Global Studies Major, Eurasian Studies Concentration
Program Requirements
- Total Units Required: 36
This concentration focuses on the social, cultural, and economic interconnections among the peoples of Eurasia. We define Eurasia as the vast landmass stretching east to west from China to Europe and north to south from Siberia into the Caucasus, the Crimean Peninsula, Central Asia, and the Himalayas. Ancient trade routes that crisscrossed the interior spaces of Europe and Asia, known collectively as the Silk Road, served as a globalizing thoroughfare for the movement of peoples, cultural practices, religious values, and commodities. Recent infrastructural improvements in these areas — as well as international economic, environmental, and political concerns — have once again opened up transnational economic networks and cross-cultural exchange along these "new silk roads."
Concentration Objectives
For the Eurasian Studies concentration, students draw from a variety of disciplines to study not only specific geographical regions but also vital intersections and interrelationships among regions and peoples.
General Requirements
One semester of language must be completed before declaring the major.
- Students must complete a minimum of 36 units in Global Studies, including at least three courses focused on a world area.
- Students must complete at least 24 units at the 3000 level or above, including courses across a minimum of three academic disciplines.
- Students must complete at least 6 units at the 4000 level, no more than 3 of which may be directed research or independent study.
- In addition to the 36 units, students must complete a four-semester sequence of courses in one modern language appropriate to their concentration.
These requirements may be fulfilled only with college-level course work undertaken during a student's undergraduate enrollment. Courses must be taken for a grade, and a student must receive a grade of C+ or higher in all courses.
This concentration requires 36 units of coursework:
- 3 units of core coursework: GLOBAL 3020 Global Futures
- 6 units of introductory coursework (1000-2000 level)
- 27 units of advanced Eurasian studies coursework (3000-4000 level) dealing with three different regions (e.g., Eastern, Western, and Central Eurasia) or with a transregional focus
- Students must fulfill the standard Global Studies language requirement with Arabic, Chinese, Hebrew, Hindi, Persian, Russian, or another Eurasian language as determined in consultation with their Global Studies advisor.
- The study abroad location must be in a country relevant to this concentration area. Otherwise, the student will not meet the study abroad requirement and will need to complete an additional 3000- or 4000-level course on campus.
Note: A single course may satisfy more than one of the distribution requirements (i.e., disciplinary or regional). Some of these requirements may be completed while abroad.
Advanced Courses
Students choose nine courses from current, relevant, internationally focused course offerings in the following areas of study.* All courses must be approved by the student's Global Studies advisor in order to count for the major. Visit the concentration webpage and concentration course list for the full list of options.
| Code | Title | Units |
|---|---|---|
| Anthropology | ||
| ANTHRO 3053 | Nomadic Strategies and Extreme Ecologies | 3 |
| ANTHRO 3285 | Warriors, Merchants, Monks, and Courtesans: Ancient Narratives of Globalization in Google Earth | 3 |
| ANTHRO 3617 | Past and Present Cultural Environments | 3 |
| ANTHRO 3740 | Social Landscapes in Global View | 3 |
| ANTHRO 3775 | Ancient Eurasia and the New Silk Roads | 3 |
| ANTHRO 4033 | Culture, Illness, and Healing in Asia | 3 |
| ANTHRO 4761 | The Pleistocene Peopling of Eurasia | 3 |
| ANTHRO 4803 | Advanced GIS Modeling and Landscape Analysis | 3 |
| Applied Linguistics | ||
| APL 4023 | Second-Language Acquisition and Technology | 3 |
| APL 4111 | Linguistics and Language Learning | 3 |
| APL 4692 | Reading Across Languages and Cultures: Theory, Research and Practice | 3 |
| Arabic | ||
| ARAB 3070 | Iraqi Literature | 3 |
| Art History | ||
| ARTARCH 3160 | Early Chinese Art: From Human Sacrifice to the Silk Road | 3 |
| ARTARCH 4735 | 1968 and Its Legacy | 3 |
| Chinese | ||
| CHINA 3410 | Early and Imperial Chinese Literature | 3 |
| CHINA 3420 | Modern and Contemporary Chinese Literature | 3 |
| CHINA 4240 | Culture and Politics in the People's Republic of China: New Approaches | 3 |
| Classics | ||
