International Studies 

Meet the Faculty | Departmental Information Sheets

Academic Program
Negotiating the twenty-first century will require increasingly sophisticated understandings of other societies, and the regional and global political, economic, and cultural systems in which we live.

To help meet these challenges, the International and Area Studies (IAS) degree program offers students a unified approach to study, understand, and participate in the new emerging global order; to broaden their perspective by helping them to become sensitive to the complexities of relations and dialogues among different cultures, sophisticated and mature in their ability to think about the contemporary global condition, and capable of creative work in the international field.

Degree Program
The Bachelor of Arts degree in International and Area Studies offers students three degree options.

Asian Studies (B.A.)
The program is designed to promote learning and thought about the varieties of civilizations representative of Asia. The political, economic, and security dimensions of the region are addressed. Special attention is paid to the great powers in Asia, including Japan, China, the Koreas, and India. The uniqueness of each country is acknowledged and the social conditions that prompt action are explored.

European Studies (B.A.)
The European studies program offers qualified students the opportunity to pursue an integrated concentration in a unified field of study that combines language training and interdisciplinary coursework. The structure of the program is intended to provide exposure to the contemporary patterns of politics, economics, international relations, law, culture, and society, as well as the historical developments of the new and enlarged Europe.

Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies (B.A)
The course offers an opportunity to study a region and a civilization of historic and cultural importance whose current development is integral to the political, economic, and cultural development of Western society. It combines the study of Islam as a religion and civilization, and the Middle East, a region at the crossroads and the center of world attention.
 
International Studies and Business 
The Bachelor of Science degree in International Studies and Business is a joint-degree program intended to provide each student with a dynamic professional education and an understanding of the political, economic, and cultural complexities of the world. Business education, economics, language training, and a liberal arts education are integrated with an area specialization.

Special Opportunities
Honors Thesis Program. This program encourages a more intensive study of an international or regional area of study than is required for the regular major. The program provides for close contact between students and their advisors so that students can receive guidance throughout their research and writing. Students who successfully complete the program requirements will be awarded either “High Honors” or “Honors.”

International Study Abroad. This is an integral component of our program which serves to enhance our students educationally as well as culturally and linguistically. Students are encouraged to participate in study abroad programs sponsored by the College or those offered by cooperating American institutions. Those opportunities include study in China, Europe and the Middle East.

Double Major Options. Students may opt to concentrate in another field in addition to International and Area Studies. Often this includes a field that overlaps with or complements IAS, such as economics, a related foreign language (e.g., French or Spanish) or an applied field of study such as mass communications or business.

International Language Fluency. All International and Area Studies majors must be able to demonstrate proficiency equivalent to four college level semesters. Languages offered at Emory & Henry include Arabic, offered through study abroad on location in Jordan, Chinese, French, German, Greek and Spanish.

Students who wish to study a foreign language not offered at Emory & Henry can do so through summer language study at cooperating institutions either in the United States or abroad.

Courses
Core Requirements
• Introduction to International Relations
• Internal Political Economy
• Seminar in Comparative and International Politics
• International Dispute Resolution
• Senior Seminar

Area Requirements
• Asian Studies
• Asian Religions
• History of China
• Sources of Asian Traditions
• Comparative Politics of Asia
• Advanced Political Systems of Asia
• Asian Political Thought
• Independent Study
• Internship
• Honor Thesis

European Studies
• Comparative European Politics
• Religious Individuals Who Changed History
• State, Economy, and Society in Early Modern and Modern Europe
• Geography and Economy of Europe
• Regional and International Implications of the New Europe
• History of Political Philosophy
• Jurisprudence
• Democracy, Civilizations, and World Order
• Independent Study
• Internship
• Honors Thesis

Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies
• Islam’s Culture and Civilization
• Comparative Politics in the Middle East and North Africa
• Geography of the Middle East
• Judaism and Islam
• Contemporary Islamic Legal Thought: Law, State, and World Order
• America’s Approach to the Middle East
• Independent Study
• Internship
• Honors Thesis

Faculty
With each of its members holding the Ph.D. degree, the faculty of the International and Area Studies program is distinguished by its scholarship, service, and teaching. All have published widely. They are frequently called upon to serve as political commentators, guest lecturers, and consultants. It is a department dedicated to assisting students to achieve their best.

Samir N. Saliba, Program Director
Professor of Political Science
Geraldine Meyung and Dr. Clyde R. Alley Chair in International Studies.
ssaliba@ehc.edu or 276-944-6186

Alise Coen, Assistant Professor of Political Science and International Studies
acoen@ehc.edu or 276-944-6936