Department of East Asian Studies

Faculty

Professor Emeritus
Kwan Koo Yun, Ph.D., Stanford University (Department of Economics)

Professors
Andrew Sangpil Byon, Ph.D., University of Hawai’i at Manoa
Susanna Fessler, Ph.D., Yale University

Associate Professors
Peter Banseok Kwon, Ph.D., Harvard University
Anthony DeBlasi, Ph.D., Harvard University
John Person, Ph.D., University of Chicago (Department Chair)
Aaron Proffitt, Ph.D., University of Michigan at Ann Arbor

Lecturers
Kazumi Ohata, B.A., Tsuda University
Fang Wang, M.S., Beijing Language & Culture University
Michiyo Kaya Wojnovich, M.S., University at Albany

Affiliated Faculty
Michitake Aso, Ph.D., University of Wisconsin at Madison (Department of History)
Cheng Chen, Ph.D., University of Pennsylvania (Department of Political Science)
Angie Y. Chung, Ph.D., University of California, Los Angeles (Department of Sociology)
Youqin Huang, Ph.D., University of California, Los Angeles (Department of Geography and Planning)
Zai Liang, Ph.D., University of Chicago (Department of Sociology)
Tom Narins, Ph.D., University of California, Los Angeles (Department of Geography and Planning)

The Department of East Asian Studies offers courses in the languages and cultures of the three major civilizations of East Asia: China, Japan and Korea. The department provides instruction in elementary, intermediate and advanced Chinese, Japanese, and Korean. There are also courses taught in English on Chinese, Japanese, and Korean literature, philosophy, religion, history, geography, economics and political science.

Careers

Graduates of the Department traditionally enter careers in teaching, international trade, U.S. government, and the travel industry. The degree is also excellent preparation for professional graduate programs in business administration (M.B.A.), law, librarianship, and Teaching English as a Second Language. The department strongly encourages students interested in East Asian Studies to double-major in a separate department or college. Combinations with particularly strong employment potential are East Asian Studies and economics, business, and political science.

Special Programs or Opportunities

The University maintains exchange programs in China with Beijing University, Beijing Normal University, Fudan University, East China Normal University, and Sichuan University. These programs provide students an opportunity to study Chinese language and selected topics in the humanities and social sciences in China for summers, one semester, or an entire academic year. The university also maintains similar exchange programs with Kansai Gaidai, Kwansei Gakuin, Waseda University, and Tokyo University of Foreign Studies in Japan and with Seoul National University and Yonsei University in Seoul, Korea. All departmental majors are strongly encouraged to participate in these exchange programs in order to gain first-hand experience of life in contemporary East Asia.

As Education Abroad programs re-launched in 2022, only a limited number of programs and destinations are available, evaluated based on global travel conditions, health and safety guidelines, SUNY System Administration re-opening protocols, and UAlbany priorities. The process of review and approval to re-open programs and destinations will be ongoing. Please visit UAlbany Education Study Abroad’s website for further details.

Degree Requirements

The Department of East Asian Studies offers three majors. each is a separate and distinct course of study leading to the B.A. degree. These are 1) the major in Chinese Studies, 2) the major in Japanese Studies; and 3) the major in East Asian Studies. Students may not double major in East Asian Studies and Chinese Studies or Japanese Studies. Students are permitted to double major in Chinese Studies and Japanese Studies. Requirements for these programs are as follows:

Requirements Chinese Studies Bachelors of Arts:

(40 credits minimum)

Language Requirements (22 Credits):

  • AEAC 101 Elementary Chiniese I (4)
  • AEAC 102 Elementary Chiniese II (4)
  • AEAC 201 Intermediate Chinese I (4)
  • AEAC 202 Intermediate Chinese II (4)
  • AEAC 301 Advanced Chiniese I (3)
  • AEAC 302 Advanced Chiniese II (3)

Chinese History Requirements (6 Credits):

  • AEAC/AHIS 379 History of Premodern China (3)
  • AEAC/AHIS 380 History of Modern China (30

Research Methods (3 Credits):

  • AEAS 305 East Asian Studies Research Methods (3)

Upper-level elective courses: two courses from among AEAC and AEAS 300 and 400 level courses (6 credits):

  • AEAC 364 China’s Economic History (3)
  • AEAC 373 Government and Politics in the People’s Republic of China (3)
  • AEAC 374 Crime and Punishment in Traditional China (3) AEAC 389 Topics in Chinese Literature, History, and Culture (3)
  • AEAC 414 Classical Chinese I (3)
  • AEAS 321 Exploring the Multicultural City (3)
  • AEAS 357 Zen Buddhism (3)
  • AEAS 450 Readings in Buddhist Texts (3)

Capstone Course (3 Credits):

  • AEAS 490 East Asian Research Studies Capstone (3)

Requirements Japanese Studies Bachelors of Arts:

(40 credits minimum)

Language Requirements (22 Credits):

