Find your path to understanding the critical and dynamic region that is Asia.
At Sewanee, you'll find a range of opportunities to explore Asia, through its rich history, art, religion, and politics, as well as gaining cultural understanding through language studies and the exploration of the dynamics of Asian business and governments. From popular culture to economic activity, Asia's influence on the world is as vast as Asia itself. Living in the Asian Century, at a time when Asian nations are expected to play a central role in our world due to their fast-growing economies and youthful demographics, Asian Studies at Sewanee will help you to understand the diverse histories of the continent, while exploring the current significance, and future promise of this critical region.
As an Asian studies major, you'll focus on the dynamic aspects of Asian culture and influence. You'll learn about customs and schools of thought-Daoism, Buddhism, Confucianism, Shinto-in conjunction with vibrant music, art, and textiles. Through interdisciplinary coursework, you'll engage with the complexities of politics, business, and the environment, thinking about regional and global systems in context. Language study is also an integral part of the program. Mandarin Chinese is the most widely spoken language in the world. You'll also have the opportunity to study abroad in cities like Tokyo, Taipei, Seoul, Bangalore, New Delhi, and Hanoi.
Sewanee graduates secure positions in a variety of fields. Some you would expect, others are a bit of a surprise. Sewanee prepares you for your profession and your passion. Below is a sampling of recent graduates' employment.
Sewanee graduates enjoy extraordinary acceptance rates to top graduate and preprofessional programs–about 95 percent to law school and over 85 percent to medical school. Below is a sampling of where Sewanee grads continue their education.
Check our program Instagram page @sewaneeasianstudies for updates on current events on campus and around the world.
This course surveys the four major modes of Chinese literature from the early 20th century to the present: realism, modernism, socialist realism, and postmodernism. Themes of modernity, nationalism, gender, class, and identity are explored through primary texts. The course emphasizes rhetorical, formal, and aesthetic critiques of literature.
This course examines key Buddhist philosophical concepts and explores a diversity of traditions along with their historical contexts. Investigations of the ways these traditions are lived are elucidated by short biographies. Buddhist modernism is also considered using themes such as globalization, gender roles, science, commodification, and popular culture.
This course introduces religious artworks of Japan from the sixth century to the present day. Following a chronological sequence, it examines artwork from Buddhist, Shinto, and Christian belief systems, and investigates two-dimensional works, sculpture, and architecture. The course explores topics such as the relationship between ritual practice and the visual arts, images of heaven and hell, hidden icons, relics, and interactions of sacred and secular in the visual realm.
Sid Brown teaches in the area of Asian religions, specializing in Theravada Buddhism. Brown also focuses on religious responses to environmental issues and religious conceptions of relationships between human and other-than-human animals. She has been studying Buddhism since 1982. During her years earning a B.A. in philosophy and an M.A. and Ph.D. in religious studies, she researched and lived in India, Sri Lanka, Japan, and Thailand.
Yanbing Tan studied Chinese and comparative literature at Washington University in St. Louis. She has broad interests in late imperial Chinese literature and culture, with a focus on the comic and humor in fiction and drama from the 17th century to the late 19th century. Her dissertation examined the relationship between the romantic and the comedic in chuanqi, one of the most important dramatic genres in late imperial China.
Associate Professor of Art History, Chair of Asian Studies Department
ajmiller@sewanee.edu
Gailor Hall 121, Ext. 1922
Please join us for a talk by historian Yoshikuni Igarashi of Vanderbilt University on Wednesday, March 30 at 4:30 pm in Gailor Auditorium. Dr. Igarashi will speak about the bombing of Hiroshima and the efforts of photographer Ishiuchi Miyako to document the clothing and artifacts of atomic victims and survivors.
The Asian House is sponsoring a tea ceremony where you can come try Asian teas and meet some current members of the Asian House. BYOCup. The event takes place from noon-2pm and again from 5pm-7pm.
The Asian House organizes fun events such as this Lunar New Year Celebration at McClurg, which had dancing dragons and Asian cuisine! Apply to live in the Asian House for next academic year 2020-2021! Applications are due on March 1, 2020!
The 5th Annual International Karaoke Night took place on November 7, 2019 at the Tiger Bay Pub. There were songs in 8 different languages: Arabic, Chinese, French, German, Italian, Latin, Russian, and Spanish.
To create an immersive learning experience, Sewanee has several language houses (French, German, Russian, Spanish, and Italian) that simulate real-world language and cultural encounters. The head resident is a native speaker, and students speak their house language while “at home". Events throughout the year showcase educational and recreational aspects of the language house and the culture it represents.
International & global studies at Sewanee stretches far beyond the gates. Involving faculty members from departments across the College, the program spans disciplinary and thematic boundaries. The rapid pace and complex nature of our world require dexterity to navigate. At Sewanee, you will study the ever-changing political, economic, and cultural issues that characterize our world today. Here, experiencing the real world begins in the classroom.
At Sewanee, we pledge to offer each student an opportunity to study abroad. And at Sewanee, we keep our promises. Travel, learn, and cultivate your knowledge by communicating across cultures and acquiring a sensitivity to other ways of life. Apply social scientific methodologies to various frameworks. Learn to formulate solutions to global problems and apply those theories at home in a local context.
