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Organization, Regulations, and Courses 2023-24

Contents
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Asian Societies, Cultures, and Languages

Chair: Ed Miller

Professors: S. R. Craig (Anthropology), D. E. Haynes (History), Y. Horiuchi (Government), R. Ohnuma (Religion), D. Washburn (ASCL, Film and Media Studies, and Comparative Literature); Associate Professors: J. Dorsey (ASCL), S. J. Ericson (History), L. Gibbs (ASCL), A. F. Hockley (Art History), S. L. Kim (ASCL and Art History), E. G. Miller (History), G. Raz (Religion), S. Schmidt-Hori (ASCL), S. Suh (ASCL and History), M. Xie (ASCL); Assistant Professors: S. Eom (ASCL), S. Swenson (Religion); Senior Lecturers: M. Ishida (ASCL), A. Li (ASCL), I. W. Watanabe (ASCL), Lei Yan (ASCL); Lecturers: S. Zhang (ASCL)

 

To view Asian Societies, Cultures, and Languages Courses, click here, see below for an explanation for ASCL's course number system.

  • ASCL courses are numbered by category, not by their level of difficulty. None of the courses in the 50s, 60s and 70s have prerequisites.
  • DS (Discipline Specific) courses for South and Southeast Asia are numbered in the 50s
  • DS (Discipline Specific) courses for East Asia are numbered in the 60s
  • IITD (Interdisciplinary, Interregional, Transnational, Diaspora) courses are numbered in the 70s.
  • ASCL 10.01, 10.02, 10.03 and 11.04 may count as IITD courses
  • Senior Seminars are numbered in the 80s

 

Asian Societies, Cultures, and Languages Requirements for Majors & Minors

 

Major

  • One introductory course chosen from ASCL 1: Thinking through Asia offerings
  • Two language courses beyond the first-year level (or the equivalent)
  • Three Interdisciplinary, Interregional, Transnational or Diaspora courses
  • Three Discipline Specific courses
  • One ASCL 80: Advanced Seminar (serves as the Culminating Experience)

 

Language Track Major

  • One introductory course chosen from ASCL 1: Thinking through Asia offerings
  • Five language courses beyond the first-year level (or the equivalent)
  • Three Interdisciplinary, Interregional, Transnational or Diaspora courses and Discipline Specific courses (at least one course from each category is required)
  • One ASCL 80: Advanced Seminar (serves as the Culminating Experience)

 

Minor

  • One introductory course from among the ASCL 1: Thinking through Asia offerings
  • Two Interdisciplinary, Interregional, Transnational or Diaspora courses
  • Three Discipline Specific courses

 

Language Minor

  • Six language courses beyond the first-year level


Modified Major

ASCL Modified Majors require seven ASCL courses combined with four from another program or department. Students wishing to pursue a Modified Major must submit a proposal to the ASCL Steering Committee that includes: 

  • Your list of the courses comprising your modified major. Your list must include
    • ASCL 1
    • ASCL 80-level course (Culminating Experience)
    • Selection of the remaining five ASCL courses that represent an equitable mix of DS (Discipline Specific) and IITD (Interdisciplinary, Interregional, Transnational, and Diaspora) courses
    • Four courses from the modifying department or program
    • Include the ORC descriptions of all the courses you plan to use for your modified major
  • A rationale for your modified major.
    • The rationale must demonstrate the intellectual coherence of the courses comprising your major. In other words, the courses you use to modify your major must compliment your ASCL courses. For example, if your ASCL courses focus on China (or East Asia more broadly), then so should the four courses you are using to modify the major. Post-Dartmouth career plans are not an acceptable rationale for the modified major.
  • Students should meet the ASCL Chair to discuss your course selection and rationale before you submit your proposal for review by the ASCL Steering Committee. 

 

Honors Program

The ASCL Honors Program consists of a two-term, two-course sequence comprised of ASCL 90 and ASCL 91, during which the student completes an honors thesis. To qualify for the Honors Program the applicant must have a GPA of 3.0 overall and GPA of 3.4 in the major. Admission to the program is contingent upon acceptance of the applicant’s thesis proposal. Students should develop a thesis proposal in consultation with a prospective advisor. The primary advisor for an honors thesis must be an ACSL affiliated faculty member. Secondary advisors drawn from ASCL or other departments and programs are encouraged when the student’s project warrants additional expertise. Proposal guidelines can be found on the ASCL website.

As part of the Honors curriculum, ASCL 90 and 91 carry high expectations regarding student performance with regard to writing, deadlines, accountability, and critical reflection. The thesis advisor will assess the student’s progress at the end of the first term of the Honors course sequence. If insufficient progress has been made on the thesis, students will be dropped from the program and given a grade for the work completed in the first term. The grade can count toward the ASCL major but not as a substitute for the ASCL Culminating Experience. A public presentation of the honors thesis at the end of the second term is a requirement of the Honors program. Completion of both ASCL 90 and 91 replace the ASCL culminating experience. ASCL 91 is an addition to ASCL’s ten-course major.

Students wishing to pursue a fall/winter thesis should submit their proposal to the Steering Committee no later than the seventh week of their junior-year spring term. Proposals for winter/spring theses should be submitted no later than the seventh week of the applicant’s senior year fall term.

Admission to the Honors Program is by vote of ASCL Steering Committee.

 

Foreign Study Programs

ASCL offers foreign study programs in Taiwan (LSA+), Japan (LSA+), and a winterim program in Vietnam (Fall Term +), as well as exchange programs with Yonsei University (Seoul), Keio University (Tokyo), Kanda University (China, Japan), and Waseda University (Tokyo). Information about these programs is available through the Frank J. Guarini Institute for International Education.