Fall 2025
All of these courses will provide an excellent introduction to incoming students to the field of Asian Studies:
Asian Languages & Cultures (ASIAN)
Asian Studies Course – Open to Freshman – Join us!
ASIAN 100 (001): Gateway to Asia: The Asian Wave with Professor Adam Kern (3 cr.) Level/Breadth: Elementary, Humanities
This course is required for the Asian Languages & Cultures majors including East Asian Studies, South Asian Studies, and Southeast Asian Studies majors.
ASIAN 100 (002): Gateway to Asia: Yoga: Philosophy & Practice, with Professor Gudrun Buhnemann (3 cr.) Level/Breadth: Elementary, Humanities
The course is open only to first-year students enrolled in the Yoga FIG.
Yoga techniques have played an essential role in the religious traditions of South Asia, as these traditions have evolved over the centuries. In the Western world, some aspects of Yoga, such as physical postures, have attracted much attention. Still, the larger cultural context of the phenomenon of Yoga and its philosophical underpinnings have remained generally unknown to a broader audience. In this course, we will explore the history of Yoga in India, other parts of Asia, and the West. In this course, you will also learn basic research skills, the conventions of academic writing, and develop critical thinking. Please note that this is not a Yoga practice class.
ASIAN 236: Asia Enchanted: Gods, Ghosts, and Monsters with Professor Charo D’Etcheverry (3 cr. ) Level/Breadth: Elementary, Humanities, Com B
Explores how different cultures in Asia conceive of and relate to the monstrous, ghostly, and divine, both in the past and in the contemporary world. These themes are approached from a range of different disciplinary perspectives, including religious studies, literature, anthropology, and history.
ASIAN 255: Introduction to East Asian Civilization with Assistant Professor Anatoly Detwyler (3 cr.) Level/Breadth: Elementary, Humanities or Social Science
Multidisciplinary and historical perspectives on the East Asian civilizations of China, Japan, Korea, Tibet and Mongolia from prehistory to the present, including developments in philosophy, political economy, governance, social structure, kinship, geography, gender relations, literature and art. As a gateway to further East Asian studies, this course also showcases cutting-edge research on East Asia and class visits from UW faculty, along with guided exploration of East Asia-related resources at the Library. The final project involves designing and developing a playable game that is topically based on some specific facet of cultural or historical development involving East Asia.
ASIAN 274: Religion in South Asia with Assistant Professor Jamal Jones. Level/Breadth: Elementary, Humanities
Introductory survey of Hinduism, Buddhism, Islam, Sikhism, etc., and an examination of the cultural, historical, ritual, and philosophical foundations of South Asian religion.
Asian Languages & Cultures: Languages (ASIALANG)
Our department only offers first semester language class in the fall term. If you have prior experience in the language, you will need to complete a placement test for permission to join another level of language courses.
Beginning Language Students may enroll directly into the following classes:
Chinese – ASIALANG 101: First Semester Chinese (4 credits)
Filipino – ASIALANG 123: First Semester Filipino (4 credits)
Hindi-Urdu – ASIALANG 121: First Semester Hindi-Urdu (4 credits)
Hmong – ASIALANG 125: First Semester Hmong (4 credits)
Indonesian – ASIALANG 127: First Semester Indonesian (4 credits)
Japanese – ASIALANG 103: First Semester Japanese (4 credits)
Korean – ASIALANG 105: First Semester Korean (4 credits)
Persian – ASIALANG 137: First Semester Persian (4 credits)
Thai – ASIALANG 129: First Semester Thai (4 credits)
Tibetan – ASIALANG 135: First Semester Tibetan (4 credits)
Vietnamese – ASIALANG 131: First Semester Vietnamese (4 credits)