About the field of Asian Studies: Studying another culture can be a complicated undertaking, but many people start with the language and literature of that culture. If you can speak a language, you can communicate with others who speak that language and thus learn far more than a book or a lecture can ever tell you. Similarly, learning the literature of another culture enables you to hear the stories of that people in their own words. Language studies can cover anything from basic vocabulary to advanced linguistics , while literature can touch on the range of issues facing a particular society. Studies in Asian language, literature and culture prepare students to begin building an understanding of the rich heritage of a large percentage of the world population. There are obviously a number of different Asian languages, so specialization is necessary. For many who are unfamiliar with Asian languages, they can be quite difficult to master given that many of them are built on complicated character sets rather than the limited alphabets of many other languages. For those interested in studying other cultures, there are a variety of other related fields including: African Studies , French Studies , German Studies , Italian Studies , Middle Eastern Studies , Portuguese Studies , Russian and Slavic Studies , and Spanish Studies . Asian studies may also encompass a range of other issues related to Asian culture including: history , politics , philosophy , art , and religion .