Calvin Approves Asian Studies Major

May 27, 2004 == MEDIA ADVISORY
Contact Dan Bays at 616-526-6992 or dbays@calvin.edu

Just two decades ago Larry Herzberg taught four students in Calvin's first
Chinese language class.

Now student demand has led to the creation of a new Asian Studies major at the
college.

In fact, enrollments in both Chinese and Japanese courses at Calvin College
have been on a steady increase in recent years with the 2003-2004 school year
seeing an all-time record for the number of students taking the two languages.

History professor Daniel Bays, director of Calvin's Asian Studies Program,
says the new major is a response to a steadily increasing number of students
putting together specialized majors that were in effect Asian studies majors.

Calvin already is the only Christian college in the country that offers four
continuous years of language studies in Chinese and Japanese. Now it becomes
the only Christian college where students can major in Asian Studies.

"Our curriculum is more in the category of a university," says Bays. "We now
draw students to Calvin (specifically) for Asian language studies."

For Herzberg the new major is simply "a dream come true."

The Asian Studies major will offer students three possible tracks.

One will require eight Chinese language classes and four classes in Asian
history, religion, philosophy, art history or political science. A second
track is identical, but will focus on Japanese studies. The third track will
require four language classes in either Chinese or Japanese and eight in Asian
studies from other fields.

The interdisciplinary scope of the major was easily achieved thanks to the
extra focus on Asia in recent years across several Calvin departments.
Calvin's history department added Asian history to the curriculum 20 years
ago, while the Calvin philosophy department sponsors both faculty and student
exchanges with major Chinese universities.

Calvin also is sending increasing numbers of students to study in China,
Japan, Korea and Hong Kong, through semester abroad and summer programs. A
dozen Calvin students will be involved in such programs this summer alone.

Many of these cultural exchanges are funded through an $800,000 grant from the
Freeman Foundation, which has also enabled Calvin's Asian Studies program to
expand its library resources.

Calvin' growing interest in Asia reflects the growing place of Asia in the
worldwide church as well as on the world stage says Bays.

"The body of Christ worldwide is Asian, it's African, and it's Latin American
more than it is European and North American in terms of where the really
dynamic growth is happening," Bays notes. "And of course, there are some
practical things such as China becoming a powerhouse economically and
politically around the world. It's not an option to ignore Asia. A lot of our
students are instinctively aware of that."

NOTE TO MEDIA: Calvin currently has 10 students in China with Larry Herzberg
as part of a May interim class. Those students will return in mid-June.
Meanwhile Dan Bays will be in China from June 1 to June 16, making contacts for
next fall's Semester in China program and lecturing. And, beginning June 10
and continuing through the end of June, about 12 Calvin students will depart
for China, Japan, Hong Kong and South Korea for two-month-long internship
experiences in those countries.

-end-
Received on Thu May 27 11:21:47 2004