| CLASSICS 3450 | Greek History: The Dawn of Democracy | 3 |
| CLASSICS 3460 | Greek History: The Age of Alexander | 3 |
| Comparative Literature | ||
| COMPLITTHT 3203 | Worldwide Translation: Language, Culture, Technology | 3 |
| East Asian Languages and Cultures | ||
| EALC 3250 | Topics in Early Modern Korea: Guns, Tobacco, and Sweet Potato: A History of Material Culture | 3 |
| EALC 3400 | Writing New Horizons: Explorers, Envoys, and Other Encounters in Korean Travel Narratives | 3 |
| EALC 4710 | Topics in Japanese Culture | 3 |
| Environmental Studies | ||
| ENST 3710 | Applications in GIS | 3 |
| Film and Media Studies | ||
| FILM 4750 | Screening the Holocaust | 3 |
| FILM 4850 | Visualizing Orientalism: Art, Cinema and the Imaginary East 1850-2000 | 3 |
| FILM 5507 | The 007 Saga: James Bond and The Modern Media Franchise | 3 |
| Global Studies | ||
| GLOBAL 3006 | Global Health and Language | 3 |
| GLOBAL 3008 | Topics in Global Studies | 3 |
| GLOBAL 3176 | Chinese Economy in World History | 3 |
| GLOBAL 3248 | Intercultural Communication | 3 |
| GLOBAL 3511 | Global Surveillance Culture | 3 |
| GLOBAL 3512 | "Model Minority": The Asian American Experience | 3 |
| GLOBAL 3602 | Borders, Checkpoints, and the Frontiers of Literature | 3 |
| GLOBAL 3641 | Anarchism: History, Theory, and Praxis | 3 |
| GLOBAL 3740 | Russian Literature and Empire | 3 |
| GLOBAL 3740 | Russian Literature at the Borders: Multiculturalism and Ethnic Conflict | 3 |
| GLOBAL 3750 | Topics in Russian Literature and Culture (WI) | 3 |
| GLOBAL 3750 | Topics in Russian Literature and Culture: Madmen or Visionaries? (WI) | 3 |
| GLOBAL 3750 | Topics in Russian Literature and Culture: The Short Story (WI) | 3 |
| GLOBAL 3750 | Topics in Russian Literature and Culture: The Soviet Experiment through Novels and Novellas | 3 |
| GLOBAL 379 | Nabokov and Others: Emigration, Literature, Identity | 3 |
| GLOBAL 379 | Nabokov in Europe and America | 3 |
| GLOBAL 3822 | From McDonald's to K-pop: New Movements in East Asia | 3 |
| GLOBAL 3860 | Empire in East Asia: Theory and History (WI) | 3 |
| GLOBAL 3866 | Interrogating "Crime and Punishment" | 3 |
| GLOBAL 3890 | Furies and Die-Hards: Women in Rebellion and War | 3 |
| GLOBAL 4007 | Global Studies Research Methods Proseminar and Assistantship | 3 |
| GLOBAL 4007 | Global Studies Research Methods Proseminar and Assistantship | 3 |
| GLOBAL 4036 | Children of Immigrants: Identity and Acculturation | 3 |
| GLOBAL 4414 | Gender Analysis for International Affairs | 3 |
| GLOBAL 4622 | Labor and Labor Movements in Global History | 3 |
| GLOBAL 4644 | The Indochina Wars | 3 |
| GLOBAL 4868 | Russia and the West: Creating and Representing Identity | 3 |
| GLOBAL 4869 | Reading War and Peace | 3 |
| GLOBAL 4897 | Global Asias | 3 |
| Hindi | ||
| HINDI 3090 | Understanding Indian (Hindi/Urdu) Literature: Through Text and Images (Visual) | 3 |
| History | ||
| HISTORY 3018 | Hot Peace: U.S.-Russia Relations Since the Cold War | 3 |
| HISTORY 3030 | The Global War on Terrorism | 3 |
| HISTORY 3039 | Islamic History: 600-1200 | 3 |
| HISTORY 3085 | 19th Century China: Violence and Transformation | 3 |
| HISTORY 3092 | Vienna, Prague, Budapest: Politics, Culture and Identity in Central Europe | 3 |
| HISTORY 3093 | Becoming "Modern": Emancipation, Antisemitism and Nationalism in Modern Jewish History | 3 |
| HISTORY 3104 | War, Genocide and Gender in Modern Europe | 3 |
| HISTORY 3131 | Gender, Sexuality and Communism in 20th-Century Europe | 3 |
| HISTORY 3137 | Socialist and Secular? A Social History of the Soviet Union | 3 |
| HISTORY 3139 | All Measures Short of War | 3 |
| HISTORY 3148 | The First World War and the Making of Modern Europe | 3 |
| HISTORY 3214 | Religion and Politics in South Asia | 3 |
| HISTORY 3277 | Hinduism and the Hindu Right | 3 |
| HISTORY 3295 | Modern South Asia | 3 |
| HISTORY 3315 | Historical Methods-Transregional History | 3 |
| HISTORY 3351 | Out of the Shtetl: Jewish Life in Central and Eastern Europe in the 19th and 20th Centuries | 3 |
| HISTORY 3458 | Cultural Encounters: China and Eurasia Since the Middle Ages | 3 |
| HISTORY 3682 | The Cold War, 1945-1991 | 3 |
| HISTORY 3683 | The U.S. War in Iraq, 2003-2011 | 3 |
| HISTORY 3715 | Unruly Populations: Biopolitics in 20th-Century Europe | 3 |
| HISTORY 3813 | Between Sand and Sea: History, Environment, and Politics in the Arabian Peninsula | 3 |
| HISTORY 3951 | Imperialism and Sexuality: India, South Asia and the World | 3 |
| HISTORY 4092 | Humanitarianism and Human Rights | 3 |
| HISTORY 4150 | Advanced Seminar: Inventing India | 3 |
