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Apr 20, 2025
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[PRELIMINARY] Course Catalog 2025-2026
East Asian Studies Major
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The major consists of a minimum of 9 full courses (or the equivalent), a language proficiency requirement, and a capstone requirement. Many students are required to complete 10–12 full courses to satisfy the language proficiency requirement.
Students must earn minimum grades of C- or P for all courses that apply toward the major.
 View the catalog page for the East Asian studies program.
This interdisciplinary major program combines language study with coursework in various disciplines.
Students choose courses to count toward the major according to one of the following programs of study:
- East Asian regional studies
- China or Japan (Chinese or Japanese studies)
- a discipline (e.g., history, religion)
- Chinese or Japanese language, literature, and film
- Students who choose this option must complete two semesters of 400-level language courses and must take a minimum of four non-language courses, including at least two literature-in-translation and/or film courses.
- Korean studies
- This concentration may be completed through coursework at Oberlin and study abroad at an approved institution.
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Note(s) on Requirements
- As part of the elective course requirement, students must complete two non-language courses that do not focus exclusively on their country of interest (regional courses count toward this requirement).
- Students may apply a maximum of two 400-level language courses toward the elective course requirement.
Transfer of Credit Toward the Major
The transfer of credit is not automatic. Students wishing to apply transfer credit to the major should be advised that a minimum of 6 full courses must be completed at Oberlin, including at least one year of language study and the capstone project. Course of Study
Since language study is an integral part of the East Asian studies major, interested students are strongly advised to begin language study in their first or second year at Oberlin. This is especially true of students who hope to spend time studying abroad. Honors in East Asian Studies
Admission to the Honors Program in East Asian Studies will be by invitation of the program faculty at the end of the second semester of the junior year. Students interested in being considered for honors are encouraged to indicate their interest and discuss the details of the program with any member of the program faculty early in their junior year. By May 1 of the junior year, the candidate will submit a tentative written proposal and bibliography. Students admitted to honors will present a progress report at mid-year to the faculty. The final written project will be submitted in May of the senior year, when the oral examination will be scheduled. Both the thesis and the oral examination will figure in the awarding of honors. Detailed Major Requirements
Language Proficiency Requirement
Return to the summary of requirements. - Students who wish to study the Chinese or the Japanese language must complete
- a minimum of two semesters at Oberlin College and
- CHIN 302 / JAPN 302 or the proficiency equivalent.
- Students who wish to study the Korean language must complete
- the equivalent of three or four semesters at an approved institution.
Students who enter the program with previous language training or exposure are still required to take a minimum of two full language courses to complete the major. Students with native or near-native proficiency in Chinese, Japanese, or Korean language must study another East Asian language to fulfill the requirements of the major. East Asian Studies Major Course Lists
Upper-Level Seminar Courses
Return to the summary of requirements. - ARTH 326 - Death and Dying in East Asian Art
- ARTH 327 - Image/Object: Material and Mediation in Chinese Art
