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Asian Studies

Want to learn Mandarin? Or spend a semester in Beijing? Or learn about Japanese art in the year 1573? Or get an in-depth understanding of Hinduism, one of the most-practiced religions in the history of the world?

Mortarboard
Degree Types
Major, Minor
Institution
Complementary Programs
Heart
Distinctive Requirements
Capstone
Document
Study Abroad
Experience cultures across Asia with short- or long-term studies

The major or minor in Asian Studies provides a comprehensive, multicultural, and multidisciplinary examination of the history, society, arts, cultural traditions, and contemporary significance of the nations and peoples of Asia, especially India, China, and Japan. In addition to language study (Mandarin Chinese), the program offers a broad range of courses within a variety of disciplines in the humanities and social sciences. Students in the Asian Studies program will choose from two tracks: Language Track or Non-Language Track. Students are invited to pursue the major, the minor, or individual courses in any of the participating departments.

Future Career Paths

With a firm grasp of Asian culture, you’ll be equipped to explore careers in fields such as:

  • Politics
  • Economics
  • International relations
  • International business
  • Education
  • National security

Distinctive Courses

HIS 1122 - Rice, Ramen, and General Tso Chicken

This is a social and cultural history of what, when, why, and how people eat in China from the sixth century BCE to 1800s. Structured chronologically, the course explores the connection between food and agriculture, politics, religion, health, technology, and so forth. On the one hand, we examine foodways in China as human adaptation, knowledge formation, technological development, cultural appropriation, and so forth. On the other hand, we will also discuss historical evolution of food and their impacts on individuals and societies. Students will read both Chinese classics (Analects of Confucius, Family Principles, Books of Rites, etc.) and popular anecdotal bij style writings on recipes, foodstuff, and foodways. The course includes the following units: (1) a general introduction of historical “Chinese” and “China” reflected in Chinese foods; (2) several prominent foods (rice, soybeans, tofu, sorghum, etc.) in different historical moments; and (3) changing cultural significances of food, cooking, and eating in and beyond China.

HIS 1185 - America and the Vietnam War

The Vietnam War is a complicated part of modern American history. In this class students will examine the War, its impact on American popular culture, and the way historians have tried to understand and contextualize the War. Using a variety of sources, including books, government documents, and popular films, students will gain a greater understanding of this important period in American history.

HIS 2237 - Immortals, Ancestors & Demons

A monkey named Wukong (aka Goku in Dragon Ball and Monkey King in Forbidden Kingdom) accompanies the monk Tripitaka on a journey to retrieve Buddhist sutras from India to China.  15 He is able to lift his 17, 000-pound iron cudgel with ease and to travel 34, 000 miles in one somersault. He knows 72 transformations into various shapes of animals and objects, even a clone of himself. He even knows various spells to command wind, to divide water, to conjure vprotective circles against spider spirts, and to freeze humans. Students, using a 16th-century novel Journey to the West, explore (1) the development of popular beliefs (in immortals, oxen demons, hungry ghosts, kitchen god, silkworm goddess, goddess of mercy, spider sprits, ancestors); (2) the boundaries between the seen and unseen realms of divine worlds; (3) a changing society entwined in what have formed/become the history of China. Focusing on Chinese religiosity within its own historical contexts, we examine and explore the knowledge and categorization of “religions” in the field of Chinese studies.
 

HIS 3331 - Gender and the Family in China

Examination of the changing constructions of gender and the shifting configurations of the family, from imperial times to the present. Primary sources (in translation) and secondary literature together convey how changing notions of kinship, property, ritual, space, and the body have informed notions of gender in China, from the traditional courtyard house to the modern high-rise apartment.

Asian Studies Program Requirements

Special Opportunities

Students outside of Budapest campus.

Phi Sigma Iota - Foreign Language Honor Society

McDaniel College received its Beta Alpha chapter of Phi Sigma Iota in 1990. The International Foreign Language Honor Society was founded in 1922 with the purpose of honoring outstanding achievements of foreign language students. It promotes international communication, helps maximize the understanding of cultural heritage by understanding ourselves and others, and supports scholarly programs nationwide.

The McDaniel Commitment in Action

The McDaniel Commitment—a series of opportunities guaranteed to all students—provides enhanced mentoring and coaching, and ensures every undergraduate student completes at least two meaningful experiential learning opportunities.

Picture of a group of students in front of a pagoda in Japan.

Senior selected by Congressional Black Caucus Foundation for first Japan exchange

Alexaundria Leonard of Baltimore was thrilled to be one of only 15 students across the nation selected for the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation’s first Japan exchange program to Tokyo. 

Students walking across campus.

Students travel to China for National Model United Nations Model UN

13 McDaniel students attended the 2018 National Model United Nations China conference. The students represented either Belarus, Chad, or Togo at the conference with the Belarus team receiving an honorable mention delegation award. Junior Mischka Johnson of Westminster, Md., served as head delegate.