Bachelor of Arts - Asian Studies
Description
The Bachelor of Arts, Major in Asian Studies focuses on the diverse cultures of Asia, our country and our community. The degree allows students to develop the knowledge, core competencies, and skills characteristic of a traditional BA program while preparing them to respond creatively and innovatively to a range of challenges in our community and the world. In this four-year integrated interdisciplinary Asian Studies program, students will acquire a number of practical skills that they can employ in their communities locally, in addition to developing the intellectual and cultural skills that will enable them to operate successfully in a rapidly changing world where the leading countries of East and South Asia are becoming increasingly influential.
A Minor in Asian Studies will allow students in other programs to complement their main field of study with courses from the Asian Studies curriculum. The main focus of the Minor in Asian Studies is to produce graduates who combine expertise in their chosen career field with a high level of understanding of Asian cultural norms.
Students in the Asian Studies program will benefit from our faculty’s commitment to teaching excellence, and from the small class sizes at Kwantlen Polytechnic University. Arts degrees enjoy high rates of participant satisfaction, and the literacy and analytical skills developed in such programs create constructive members of society who fit well into the workplace.
Careers
A graduate who combines Asian language skills with an awareness of the region’s cultural and historical heritage will automatically have a number of advantages over someone who does not. The versatility of the BA in Asian Studies will allow students to design programs of study that will prepare them for careers or further study in areas such as Public History, Primary and Secondary Education, Professional Writing, Graduate Studies, Business or Self-Employment, Community Service, Law or Policing, Military, Non-Governmental Organizations, Public Administration, Religious Studies, and Social Work.
Entrance Requirements
Refer to the Bachelor of Arts Framework
Content
Asian Studies students begin their first year of studies with courses that broadly introduce the countries and cultures of East and South Asia, as well as some of the Social Science methodologies required in upper level courses. As they progress to more narrowly defined regional courses, students will examine in greater depth the societies, cultures, political systems, economies and histories of the peoples and nations of South and East Asia, as well as their interactions with Canada and the rest of the world. Students in the Major program will also complete a minimum of 12 credits of language study in an approved Asian language of their choice. It is strongly recommended that students complete the Asian Studies Major language requirements in the first two years of their program.
Students pursuing a Bachelor of Arts degree must complete all requirements in the Bachelor of Arts Framework in addition to their major or minor program requirements.
Asian Studies Major
The following requirements are to be completed for the Bachelor of Arts, Asian Studies Major program.
LOWER LEVEL
Students are required to complete 18 credits of lower level Asian Studies designated core courses with at least 12 of these credits at the 2000 level. Language courses cannot be applied to this requirement. Note that many 2000 level courses in ASIA, ANTH, SOCI, GEOG, POLI, PSYC, and HIST require specific course prerequisites at the 1000 level. Other ASIA-related courses may also be eligible to meet these requirements.
Students are strongly recommended to select their lower level core courses from the following list:
1000 LEVEL
- CUST 1200 Introduction to Contemporary Japanese Society and Culture
- HIST 1150 Introduction to Traditional East Asia
- HIST 1160 Introduction to South Asian History
- HUMN 1111 Religions of India
2000 LEVEL
- ASIA 2250 South Asians Around the Globe
- ASIA 2252 Indian Society Through Popular Film
- ASIA 2255 Women in Modern India
- ASIA 2399 Readings in Asian Studies
- GEOG 2185 Regional Geography of East Asia
- GEOG 2190 Regional Geography of South Asia
- HIST 2350 Late Imperial China
- HIST 2375 Japan under the Shoguns
- HIST 2355/ASIA 2150 The Chinese Overseas
- PHIL 2115 Asian Philosophy
- POLI 2140 Comparative Politics of Asia
- SOCI 2230 Racialization and Ethnicity in Canada
- SOCI 2285 Gods in the Global Village
The following courses are also eligible to meet the lower level core course requirement for the BA in Asian Studies. Students should be aware of prerequisites in order to complete higher level requirements for the program.
1000 LEVEL
- ANTH 1100 Introduction to Cultural Anthropology
- ANTH 1300 Introduction to Archaeology
- CPSC 1100 Introduction to Computer Literacy
- HUMN 1100 Analytical Approaches to Western Humanism
- LCOM 1100 Introduction to Higher Education
- PHIL 1145 Critical Thinking
- PHIL 1150 Introduction to Formal Logic
- SOCI 1125 Introduction to Sociology
2000 LEVEL
- ANTH 2320 Archeology of the Old World
- ENGL 2300 Advanced Writing and Research Skills
- JRNL 2301 Media and Awareness
- PSYC 2330 Social Psychology
- PSYC 2400 Experimental Psychology: Research Methodology
UPPER LEVEL
Students are required to take 30 credits of upper level courses from the following list of core courses approved for the Asian Studies Major, with at least 12 credits at the 4000 level including at least one of:
- ASIA 4350 Canadian East and South Asian Communities and/or
- HIST 4800/ASIA 4800 Directed Research Project
Language courses cannot be applied to this requirement. Note that many courses at the 3000 and 4000 levels require specific course prerequisites at the 1000 and 2000 levels.
