Requirements for the Major

Number of Units

8 units, not including language courses through 203. The 8 units may include the SIP (if undertaken as an EAS, CHIN, or JAPN program SIP). Students interested in completing SIPs in EAS, or in the Japanese or Chinese programs are encouraged to undertake them in the Fall Term in conjunction with the senior seminar and should consult with potential advisors as early as possible.

Required Courses

A. Language courses:

For Chinese: CHIN 201, 202, 203 (or demonstrated equivalent competence)
For Japanese: JAPN 201, 202, 203 (or demonstrated equivalent competence)

B. Non-language courses: (5 Units)

HIST 103 Introduction to East Asian Civilizations (offered only in Winter Term)

Three courses from among:

CHIN 225, 235, 245; JAPN 236, 237, 238, 239, 240, 245, 250

C. Senior Seminar (1 unit)

EAST 490 East Asian Studies Senior Seminar (offered only in Fall Term)

Electives (3 units)

Three, non-language courses from at least two different areas below. (With written permission, students may apply one course from a six-month study abroad program or two relevant courses from a nine-month program toward the elective requirement.) Note: students who wish to count on-campus, one-time offering courses related to East Asia that are not on the list below should consult the director.

Literature: CHIN 225, 235; JAPN 236, 237, 238, 239
Culture: CHIN 222 245, 260, 295; JAPN 240, 245, 250, 295
Humanities: HIST 280, 282, 283, 285, 288, 289, 397; THEA 290; RELG 250

Requirements for the SIP

Doing a SIP in EAS offers students the opportunity to study independently a topic of interest in the multi-disciplinary area of EAS.   Customarily, SIPs in EAS have taken either the form of translations, combined with a critical essay contextualizing the translation, or an original research project, based on library research or some combination of such research with surveys, interviews, site visits, etc. Any SIPs that fall outside one of these more general categories must have the prior written approval of an advisor before it can be pursued. The final SIP product should consist of 30-40 pages, double-spaced, 12-font, excluding notes and bibliography. Those working in another medium should consult with their advisor concerning the length of their SIP. Except in extraordinary circumstances, EAS SIPs will be conducted in the Fall term only and will be for one credit.

Students undertaking SIPs that involve human subjects, including interviews, must first obtain approval from the College’s Institutional Review Board. Please see the following website and follow the instructions given there:https://reason.kzoo.edu/irb/steps

Students are encouraged to look at prior SIPs, which are cached on the K website.

Schedule

SPRING OF JUNIOR YEAR: By mid-term, students should have chosen an area of interest and begun consulting with a faculty member in the program. Those still on study abroad will have to do this via email. After discussion and finding the most appropriate SIP advisor, students will work up a SIP proposal, outlining the contours of study and, as far as can be known at the time, the research question to be addressed. By the end of the term, after discussion with the advisor, a proposal should be in a form acceptable to both. The student must submit a document that will constitute a SIP proposal of at least a page in length, before being permitted to register for the SIP course. Keep in mind that this is a provisional plan; the research question is still a bit tentative. [The program reserves the right to assign SIP advisors to even out faculty workload.]

Students who are on campus in spring should complete a SIP contract and register for a SIP during course pre-registration for Fall. Students who are on study abroad in the Spring term should, nonetheless, do all of the above, submitting their SIP proposals by the end of Spring term via email, although actual SIP registration may occur at the beginning of Fall term.

SUMMER: Once the proposal has been approved, students should begin to compile an annotated bibliography of sources. As the student consults and finds sources, s/he should be refining his or her research question as well. It is highly recommended that students maintain periodic email contact with the SIP advisor during the Summer.

FALL OF SENIOR YEAR: If the student has not been on campus in the Spring and registered for a SIP at that time, s/he should register for a SIP with the regulation SIP Contract Form by the end of first week.

All SIP students must submit to the advisor, their annotated bibliography (literature review) and refined research question at the same time.

Students should meet regularly with her or his advisor during the term.

A full draft of the SIP should be submitted by the Tenth week of Fall term. Students should expect to do multiple and at times extensive rewriting and editing during the Winter break

The final version of the SIP is due the Friday of the first week of Winter term.

Useful Websites for Researching, Writing, and Completing a SIP

Kalamazoo College SIP Information

How to prepare an annotated bibliography

Writing a research paper (Purdue Online Writing Lab)
(This site is extensive and includes information on annotated bibliographies and doing research.)

Writing a research paper (The Writer’s Handbook)

How to write an A+ research paper
(This site has useful and easy-to-use checklists for the paper.)