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
“Asian Studies at Bowdoin,” program brochure, 1989.
Faculty meeting minutes in 1986 documented a “Hearing for the Proposal of an Asian American Studies Program.” In January 1987, professors Kidder Smith and John C. Holt proposed the establishment of a major in “Asian Studies.” Kidder and Holt roughly outlined the requirements for this major, stating that it had to include a concentration in East Asian or South Asian studies, language expertise, and a concentration in a “traditional” academic discipline. One month later, the Curriculum and Educational Policy Committee recommended that the faculty approve the proposed major and minor.