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International StudiesInterdisciplinary FacultyJoseph A. Adler Jianhua Bai Jean Blacker Sarah Blick Clifton C. Crais Ruth W. Dunnell Bruce L. Gensemer Shuchi Kapila Nurten Kilic-Schubel Rita S. Kipp Joseph L. Klesner Alex R. McKeown Linda Metzler Michelle Mood Natalia Olshanskaya Charles A. Piano Clara Román-Odio Kai P. Schoenhals Edward M. Schortman Vernon J. Schubel Wendy F. Singer, Director Henry Spiller David N. Suggs Hideo Tomita Patricia A. Urban Stephen E. Van Holde The International Studies Program challenges students to confront what is surely an increasingly global society using the foundations of the liberal arts. It depends upon language study, experience abroad, and interdisciplinary courses here at Kenyon to provide opportunities for majors to work together to analyze, interpret, and discuss relevant issues in the modern world. The MajorTo major in international studies, students must be adventurous because they will have to live and study in a distant country and adapt the curriculum to meet their intellectual interests. Focusing on Asia, Africa, the Middle East, Latin America, and the former Soviet Bloc, the International Studies Program has three complementary goals for its students: (1) to focus on a particular place and study its language, history, culture, and society; (2) to understand that place in the larger context of global society; and (3) to learn the tools of one discipline in depth while also engaging in interdisciplinary studies. The international studies major allows students to shape their own curriculum based on participating fields, which are as diverse as music and economics, environmental studies and anthropology. But it also provides valuable structure to help students develop necessary skills and modes of thinking that enhance their understanding of both their region of specialization and the world. The primary departments that participate in the program are anthropology, economics, history, modern languages and literatures, political science, and religious studies. In addition, students often take related courses in art history, Asian studies, English literature, environmental studies, legal studies, sociology, and women’s studies. Critical to this intellectual encounter is the interaction among the majors, who advise each other across classes, sharing their study-abroad experiences and research interests. There are common experiences in the international studies sophomore course and senior seminar, each of which requires individual work and group projects. Similarly, students work closely with area-studies faculty members in each region. Kenyon faculty bring to the encounter their own specialties and experience in Mexico, Central America (Honduras), South America (Argentina), China, Japan, India, Central Asia, Indonesia, Nepal, Russia, Southern Africa (Botswana), and South Africa. Articulation with Other ProgramsBecause international studies is interdisciplinary and cross-cultural, many of the courses in the international studies major permit students to complete most of the requirements of some of Kenyon’s concentrations, minors, and even majors with little extra effort. We have found students interested in combining the global perspective of international studies with the following programs. International studies and Asian studies: Those international studies majors who concentrate in Asia will normally also fulfill the requirements for the Asian Studies Concentration. The only additional course required is ASIA 490, which also counts for the comparative requirement in international studies. Consult the director of Asian studies, Associate Professor of Chinese Jinhua Bai. International studies and African and African-American studies: Students who focus on Africa within international studies can usually complete the African and African-American Studies Concentration as well, by taking 1/2 unit of African-American studies and enrolling in AAAS 110, Introduction to African and African-American Studies. Consult the director of African and African-American studies, Assistant Professor of Sociology Marla Kohlman. International studies and environmental studies: Many international studies majors find that their focus of interest is on the environment in the region in which they will be studying. There are many valuable connections between international studies and the study of the environment. To combine the international studies major with environmental studies, plan early. Here are a few key steps: (1) use ENVS 112 as one of the foundation courses in international studies and ENVS 461 as one of the comparative courses; (2) use the biology or chemistry requirements for the Kenyon distribution requirement in the sciences; (3) choose courses that meet the needs of both programs from among the list of courses on the following pages; (4) plan to spend the junior year in one of the field-studies programs. Consult the codirector of environmental studies, Assistant Professor of Biology Siobhan Fennessy. International studies and public policy: A key realm of public policy is foreign policy, a topic in which many international studies majors have an interest. International