Students are strongly recommended to select their upper level courses from the following list:
3000 LEVEL
- ANTH 3130 The Sikhs: Culture, Religion and Society
- ANTH 3330 East Asian Archeology
- ASIA 3255 Women in South Asia
- ASIA 3260/ PSYC 3260 Gods and Goddesses of India (under review)
- HIST 3350 China in the Twentieth Century
- HIST 3355/ASIA 3145 History of East Asian Migration to North America
- HIST 3359/ASIA 3149 Hong Kong: Past, Present, and Future
- HIST 3360 British India, 1857–1947
- HIST 3361 The Indian Subcontinent since 1947
- HIST 3370 Modern Japan
- HIST 3380 World War II in the Pacific
- JAPN 3310/CUST 3310 Japanese Culture and Business
- JAPN 3320/CUST 3320 Japanese Culture Through Film
- LBED 3120 Study of Cultures
- POLI 3146 Government and Politics of India
- POLI 3240 Chinese Government and Politics
- PSYC 3343 The Psychology of Prejudice
- SOCI 3230 International Migration and Ethnic Communities
4000 LEVEL
- HIST 4450 China and the West
- HIST 4455 Sages and Statecraft in China
- HIST 4460 Gandhi in History
- HIST 4470 The Samurai
- HIST 4480 The American Experience in Vietnam
- PSYC 4700 Culture and Psychology
- SOCI 4275 Diversity and the Media
The following courses are also eligible to meet the upper level core course requirements for the BA in Asian Studies. Students should be aware of prerequisites in order to complete higher level requirements for the program.
3000 LEVEL
- ANTH 3168 Deviance Across Cultures
- BUSI 2490 International Business
- CMNS 3100 Applied Communication (Technical Report Writing)
- ENGL 3345 Diaspora Literatures
- GEOG 3210 Geography of Cultures
- GEOG 3220 Political Geography
- JRNL 3200 Media and Diversity
- POLI 3145 Comparative Transborder Studies
- SOCI 3385 Introduction to Demography
- SOCI 3320 Global Inequalities
4000 LEVEL
- SOCI 4310 Terrorism, Globalization and Social Justice
- SOCI 4325 Sociological Aspects of Community Service (6 credits)
- LCOM 4100 Senior Year Transition
LANGUAGE REQUIREMENT (Major only)
Students in the Bachelor of Arts, Asian Studies Major program must complete at least 12 credits in a single approved Asian language, ideally in years 1 and 2. This requirement will be waived for students already demonstrating adequate oral and written fluency in an approved East or South Asian language. Waiver of the Asian Studies language requirement does not exempt students from the general BA language requirement. Students receiving an Asian Studies language requirement waiver should consult with an Adviser to ensure they will still meet the BA language requirements. Students are strongly encouraged to take at least one course in Linguistics (LING 1100 or 1300), understanding that this does not take place of studying an Asian Language.
Students may choose from the following Asian language courses:
- JAPN 1100 Basic Japanese I
- JAPN 1101 Basic Japanese II
- JAPN 2200 Intermediate Japanese I
- JAPN 2201 Intermediate Japanese II
- JAPN 3300 Upper Intermediate Level Japanese I
- JAPN 3301 Upper Intermediate Level Japanese II
- MAND 1100 Beginner’s Mandarin I
- MAND 1101 Beginner’s Mandarin II
- MAND 2200 Intermediate Mandarin I
- MAND 2201 Intermediate Mandarin II
- MAND 3300 Mandarin for Dialect Speakers I
- MAND 3301 Mandarin for Dialect Speakers II
- MAND 3310 Upper Intermediate Mandarin I
- MAND 3311 Upper Intermediate Mandarin II
- MAND 3312 Chinese Language and Culture
- PUNJ 1100 Introductory Punjabi I
- PUNJ 1101 Introductory Punjabi II
- PUNJ 2200 Intermediate Punjabi I
- PUNJ 2201 Intermediate Punjabi II
- PUNJ 3300 Canadian-Punjabi Literature
Asian Studies Minor
The following minor requirements are to be completed for the Bachelor of Arts, Asian Studies Minor program.
There is no language requirement for the Asian Studies minor beyond the general BA language requirement.
LOWER LEVEL
Students are required to complete twelve credits of lower levels Asian Studies approved core courses (as listed under the requirements for the Major in Asian Studies) with at least six of these credits at the 2000 level. Language courses cannot be applied to this requirement. Note that many 2000 level courses in ASIA, ANTH, SOCI, GEOG, POLI, PSYC, and HIST require specific course prerequisites at the 1000 level.
UPPER LEVEL
Students are required to take at least 15 credits of approved Asian Studies courses (as listed under the requirements for the Major in Asian Studies), with a minimum of nine credits at the 3000 level and six credits at the 4000 level. Language courses cannot be applied to this requirement.
Graduation
Upon successful completion of the program, students are eligible to receive a Bachelor of Arts, Major in Asian Studies; a Minor in Asian Studies as a supplement to any Bachelor of Arts degree program; or a Bachelor of Arts - Double Minor when combined with a second minor program.
