FALL 2016

EAST ASIAN STUDIES COURSES

ANT 251 City and Countryside in China

EAS 214 Korean Film and Culture

EAS 215 Premodern Korean History

EAL 231 Culture of the Lyric in Traditional

China

EAL 234 Self and Society in Chinese Fiction

and Drama

EAL 241 Literature and Culture in

Premodern Japan

FYS 150 Writing and Power in China

HST 313 Writing Gender Histories of East

Asia

MUS 220 Music of Japan

Advisory Committee

Marnie S. Anderson

History and East Asian Studies

(Director, 2016-2017)

Ernest Benz
History

Ellie YunjungChoi

East Asian Studies

Suzanne Z. Gottschang

Anthropology and East Asian Studies

Kimberly Kono

East Asian Languages and Literatures

Jessica D. Moyer

East Asian Languages and Literatures

Sujane Wu
East Asian Languages and Literatures

Dennis Yasutomo
Government and East Asian Studies

Participating Faculty

Daniel K. Gardner
History

Jamie Hubbard
Religion and Buddhist Studies

Maki Hirano Hubbard
East Asian Languages and Literatures

Sabina Knight

Comparative Literature

Margaret Sarkissian

Music

Thinking of majoring

in

EAST ASIAN STUDIES?

East Asia has taken center stage internationally. Analysts predict that it will be the most powerful economic force in the world in the 21st century. To understand today’s world we must understand East Asia today. But it isn’t the present alone that deserves study. China, Japan, and Korea represent some of the oldest and richest cultural traditions in the world. Their millennia of art, religion, literature, and history inspire and challenge us.

East Asian Studies combines language study with work in anthropology, history, film, literature, religion, art and government. Majors graduate from the program with a firm grasp on the culture and history of the region, as well as a command of at least one language.

did you know that…

  • East Asia has experienced the most rapid economic growth of any region since the 1980s (askasia.org).
  • China is ranked 2nd in leading exporters of world merchandise trade, Japan ranked 4th, Republic of Korea ranked 11th (WTO, 2007).
  • Japan spends the highest proportion of GDP on research and development of new technology in the world (jetro.go.jp).
  • Mandarin Chinese is the world’s most spoken first language with over 870 million speakers.
  • The world’s first movable print was made in Korea in the early 15th century.
  • Japan has one of the highest life expectancies in the world. Japanese people live an average 4 years longer than U.S. citizens.
  • South Korea ranked 1st for the highest percentage of households accessing the internet via broadband with 95 percent, Taiwan ranked 5thwith 81 percent, and the U.S. 20th with 60 percent (Global Household Broadband Penetration Rankings, 2008).
  • Paper was first made in China – one of the earliest known examples is preserved in a Central Asian tomb from the 3rd century A.D.

What can you do with an EAS major?

Graduates of Smith’s EAS major

have gone on to work in:

-Law (Real Estate Attorney, Underwriter)

-Software Programming

-Nonprofit foundations (Human Rights Director, Director of Development & Communications)

-Museums/Arts (Gallery Manager, Professional Photographer, Reference Librarian)

-Medicine (Optometrist, Physician, Physician Assistant)

-Finance/Banking (Investor Relations, Financial Advising, Accounting, Research Associate)

-Education (High School Teachers in Japan and U.S. and College professors)

-Sales/Marketing (Advertising Account Executive, International Sales Representative, Director of Sales)

-Mass Media/Communications (Journalist, TV/Radio Broadcaster, Freelance Writer and Editor, Manager of Diversity Initiatives)

Graduates in Smith’s EAS program

also continued their studies in:

East Asian Studies (MA)

Law (SJD)

Economics (Masters)

Journalism

Library/Information Sciences (Masters)

Philosophy (Ph.D.)

Medicine (M.D.)

History (Ph.D.)

Anthropology (Ph.D.)

major REQUIREMENTS

Basis Courses:

1) 2nd year of an East Asian language

2) EAS 100 One Fifth of Humanity: Modern East Asia

3) One survey course on the pre-modern civilization of an East Asian country

Elective Courses: Six elective courses, four of which should constitute an area of concentration in one civilization (China, Japan, Korea) or a thematic concentration (e.g. comparative modernization, religious traditions, women and gender, political economy, thought and art). Other concentrations may be formulated in consultation with an advisor. Electives must include courses in both the Humanities and Social Sciences, courses on more than one East Asian country, and one of the elective courses must be a Smith seminar on East Asia. No more than two 100-level courses shall count as electives. At least half of the Major credits must be taken at Smith.

MINOR REQUIREMENTS

Basis Courses: EAS 100 One Fifth of Humanity: Modern East Asia

Elective Courses: Five elective courses at the 200 or 300 level.