Mission and Learning Goals

Mission
ASP prepares students for engagement in and with Asia by integrating interdisciplinary (humanities, fine arts, social sciences, and natural sciences) and experiential learning into an understanding of Asia's great traditions, modern transformation, and pivotal role in today's globalizing world.

The Asian Studies major is rooted in the belief that "the growing awareness of the value of integrating coordinated courses on Asian life and thought into [liberal arts] college curricula. . . [is essential to] enabling students to understand, and contribute to, an increasingly mobile world of diverse societies and cultures."  It intends to prepare students for personal and professional involvement in the newly-dawned "Asian Century" by affirming the Benedictine ideals of service, learning in community, multiculturalism, and global engagement as well as CSB/SJU's commitment to new models of international education, exceptional classroom and experiential opportunities, increased intercultural competence, and global citizenship and by enabling our majors to become "Asia Hands."  

Student Learning Objectives
Graduates of the 48-credit major will be able to demonstrate an ability to:

1)  Understand and use the resources, theories, assumptions, and methods of the various disciplines that make up the field of Asian Studies.
2)  Understand, from an interdisciplinary perspective, the elements which both unify and differentiate the distinct cultures of Asia; the role of internal and external influences on Asia's modern transformation; Asia's global diaspora (including Asian America); and Asia's post-colonial role in today's world economy and geopolitics.
3) Speak, read, and write Chinese or Japanese language at an intermediate low level and Bengali at an elementary level (until CSB/SJU can fortify Bengali instruction at CSB/SJU following the SXC study abroad semester).
4) Effectively integrate coursework and experiential learning to acquire the intercultural competence to engage professionally with Asians in an Asian context.