  • AEAJ 101 Elementary Japanese I (4)
  • AEAJ 102 Elementary Japanese II (4)
  • AEAJ 201 Intermediate Japanese I (4)
  • AEAJ 202 Intermediate Japanese II (4)
  • AEAJ 301 Advanced Japanese I (3)
  • AEAJ 302 Advanced Japanese II (3)  

Japanese History Requirements (6 Credits):

  • AEAJ/AHIS 384 History of Premodern Japan (3)
  • AEAJ/AHIS 385 History of Modern Japan (3)

Research Methods Requirement (3 Credits):

  • AEAS 305 East Asian Studies Research Methods (3)

Upper-level elective courses: two courses from among AEAJ and AEAS 300 and 400 level courses (6 credits)

  • AEAS 321 Exploring a Multicultural City (3)
  • AEAS 357 Zen Buddhism (3)
  • AEAS 389 Topics in East Asian history, Literature, and Culture (3)
  • AEAS/AEAJ 438 World War II: The Japanese View (3)
  • AEAJ 435 Meiji Literature In translation (3)
  • AEAS 450 Readings in Buddhist Texts (3)
  • AEAJ 460 Readings in Japanese Religious Studies (3)
  • AEAJ 389 Topics in Japanese Literature, history, and Culture (3)
  • AEAJ 436 Fascism: Japan and Beyond (3)

Capstone Course (3 Credits):

  • AEAS 490 East Asian Studies Research Methods (3)

Requirements for the East Asian Studies Bachelors of Arts:

(40 credits minimum)

East Asian Studies: Comparative Track

Language Requirement (16 Credits):

Students must complete two years of a single East Asian language:

  • Chinese:
    • AEAC 101 Elementary Chiniese I (4)
    • AEAC 102 Elementary Chiniese II (4)
    • AEAC 201 Intermediate Chinese I (4)
    • AEAC 202Intermediate Chinese II (4)
  • Japanese:
    • AEAJ 101 Elementary Japanese I (4)
    • AEAJ 102 Elementary Japanese II (4)
    • AEAJ 201 Intermediate Japanese I (4)
    • AEAJ 202 Intermediate Japanese II (4)
  • Korean:
    • AEAK 101 Elementary Korean I (4)
    • AEAK 102 Elementary Korean II (4)
    • AEAK 201 Intermediate Korean I (4)
    • AEAK 202 Intermediate Korean II (4)

East Asian Premodern History Requirement (3 Credits):

Choose one:

  • AEAC/AHIS 379 History of Premodern China (3)
  • AEAJ/AHIS 384 History of Premodern Japan (3)
  • AEAK/AHST 376 History of Premodern Korea (3)

East Asian Modern History Requirement (3 Credits):

Choose one:

  • AEAC/AHIS 380 History of Modern China (3)
  • AEAJ/AHIS 385 History of Modern Japan (3)
  • AEAK/AHST 377 History of Modern Korea (3)

Research Methods Course (3 Credits):

  • AEAS 305 East Asian Studies Research

Upper-level Elective courses: four courses from among AEAC, AEAJ, AEAK, and AEAS 300 and 400 level courses (12 credits)

Capstone Course (3 Credits):

  • AEAS 490 East Asian Studies Research Capstone (3)

East Asian Studies: Korean Studies Track

Language Requirements (22 Credits):

  • AEAK 101 Elementary Korean I (4)
  • AEAK 102 Elementary Korean II (4)
  • AEAK 201 Intermediate Korean I (4)
  • AEAK 202 Intermediate Korean II (4)
  • AEAK 301 Advanced Korean I (3)
  • AEAK 302 Advanced Korean II (3)

Korean History Requirement (6 Credits):

  • AEAK/AHST 376 History of Premodern Korea (3)
  • AEAK/AHST 377 History of Modern Korea (3)

Research Methods Course (3 Credits):

  • AEAS 305 East Asian Studies Research Methods (3)

Upper-level elective courses: two courses from among AEAK and AEAS 300 and 400 level courses (6 credits)

Capstone Course (3 Credits):

  • AEAS 490 East Asian Studies Research Capstone (3)

Honors Program in the Three East Asian Studies Majors

Students with 3.50 grade point average in one of the department’s majors are eligible for its Honors Program. In addition to completing the regular requirements for the major in Chinese Studies, East Asian Studies, or Japanese Studies, students in the Honors Program complete a further six credits of AEAS 495, Colloquium in East Asian Studies.

At the beginning of the fall semester (preferably of the senior year), students will submit their honors proposals to the faculty. If the faculty approves a proposal, the student will be permitted to enroll in AEAS 495 (3 credits), which consists of directed readings and conferences involving appropriate members of the faculty. The project will be evaluated by the project adviser at the end of the fall semester and if the student is making appropriate progress, they will be permitted to enroll in AEAS 495 (3 credits) again in the spring semester. The project will be formally evaluated by the Department Honors Committee no later than the mid-term point in the second semester of the senior year. The final version of the project must be submitted by the last day of classes during the second semester of the senior year.