Asian Studies

Assistant Professor Angelina Chin and Professor Lynn Miyake, joint program coordinators Fall 2013
Professor Zayn Kassam, program coordinator Spring 2014
Steering Committee: Chin, Mahdavi, Miyake
Steering Committee Spring 2014: Chin, Kassam, Mahdavi
Vicki Hirales, academic coordinator

The Asian Studies Program offers a major and a minor in Asian Studies and a major and minor in Middle Eastern Studies (MES).

The Asian Studies major is an interdisciplinary program of study combining the humanities, the social sciences and language study. Asian studies courses, taught both at Pomona and at the other Claremont Colleges, offer a variety of perspectives on Asia’s past and present. The Asian Studies Major provides not only a broad introduction to the culture and history of Asian societies, but also an opportunity for specialized study of an academic field within Asian studies. Prospective majors and minors should plan their programs with a member of the Asian studies faculty at Pomona College. Asian studies majors profit from their intellectual training in a wide range of careers, including government service, positions with the United Nations and other agencies, college or university teaching, journalism, banking and international trade.

The Middle Eastern Studies major is an interdisciplinary program of study that allows students to develop a broad knowledge of the societies, languages, cultures, and histories of the Middle East and their connections to the wider world. Courses draw on the expertise of faculty from a wide variety of departments, including anthropology, history, literature, music, politics, and religious studies. Students take a wide variety of subjects in their courses and are encouraged to develop complementary skills in another field, such as anthropology, history, literature, politics, international relations, and religion. In addition to serving as a focus of a broad liberal arts education, the major and minor in Middle Eastern Studies equip students to take up careers in international affairs, public policy, law, economics, journalism, scholarship, and the arts.

Pomona’s Asian resources include the Pacific Basin Institute (PBI) and its archive of documentary video and film materials. The Asian Studies Program joins with PBI in sponsoring a continuing series of conferences, workshops, film showings and lectures, featuring scholars, writers and public figures from countries along the Pacific Rim.

The faculty in the program include Mr. Andrabi (economics), Mr. Barr (Chinese language and literature), Ms. Bernhard (Indian theatre), Ms. Cheng (Chinese language and literature), Ms. Chin (history), Mr. Flueckiger¹ (Japanese language and literature), Mr. Gladney (anthropology), Ms. Hagedorn¹ (music), Mr. Hall (media studies), Ms. Hou (Chinese language and literature), Ms. Kassam¹ (religious studies), Mr. Khazeni³ (history), Ms. Kurita (Japanese language and literature), Ms. Mahdavi (anthropology), Ms. Miyake² (Japanese language and literature), Ms. Ng (religious studies), Mr. Pronko (theatre), Mr. Shay (dance), Ms. Takahashi (Japanese language and literature), Ms. Terada Landis (Japanese language and literature), Mr. Thai (sociology), Mr. Thomas (anthropology), Ms. Wu (Chinese language and literature) and Mr. Yamashita (history).

• Asian Studies Major
   
• Asian Studies Minor
   
• Asian Studies Courses
   
• Middle Eastern Studies Major
   
• Middle Eastern Studies Minor
   
• Middle Eastern Studies Courses
   

Read more about our learning objectives:
www.pomona.edu/administration/academic-dean/learning-objectives