Area Studies
African Studies
The minor in African studies allows students to develop a coherent and comprehensive understanding of the African continent through an interesting range of courses taught by an active group of preeminent Africanist scholars. This interdepartmental minor is structured to give the student interdisciplinary training in key fields of knowledge: literature and the arts, social science and historical studies.
East Asian Studies
In the East Asian Studies Program, students develop a coherent and comprehensive understanding of the great civilizations of the Asia Pacific region through an interdisciplinary major or minor. The program also endeavors to make East Asian study an integral part of the liberal arts education at Smith.
Global South Development Studies
Global South Development Studies, a multidisciplinary social science program, explores the transformation of African, Asian, Latin American and Middle Eastern societies since the 16th century. In this minor, students use a comparative framework to examine social, economic, political and ideological change in these regions as they respond to asymmetrical contact with the wider global economy.
Latin American and Latino/a Studies
The interdisciplinary major in Latin American studies acquaints students with the emergence of new cultures that developed as a result of the meeting of Native Americans, Africans and Europeans and examines contemporary issues affecting the area. The department also offers a minor concentrating on the experiences of Latinos/as in the United States.
Middle East Studies
The minor in Middle East studies allows students to complement their major with a concentration of courses that treat the region in all its historical, political, social and cultural complexities. The geographical region broadly conceived stretches from north Africa to southwest and central Asia.
South Asia Studies
The interdisciplinary South Asia concentration brings together the perspectives of various areas of study, from art history to economics, to develop a sustained curricular and cocurricular focus on the region.