studies majors who wish to complete a public policy concentration would be encouraged (1) to take public policy required courses ECON 101 and ECON 102 as international studies foundation courses and (2) to take ECON 336, ECON 392.01, PSCI 241, PSCI 363, or PSCI 461 as courses toward the international and comparative courses requirement. Consult one of the codirectors of the Public Policy Concentration, Professor of Political Science John Elliott of Professor of Economics James Keeler. International studies and women’s and gender studies: Women and development issues, the study of gender in a cross-cultural perspective, and comparative women’s studies are all relevant concerns to international studies majors. Linking the women’s and gender studies concentration to an international studies major requires taking WMNS 111 or an equivalent and WMNS 481, plus four more courses on women and/or gender. Some courses taken abroad will meet these requirements and others can be taken at Kenyon. Look for courses that meet both international studies and women’s and gender studies requirements at the same time. Consult the director of women’s and gender studies, Professor Laurie Finke. International studies and other concentrations, minors, and majors: See the directors or chairs of the applicable programs to talk about other ways of integrating your interests with an international focus. For example, students find various ways to incorporate the Integrated Program in Humane Studies into their international studies curriculum. New StudentsMost critical to new students is that they begin language study early. Also, they should speak to the director of international studies and to faculty members who have worked in the region that interests them. While this major appears to have more requirements than most majors, students tend to accomplish them with little extra effort. In the same way, the major is flexible enough to accommodate broad intellectual curiosity. Students need not choose international studies as their major until their sophomore year, but those considering it as a major are reminded that they must spend at least one semester of their junior year abroad in the geographical area in which they are concentrating—China, Japan, India, Central Asia, Latin America, the Middle East, Africa, French-speaking areas of Africa or Asia, or the lands of the former Soviet influence. First-year students should explore foundation and area-studies courses. This will give you a sense of different disciplines and the region in which you will be spending a semester or year as a junior. The Department of History offers area-studies courses and special seminars for first-year students, many of which are appropriate for international studies. Similarly, a number of courses in the Department of Religious Studies meet international-studies requirements—for example, the introductory course, Classical Islam, and Chinese Religions. CurriculumInternational studies is an interdisciplinary major with two complementary objectives: (1) Students explore several disciplines in the humanities and social sciences (and in some cases the arts and sciences as well), but also focus 3 units of work (six courses) in one single discipline; (2) students specialize in an area of the world—Asia, Africa, Latin America, or the former Soviet regions—learning a relevant language and at the same time studying that region’s connection to the rest of the world. To accomplish this, the major has eight overlapping requirements, most of which students meet anyway based on their international interests. 1. Foundation Courses (2 units). These are courses in a discipline that introduce its methodology. 2. The Sophomore Course (INST 201). This course explores the growth of international society. 3. Language. Language study one year beyond the introductory level is required. This may include languages taught at Kenyon or studied in summer programs and abroad. 4. Off-Campus Study. All international-studies majors spend a semester or year abroad in a country relevant to their program of study. 5. Disciplinary Concentration (3 units). Three units of coursework are focused in one discipline, which may be language or history, political science, religious studies, anthropology, economics, or another field approved by the director. 6. Area Concentration (2 units). Two units of area courses are devoted to the geographic region in which the student plans to study—for example, Latin America or China. Both discipline and area requirements are often completed abroad. Some classes, obviously, meet both requirements at the same time. 7. International and Comparative Courses (1 unit). These include any class that cuts across regions or covers an international subject. For example, ECON 331 (Economics of Development), HIST 471 (Connections: Making of the Modern World), and PSCI 363 (Global Environmental Politics) all meet these criteria. 