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Minor in East Asian Studies

The Minor in East Asian Studies is designed for students interested in the language, history, politics, and culture of Asia. East Asia includes the countries which share a common background in the Chinese classical tradition: present-day People's Republic of China, Taiwan, Korea, Japan, and Vietnam; but the core offerings at MIT cover China and Japan. The goal of the Minor Program is to provide balanced coverage of language, humanistic, and social science offerings on the region and to expose students to comparative perspectives.

The Minor Program in East Asian Studies consists of six subjects (at least three of which must be MIT subjects) arranged in four areas of study:

Area I: Language
Area II: Humanities and the Arts
Area III: Social Sciences
Area IV: Historical Studies

As with all HASS Minors, only five of the six minor subjects may be counted toward the 8-subject Institute HASS Requirement. Of these five, at most one (1) shall count toward satisfaction of the HASS Distribution Requirement.

Area I: LANGUAGE

The language requirement can be satisfied by taking two intermediate (Levels III and IV) subjects in an East Asian language (Mandarin Chinese, Japanese, Korean, or Vietnamese). Students with proficiency at this level in the spoken and written language can either take two more advanced language subjects (highly recommended), or two more courses from Areas II, III and IV. Chinese and Japanese are now taught at MIT. Other languages may be taken at Harvard, Wellesley, or during the summer with permission from relevant transfer credit examiner.

Language subjects offered at MIT
21F.103 Chinese III HASS-D Language Option
21F.104 Chinese IV HASS-D Language Option
21F.105 Chinese V (Regular): Discovering Chinese Cultures and Societies
21F.106 Chinese VI (Regular): Discovering Chinese Cultures and Societies
21F.109 Chinese III (Streamlined) HASS-D Language Option
21F.110 Chinese IV (Streamlined) HASS-D Language Option
21F.113 Chinese V (Streamlined)
21F.503 Intermediate Japanese I HASS-D Language Option
21F.504 Intermediate Japanese II HASS-D Language Option
21F.505 Advanced Japanese I
21F.506 Advanced Japanese II
21F.514 Linguistic Theory and Japanese Language

Areas II, III, IV: Four subjects to be selected from at least two areas.

Area II: HUMANITIES AND THE ARTS

21F.027J Visualizing Cultures [21H.917J]
21F.029 Topics in Asian American Literature
21F.030 East Asian Culture: From Zen to Pop
21F.035 Topics in Culture and Globalization (when relevant) CI-H
21F.036 Advertising and Popular Culture: East Asian Perspectives
21F.039 Japanese Popular Culture
21F.044 Traditional Chinese Literature: Poetry, Fiction, and Drama
21F.046 Modern Chinese Fiction and Cinema, CI-H
21F.064 Introduction to Japanese Culture HASS-D, CI-H
21F.065 Japanese Literature and Cinema CI-H
21F.067J Cultural Performances of Asia [SP.608J]
21L.504 Race and Identity in American Literature (when relevant)

Area III: SOCIAL SCIENCES

17.433 International Relations of East Asia
17.537 Politics and Policy in Contemporary Japan
17.547 The Rise of China
17.551 Political Economy of Chinese Reform

Area IV: HISTORICAL STUDIES

21F.043J Introduction to Asian American Studies: Literature, Culture, and Historical Experience [21H.150J] HASS-D, CI-H
21H.504 East Asia in the World: 1500-2000 A.D. HASS-D, CI-H
21H.521 Ancient Japan and the Courtly Society
21H.522 Japan in the Age of the Samurai: History and Film
21H.523 Emergence of the Modern Japanese State, 1800-1952 HASS-D
21H.546 World War II in Asia: Film, Fantasy, Fact
21H.560 Smashing the Iron Rice Bowl: Chinese East Asia
21H.580 From the Silk Road to the Great Game: China, Russia, and Central Asia, 500-2000 A.D.

Additional information can be obtained from the Minor Advisor. Students may also contact the History Office, Room E51-285, (617) 253-9846, or the HASS Education Office, Room 14N-410, (617) 253-4441.