- Area studies
In the
humanities andsocial sciences , area studies areinterdisciplinary fields of research and scholarship pertaining to a particular geographical,nation al/federal, or cultural region. The term exists primarily as a general description for what are, in the practice of scholarship, many heterogeneous fields of research. Area studies often involve the disciplines ofhistory ,political science ,sociology ,cultural studies ,languages ,geography ,literature , and other fields. Interdisciplinary area studies became increasingly popular in the United States and Western scholarship after World War II. Fields are defined differently from university to university, and from department to department, but common area-studies fields include:*
African studies
**Egyptology *
American studies (in theUnited States this has traditionally referred primarily toNorth America and especially the U.S.)
**American Studies in Britain
**African American studies
**Appalachian studies
**Asian American studies
**Canadian studies
**Native American studies
*Latin American studies
**Chicano studies *
Asian studies
**Central Asian studies
**Middle Eastern studies (or Near Eastern studies)
***Assyriology
***Iranian studies
***Islamic studies
***Judaic studies
**East Asian studies
***Sinology
***Japanology
***Korean studies
***Okinawan studies
**South Asian studies
*** Indian studies
****Dravidology
**Southeast Asian studies
***Burma studies
***Thai studies
***Philippine Studies *
European studies
**Byzantine studies
**Classical studies
**Celtic studies (includes Irish, Scottish & Welsh studies)
**Dutch studies
**German studies
**Romance studies
**Scandinavian studies
**Slavic studies *
Pacific studies
**Australian studies
**New Zealand studies Other interdisciplinary research fields such as
women's studies (also known asgender studies ), andethnic studies (includingAfrican American studies ,Asian American studies ,Latino/a studies , andNative American studies ) are not part of area studies but are sometimes included in discussion along with it.Some entire institutions of higher education (tertiary education) are devoted solely to area studies such as
School of Oriental and African Studies , part of theUniversity of London , or theTokyo University of Foreign Studies in Japan.In contrast to
cultural studies , area studies (e.g. Scottish and Irish studies) often include diaspora and emigration from the area studied.
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