8. Senior Seminar. This is a comparative course that brings all international-studies majors together to look at significant global problems from the various perspectives they bring based on their specializations. Senior ExerciseThe Senior Exercise in international studies usually comprises a twenty-five-page research paper that grows out of a student’s experience abroad and an understanding of that experience in comparative or broader terms. HonorsStudents wishing to pursue a degree with honors in international studies should consult the director as soon as possible. It is assumed that some of the research for honors will have been completed during the junior-year experience abroad. Of course, research continues at Kenyon. Candidates for honors will ordinarily submit an informal proposal in the spring of their junior year, or, if abroad, then immediately upon returning to the College in the fall. Honors candidates enroll in INST 497-498 and write an extended essay (thesis), which is defended before an outside examiner in May. See this catalogue’s description for INST 497-498. Kenyon requires a 3.20 GPA to pursue honors. Requirements for the Major1. Foundation Courses (2 units) For students interested in environmental studies, ENVS 112 may substitute for a foundation course. See the director of the international studies program, Associate Professor of History Wendy Singer. No more than 1 unit of foundation courses may be earned in a single department. It is advisable to finish foundation courses early, before studying abroad. Also, students should recognize that ECON 101 and 102 are required for advanced study in the Department of Economics. Likewise, ANTH 113 is a prerequisite for some other anthropology courses. 2. Sophomore Course (1/2 unit) 3. Language (at least 1 year beyond Introduction) 4. Off-Campus Study 5. Disciplinary Concentration 6. Area Concentration (2 units) Africa Asia Latin America Russia and Areas of Former Soviet Influence 7. International and Comparative Courses (1 unit) These courses vary widely from year to year. Please note that foundation courses cannot also be counted toward this requirement. Here are the offerings for 2002-03: ANTH 252 Anthropology of Religion 8. Senior Seminar (1/2 unit) Year CourseSenior Honors in International Studies The Honors Program is designed to recognize and encourage exceptional scholarship and to allow able students to do more independent work than is otherwise feasible. The senior honors candidate works with a member of the International Studies Committee to prepare an extended essay (thesis) on a topic of mutual interest, which is defended before an outside examiner in May. Note: students standing for honors also take the senior seminar. Prerequisite: permission of the International Studies Committee. First-Semester CoursesSenior Seminar in International Studies: Contemporary Global Issues This seminar will examine some of the problems inherent in cross-cultural comparison and will explore the ways in which a variety of disciplines grapple with these difficulties by investigating contemporary themes in international affairs. These will include (1) ethnic conflict; (2) comparative perspectives on development, including those that advocate small-scale development and those that argue for integration into the world economy; (3) religion and socioeconomic development; (4) contemporary environmental problems, particularly the international dimension of environmental pollution; (5) the ethics of armed intervention; (6) the emergence of a world popular culture and its consequences for national cultures; and (7) the challenge of democratization in the formerly communist countries of the former Soviet bloc. Prerequisites: international studies major and senior standing. Other First-Semester Courses Offered in DepartmentsSee the departmental listings for complete descriptions. The following provide credit toward the international studies major: ANTH 113 Introduction to Cultural Anthropology Second-Semester CoursesThe Expansion of International Society This course will explore the development of the modern international society of nation-states, from its beginnings in Western Europe in the sixteenth century, through the two major waves of European colonization of other areas of the world, to the decolonization following the Second World War. We will examine the roles of economic change, the spread of individualist ideas and attitudes, and power politics in promoting the expansion of the state system, capitalism, and aspects of Western culture from Europe to the rest of the world. The political and cultural resistance of colonized peoples to European expansion and the incorporation of colonial economies into the world economy will be examined. Chronologically, topics to be considered include the rivalry between emerging European empires and Islamic empires at the beginning of Western expansion; the conquest of the New World; nineteenth-century imperialism—explanations for the new wave of imperialism and consequences of it; and the rapid growth of independent states due to decolonization in the postwar period. Finally, the political, economic, and cultural/ religious consequences of imperialism and decolonization will be explored. Other Second-Semester Courses Offered in Departments See the departmental listings for a complete description. The following provide credit toward the international studies major: ANTH 113 Introduction to Cultural Anthropology
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