Asian Studies: Home

Asia is the largest continent in the world, encompassing approximately 20% of the Earth’s land area and home to an extraordinary diversity of cultures, languages, and historical legacies. This guide has been designed to provide a comprehensive selection of resources to support the study of Asian history, culture, languages, religions, and more.

Engage with these materials to gain a deeper understanding of this dynamic and globally influential region.

ARB 101 - Beginning Arabic I

This course will provide students with a solid foundation in pronunciation, grammar, and proficiency in the four language skills of understanding, speaking, reading, and writing. Media are incorporated into classroom experience. Native speakers may not take elementary level courses in their native languages designated as 101, 102, 105, or 106.
Prerequisite(s): ENG 096, if required by DSP. 3 lecture hours per week 3 credit hours

ARB 102 - Beginning Arabic II
This is a continuation of ARB 101. This course will build on the student’s knowledge of Arabic 101 through the development of communicative language via classroom and web-based activities. Emphasis on audio-oral skills, reading, and advanced grammatical structures. Native speakers may not take elementary level courses in their native languages designated as 101, 102, 105, or 106. 
Prerequisite(s): ARB 101, or 2 years high school Arabic. 3 lecture hours per week 3 credit hours

CHN 101 - Beginning Mandarin Chinese I
This course will provide students with a solid foundation in pronunciation, grammar, and proficiency in the four language skills of understanding, speaking, reading, and writing. Media are incorporated into classroom experience. Native speakers may not take elementary level courses in their native languages designated as 101, 102, 105, or 106. 
Prerequisite(s): ENG 096, if required by DSP. 3 lecture hours per week 3 credit hours

CHN 102 - Beginning Mandarin Chinese II
This is course is a continuation of CHN 101. Emphasis is placed on expanding vocabulary and sentence patterns. Students will be required to prepare and perform role-plays to carry out conversations in Mandarin Chinese on a range of topics. Students will be expected to understand, speak, read, and write new words encountered in the textbook and other sources. Media will be incorporated into classroom experience. Native speakers may not take elementary level courses in their native languages designated as 101, 102, 105, or 106.
Prerequisite(s): CHN 101, or 2 years high school Chinese 3 lecture hours per week 3 credit hours

CHN 111

This course is designed to review and consolidate the fundamentals that students have built in their beginning Mandarin Chinese courses. Students will continue to expand their repertoire of grammatical structures and to build up vocabulary. This course will develop more reading, writing, listening and speaking skills so that students can apply Mandarin Chinese to good use in and beyond the classroom. Native speakers of Mandarin Chinese must get approval of the instructor. Prerequisite(s): CHN 101 and CHN 102, or three years high school Chinese
3 lecture hours per week 3 credit hours

CHN 112 - Intermediate Mandarin Chinese II
This course is designed to review and consolidate the fundamentals that students have built in Beginning Mandarin Chinese courses and Intermediate Mandarin Chinese I. Students will continue to expand their repertoire of grammatical structures and to build up vocabulary. This course will develop more reading, writing, listening and speaking skills so that students can apply Mandarin Chinese to good use in and beyond the classroom. Native speakers of Mandarin Chinese must get approval of the instructor.
Prerequisite(s): CHN 111, or three years high school Chinese 3 lecture hours per week 3 credit hours

• New publications in Asian Studies

  A list of the latest and soon-to-be-released publications through 2025.

• Asian Studies (Library of Congress)
• Country Fact Sheet (U.S. Department of States)
• Digital South Asia Library (Center for Research Libraries ) 
• The Word Fact Book (CIA Gov.)
• United Nations Digital Library (UNDL)
• World Bank: Open Data