Asian Studies – Major

Asian Studies – Southeast Asia Concentration – Major and Minor

The Southeast Asian Studies concentration promotes the study of Viet Nam, Laos, Cambodia, Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, Burma, Singapore, Brunei, Timor Loro’sae and the Philippines. Core courses introducing students to the cultures and societies of the region are offered in the Jackson School and in the Departments of Anthropology and History. Additional courses are offered by the Departments of Geography, Asian Languages and Literature, Political Science, Sociology, and in the School of Public Health. Language instruction in Burmese, Khmer, and Thai is offered within the Jackson School of International Studies. Indonesian and Vietnamese are taught by teaching professors in the department of Asian Languages & Literature, and Tagalog is offered by the department of American Ethnic Studies.

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Major in Southeast Asia Studies

Course # Title Credits Quarter
JSIS 203 or JSIS A 207 Rise of Asia or
Asian Traditions
5 Autumn / Winter
JSIS 201 The Making of the Twenty-first Century 5 Winter & Spring
Asian Civilization Course One Asian Civilization course chosen from:
HSTAS: 201, 211, JSIS A 202, 205, 206, 212, 241, 242
5 Varies
Southeast Asia Core Two of the following:
JSIS A 205 Filipino Histories (5)
JSIS A 221 History of Southeast Asia (5)
JSIS B 264 Violence, Race, and Memory (5)
JSIS A 265 The Viet Nam Wars (5)
ANTH 314 Ethnography, Transnationalism, & Community in Island Southeast Asia/Asian Americans (5)
JSIS A 315 Southeast Asia Civilization: Buddhist and Vietnamese (5)
RELIG 356 Buddhism and Society: The Theravada Buddhist Tradition in South and Southeast Asia (5)
10
Southeast Asia electives Southeast Asia – primary electives 25 Varies
Minimum Grade Minimum grade 2.0 in all courses applied to major.
Southeast Asian Language Southeast Asian Language proficiency through 2nd year college level or 3rd quarter of 2nd year college level. Burmese, Indonesian, Khmer, Tagalog, Thai, Vietnamese. (For first- and second-year language courses, grades must average 2.00)
Total Credits (not including language:  50
Click here for an online checklist of course requirements

Minor in Southeast Asia Studies

30 credits, to include the following:

  1. JSIS A/HSTAS 221 (5 credits)
  2. One introductory Asian civilization course from those listed above (5 credits)
  3. 15 credits of electives taken at the UW, chosen from approved Southeast Asia courses or joint-listed equivalent, or from the approved list of electives*
  4. 5 additional credits in Southeast Asian language beyond second-year level, or in upper-division transfer courses on Southeast Asia, or from the approved list of electives*
  5. Minimum grade of 2.0 required in each course applied toward the minor.

JSIS & Affiliate Southeast Asia Studies Faculty


Southeast Asia Studies Courses

Quarterly Course Lists

Southeast Asia Elective Courses

(for major concentration)

Other courses may be added at a later date. Please watch for newly approved electives on annual and quarterly course listings.

* When topic is on Southeast Asia.

◊◊A maximum of 10 credits of lower-division coursework (200-level) may be allowed toward the Concentration Courses in the Asian Studies-South Asia Concentration.

Southeast Asia Minor Electives

Any JSIS A or JSIS B course on Southeast Asia or its joint-listed equivalent