or approved for study abroad credit for the student's Global Studies concentration and provided the courses are not being counted toward any other degree.
Special note for Spanish learners: The following Spanish courses are not part of the regular sequence that are permitted to count toward the four semesters of language: Span 223 Intermediate Spanish Conversation and Culture, Span 351 Business Spanish, Span 353 Medical Spanish, and Span 355 Spanish for the Social Sciences. Some students might find these courses valuable for other reasons. For questions about this, students should consult with their major adviser.
Students With Prior Language Experience
Native speakers of a modern language: Students must satisfy the four-semester Global Studies language requirement in another language appropriate to their concentration.
Heritage speakers who do not have a native level of fluency: Students must seek appropriate placement by the coordinator of the language program and complete the four-semester Global Studies language requirement.
Transfer students who have taken language courses: A transfer student may receive credit for the courses as part of the four-semester Global Studies language requirement only if a placement exam is taken upon arrival at Washington University in the given language and the department/program determines that the student may progress to the next highest level of language instruction.
Students who take a language course at another institution (whether in the United States or abroad): A student may receive credit for the course as part of the four-semester Global Studies language requirement only if (1) the credit is transferred back as Washington University credit; and (2) the student takes a placement exam upon their return to Washington University in the given language and the department/program determines that the student may progress to the next highest level of language instruction.