Independent Study

» Cultural Area Studies Department I.S. Titles

The one-semester Independent Study in the junior year may be completed before, after, or in conjunction with overseas study and is supervised by the student’s core department. Since one of the most important features of the CAS program is its interdisciplinary character, the two-semester senior I.S. allows the student to work on a project that integrates the disciplinary work in the core department with knowledge obtained in the area courses. Each senior works closely with a faculty advisor from his or her core department, writing a major paper and defending it in an oral exam with the advisor and a second faculty member.

For their Independent Study projects, recent majors have explored the cultural and economic impact of the maquiladora factories in the Mexican border region, joint economic ventures in China, Gandhi’s theory of basic education for modern India, the awakening of Igbo (Nigeria) cultural identity, a comparison of non-violence in the East and West, and utopian themes in the work of Latin American authors.