Area Studies

REVIEWING academic programs on the baccalaureate and postgraduate levels in our universities, I noticed that Area Studies, as major programs, are few and far between. What prompted my interest in Area Studies as a major, or at least as a minor requirement of a program in a major, is teaching students to acquire global perspectives in light of globalization. Area Studies would present to students broader perspectives of regions in the world. A student who majors in Philippine literature at the master's level could enroll in a related Sociocultural Studies subject under the Philippine Studies Department. This would equip said student with a rich cultural context — a broad, integrated understanding of Philippine society.

Geography of Regional or Area Studies. Discussing Area Studies, let us first know what we mean by "region." A region is a group of countries or areas geographically close to each other. Geographers refer to a group of countries or areas that share common features as geographic regions. Drawing from these groupings, Area Studies are also referred to as Regional Studies. A region is a "large area" with common physical or human characteristics. It has three components or features: natural environment, physical elements, and socio-cultural contexts." Physical features include mainly "natural features such as landforms, ecosystems, and drainage basins." Cultural features include "religion, language, and local practices." "As an essential concept in geography, a region allows geographical areas to be described in regional terms." Based on what regions are, Regional Studies would focus on any of the three features. It could focus on the Sociocultural context of a region, on the humanities, or on the Social Sciences. Area or Regional Studies would "define the boundaries in the practice of scholarship while involving the many heterogeneous fields of research, both in the Social Sciences and in the Humanities." Obviously, Area or Regional Studies involve several disciplines, hence the content of the academic programs would be "interdisciplinary fields of research and scholarship pertaining to particular geographical, national/federal, or cultural regions. (https://www.britannica.com/topic/social-science)