The undergraduate concentration and secondary field in East Asian Studies encompasses instruction in Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Manchu, Mongolian, and Vietnamese languages and history, religion, politics, philosophy and literature/media.
Director of Undergraduate Studies: Melissa McCormick
Undergraduate Coordinator: Naia Poyer
Gateway Courses
Students interested in a concentration in East Asian Studies should begin language study (Chinese, Japanese, Korean, or Vietnamese) in the first semester of their freshman year, if possible.
Spring 2024
CHNSLIT 134: Strange Tales: The Supernatural in Chinese Literature
Thomas Kelly
This course introduces students to traditional Chinese literature by focusing on “tales of the strange.” We will examine how ghosts, demons, fox spirits, and other liminal creatures haunt the literary imagination, stretching the possibilities of storytelling. Students will gain familiarity with masterpieces of Chinese literature and their intriguing afterlives in performance, film, and popular culture. Our discussions will consider how literary accounts of ghosts and the supernatural grapple with issues of gender and sexuality, the cultural meanings of death, the boundaries of human community, and the experience of historical trauma. We will focus on developing skills in close reading, while critically engaging theories of the “strange.” No background in Chinese is required.
EAFM 111: East Asian Media Studies
Alexander Zahlten
This course explores the explosion of media in East Asia and the resulting forms of media production, circulation and consumption that transform everyday life, economy and politics. From pop culture phenomena such as K-Pop, fan fiction and internet platforms such as Sina Weibo, 2channel or DC Inside, from mobile phone culture to video games and social networks used in political protests, complex media forms and practices are developing with lightning speed across the region and exerting global influence. The starting point of the course are questions such as: What effects does this intense new media environment have in East Asia? How are ways of thinking and behaving adjusting to completely new forms of media? What are the consequences for the future of East Asia? How do media influence us in ways that go beyond the films, music, games, news or other forms that they supply us with?
EASTD 153: Buddhism, Japanese Arts and Culture
Ryūichi Abe
This course is designed to enable students to analyze a wide range of Japanese cultural creations - including the traditional Noh theater, classical and modern Japanese paintings, and contemporary anime – by illustrating the influence of Buddhism both in their forms and at their depths. The first part of the course is a study of major Buddhist philosophy and its impact on Japanese literature. The second part observes Buddhist ritual practices and their significance for Japanese performing arts. The last part traces the development of Japanese Buddhist art, and considers the influence of Buddhism on diverse contemporary popular Japanese art media.
JAPNLIT 162: Girl Culture, Media, and Japan
Tomiko Yoda
In contemporary Japan, girls and girl culture are considered to be among the most significant sources of popular cultural trends. For instance, the girly aesthetics of “cute” (kawaii) has animated broad areas of Japanese culture since the 1980s and has become a global cultural idiom through the dissemination of Japanese entertainment medias and fashion products abroad. The course will explore a number of key questions about Japanese (and global) girl culture. How did the conceptualization of girlhood, girl culture, girl bodies, and girl affect transform in Japan from the early twentieth century to the present? How did various medias and media consumption help shape these trends? What can the exploration of “girls’ question” tell us, not only about Japanese socio-cultural history, but also about the general conditions of youth, gender, and media culture in the world today (e.g., the sea of pink at Women’s March, 2016)? We will begin the semester by unpacking key terms such as “girl,” “girlhood,” and “girl culture” in relations to the modern and contemporary notions of gender, maturity, and majority. The course materials include fiction, fashion magazines, teen films, manga, and animation. No prior knowledge of Japanese language or history is expected.
KORLIT 134: Korean Literature in Translation
Si Nae Park
This lecture course introduces undergraduate students to major works, writers, themes, and styles of Korean literature while exploring literature-inspired questions using Korean literature. All readings are in English. No knowledge of the Korean language is required. Knowledge of Korean culture and history is not required but is encouraged. Graduate students may take this course for credit after consultation with the instructor.