| HISTORY 4154 | Postcolonial South Asia: From Decolonization to Globalization | 3 |
| HISTORY 4275 | Palestine, Israel, and the Arab-Israeli Conflict | 3 |
| Jewish, Islamic, and Middle Eastern Studies | ||
| JIMES 3031 | Topics in JIMES: Education in Divided Societies - the Israeli Case | 3 |
| JIMES 3036 | Antisemitism: History, Causes, Consequences | 3 |
| JIMES 3520 | Fantasy, Horror, Sci-Fi: Genre-Fiction in Arabic Literature | 3 |
| JIMES 3540 | Anthropological and Sociological Study of Muslim Societies | 3 |
| JIMES 3623 | Topics in Islam: Islam in the Indian Ocean | 3 |
| JIMES 3623 | Topics in Islam: Religious Authority in Modern Islam | 3 |
| JIMES 3730 | Topics in Near Eastern Cultures | 3 |
| JIMES 3730 | Topics in Near Eastern Cultures: Arabs in Isreael: Politics, Society & Citizenship | 3 |
| JIMES 3730 | Topics in Near Eastern Cultures: Of Dishes, Taste, and Class: History of Food in the Middle East | 3 |
| JIMES 3730 | Topics in Near Eastern Cultures: Slavery in the Middle East | 3 |
| JIMES 4043 | Race and Ethnicity in the Middle East and North Africa | 3 |
| JIMES 4450 | Topics in Islam | 3 |
| JIMES 4450 | Topics in Islam: Readings in Islamic Political Thought and Practice | 3 |
| JIMES 4461 | History of Political Thought in the Middle East | 3 |
| Political Science | ||
| POLSCI 3720 | Topics in International Politics: Ethnic Conflict: Causes and Remedies | 3 |
| POLSCI 3930 | History of Political Thought III: Liberty, Democracy, and Revolution | 3 |
| Psychological and Brain Sciences | ||
| PSYCH 4130 | Contemporary Topics in Social Psychology | 3 |
| Russian Language and Literature | ||
| RUSS 3320 | Russian Theater, Drama and Performance: From Swan Lake to Punk Prayer | 3 |
| RUSS 3500 | The 19th-Century Russian Novel (WI) | 3 |
| RUSS 3721 | Dostoevsky's Novels | 3 |
| Sociology | ||
| SOC 3150 | Sociology of Immigration | 3 |
| Women and Gender Studies | ||
| WGSS 4153 | Decolonization to Globalization: How to End an Empire | 3 |
- *
Students may submit a request to add a course by following the instructions for the Petition Process.
Additional Requirements and Information
Study Abroad
- We strongly encourage students to study abroad. For those who do not study abroad and receive credit toward the Global Studies General Requirements, an additional 3-unit course at the 3000 or 4000 level is required.
- We strongly prefer students to select a study abroad location and regional specialization consistent with their chosen language of study (e.g., if a student wishes to study in Latin America, they must satisfy their language requirement with either Portuguese or Spanish).
- Students may receive a maximum of 6 credits from a single semester, 12 credits from a year, or 3 credits from a summer term of study abroad.
- Study abroad credit only counts at the 3000 level.
- Students may apply no more than 12 total credits to the Global Studies major from study abroad, the School of Continuing & Professional Studies, summer school at other U.S. universities, or any combination thereof.
- To receive credit for a summer course completed at another institution, a student should fill out the Approval for Non-WashU Course Credit form with Arts & Sciences to take the course for "general credit" and then petition to have the course count as an elective toward their Global Studies major.
- Students may not receive credit for January Intensive Term (J-Term) study abroad programs; these programs are too short in duration.
Latin Honors
- Students must graduate with an overall grade point average of 3.65 or higher to qualify for Latin Honors.
- Students must submit an intent form and be accepted for candidacy.
- Students should enroll in GLOBAL 4985 during the fall of senior year and in GLOBAL 4986 during the spring of senior year (under the corresponding section number of the faculty member overseeing the student's thesis).
Language Requirement
All Global Studies majors must satisfy a language requirement that entails both the successful completion of four semesters of a modern language for a letter grade and placement into the third year of that language.
Available modern languages include Arabic, Chinese, French, German, Hebrew, Hindi, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Persian, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, and Swahili.
Please see the FAQs on the Global Studies website for more information.
Contact Info
| Contact: | Toni Loomis |
| Phone: | 314-935-5073 |
| Email: | aloomis@wustl.edu |
| Website: | https://globalstudies.wustl.edu |