Announcement from AMES
Dear AMES Students and AMES-interested students.
We are excited to announce the approval of our new AMES CONCENTRATION TRACK: Comparative Asian and Middle Eastern Studies (AMES). This more flexible track allows students to design their own AMES concentration in:
1. Regional studies, such as South Asian Studies or the Indian Ocean World, or
2. A topical focus, such as AMES and the Arts or AMES and the Environment.
Below is the Concentration description and a major declaration worksheet. Students wanting to declare a major in Global Studies with a Comparative AMES concentration this semester, can now do so. The University Registrar has already added our approved course list into the system and this information will be uploaded to the AMES website shortly.
Please note that you need to work with an advisor from the AMES CORE faculty to design your concentration focus and plot out a course plan.
We hope that this new, more flexible concentration allows many more AMES interested students to pursue their interests.
Thank you,
Rani D. Mullen and Anne Rasmussen for AMES
Comparative Asian and Middle Eastern Studies (AMES) at a Glance
The Global Studies Major - Comparative Asian and Middle Eastern Studies follows a liberal arts interdisciplinary approach, allowing students to focus on changing social and cultural formations and their implications for people’s lives. Using a variety of approaches, perspectives, and methods of inquiry, this track emphasizes understanding the histories, politics, social structures, arts, and cultures that shape Asia and the Middle East.
A major in Global Studies following the Track in Comparative Asian and Middle Eastern Studies requires at least 33 semester credit hours. Students are required to take AMES 250 and AMES 493 (AMES 493 also fulfills the COLL 400 requirement). Students will take their remaining courses from a variety of regional and disciplinary options taught by AMES Core Faculty and will design a portfolio of study in conjunction with their faculty advisor. Language courses relevant to the student’s track are strongly encouraged and may be used to satisfy major requirements or taken as a part of a student’s individual focus. Students will design tracks of study (or course plans) that pursue critical inquiry of large thematic issues that cross regional boundaries, such as race, gender and sexuality, the environment, religious movements, social justice, imperialism, migration, colonialism and decolonization, performance and identity, protest and censorship, popular culture and media, and human rights. Students are further encouraged to incorporate internship, honors, service learning, and/or study away/study abroad into their degree plan. The culminating senior project should reflect the student’s individual portfolio of study and thematic and regional focus.
DEGREE REQUIREMENTS [at least 33 credits required*]: Beyond the foundational courses, students should enroll in courses taught by any of the 36 +/- AMES Core Faculty teaching in a variety of disciplines and about a diverse array of societies and cultures.
I. Foundation = 6 credits
· AMES 250
· AMES 493
II. Area or Regional Frameworks: courses that focus on a particular area in the AMES region = At least 9 credits
III. Disciplinary Frameworks: courses that approach the AMES region through the lens of a particular discipline = At least 9 credits
· 3 semesters of an AMES Music Ensemble may count as one course requirement.
IV. Individual Focus = At least 9 credits
· This is the place in the course plan where students define, in consultation with a faculty member, an individual focus to their major, depending on their interests, their experience, their language and area requirements, and their opportunities for credits associated with internships, service learning, study away, and study abroad.
* To make more room for courses in a student’s Individual Focus, up to 3 courses may overlap, satisfying criteria for both II and III. When this is the case, students will still need 33 credits toward the concentration.
* Please fill up this worksheet if you are interested in this concentration.
