This exhibit uses archival holdings in the Library’s Special Collections & Archives to explore some of Bowdoin’s earliest Asian students, Asian affinity groups, and the development of the Asian Studies program. Our goal is not to present a definitive history, but to introduce a more holistic history of Bowdoin College and bring to light the Asian students and alumni who are an integral, yet under-acknowledged presence at the College.
Asian Studies Program
“Intercollegiate Sri Lankan Educational Program,” study abroad brochure.
In 1982, Professor John C. Holt in the Religion Department founded the Inter-collegiate Sri Lanka Education (ISLE) Program for a consortium of private liberal arts colleges, including Bowdoin. This semester-long program brought students interested in South Asian studies to Sri Lanka, where they participated in classes, discussions, and fieldwork. Later, in 1986, Professor Holt became the first chair of Bowdoin's Asian Studies Program.