- ARTH 329 - Cultural Property? Art, Heritage, Ownership ⇒ cross-listed with EAST 329
- ARTH 334 - Ecocritical Approach to Chinese Art ⇒ cross-listed with EAST 334
- CIME 309 - Chinese Popular Cinema and Public Intellectualism ⇒ cross-listed with EAST 309
- EAST 305 - Tang Dynasty Tales: Fiction, History, Hearsay
- EAST 307 - Occupied Japan, 1945-1952 ⇒ cross-listed with HIST 307
- EAST 309 - Chinese Popular Cinema and Public Intellectualism ⇒ cross-listed with CIME 309
- EAST 322 - Avant Garde in Japanese Literature, Art and Film
- EAST 327 - Mapping China and East Asia ⇒ cross-listed with HIST 327
- EAST 328 - The Great War and Asia, 1914-1925 ⇒ cross-listed with HIST 328
- EAST 329 - Cultural Property? Art, Heritage, Ownership ⇒ cross-listed with ARTH 329
- EAST 332 - Discrimination in Modern Japan ⇒ cross-listed with HIST 482
- EAST 334 - Ecocritical Approach to Chinese Art ⇒ cross-listed with ARTH 334
- EAST 335 - Buddhism, Healing, and the Body in East Asia ⇒ cross-listed with RELG 335
- EAST 340 - The Tale of Genji
- EAST 358 - Memory and Justice in East Asia ⇒ cross-listed with HIST 358
- EAST 364 - You Are What You Eat and Wear: Global Crops ⇒ cross-listed with HIST 364
- EAST 367 - The Other Great Game, 1860-1905 ⇒ cross-listed with HIST 367
- EAST 436 - Science and Technology in Early Modern and Modern East Asia ⇒ cross-listed with HIST 436
- EAST 482 - Discrimination in Modern Japan
- HIST 307 - Occupied Japan, 1945-1952 ⇒ cross-listed with EAST 307
- HIST 327 - Mapping China and East Asia ⇒ cross-listed with EAST 327
- HIST 328 - The Great War and Asia, 1914-1925 ⇒ cross-listed with EAST 328
- HIST 358 - Memory and Justice in East Asia ⇒ cross-listed with EAST 358
- HIST 364 - You Are What You Eat and Wear: Global Crops ⇒ cross-listed with EAST 364
- HIST 367 - The Other Great Game, 1860-1905 ⇒ cross-listed with EAST 367
- HIST 436 - Science and Technology in Early Modern and Modern East Asia ⇒ cross-listed with EAST 436
- HIST 482 - Discrimination in Modern Japan ⇒ cross-listed with EAST 332
- POLT 313 - Seminar: Transition to Capitalist Society in China
- RELG 335 - Buddhism, Healing, and the Body in East Asia ⇒ cross-listed with EAST 335
East Asian Studies Major Elective Courses
Return to the summary of requirements. Notes: - Students must complete two non-language courses that do not focus exclusively on their country of interest (regional courses count toward this requirement).
- Students may apply a maximum of two 400-level language courses toward this requirement.
East Asian Studies Courses
Return to the top of the list of elective courses. - EAST 075 - Japan, Nature, Culture
- EAST 107 - Women and Literary Culture in Japan
- EAST 110 - Japan on Stage and Screen: An Introduction to Kabuki, Noh, and Butoh
- EAST 115 - Premodern Japanese Literature
- EAST 118 - Modern Japanese Literature and Film
- EAST 120 - Chinese Calligraphy
- EAST 120H - Chinese Calligraphy
- EAST 121 - China: From Civilizations to Early Modern Empire ⇒ cross-listed with HIST 105
- EAST 122 - Modern China ⇒ cross-listed with HIST 106
- EAST 131 - Japan: Earliest Times to 1868 ⇒ cross-listed with HIST 159
- EAST 132 - Modern Japan ⇒ cross-listed with HIST 160
- EAST 133 - Haunted Archipelago: Ghosts, Spirits, and the Occult in Japanese Religion ⇒ cross-listed with RELG 233
- EAST 134 - Masterworks of Premodern Chinese Literature
- EAST 137 - Introduction to Religion: Buddhism in East Asia ⇒ cross-listed with RELG 137
- EAST 143 - Approaches to Chinese and Japanese Art ⇒ cross-listed with ARTH 152
- EAST 147 - Chinese Ethnic Minorities in Multimedia Representations
- EAST 153 - Religious Rituals in East Asia ⇒ cross-listed with RELG 229
- EAST 154 - Religious Objects in East Asian Religions ⇒ cross-listed with RELG 240
- EAST 163 - Korea and East Asia: From Ancient Times to the Present ⇒ cross-listed with HIST 181
- EAST 206 - Modern Chinese Literature and Film: The Art of Adaptation ⇒ cross-listed with CIME 206
- EAST 210 - Japan’s Film and Modern Literature
- EAST 215 - Floating World: Early Modern Japanese Literature and Culture
- EAST 218 - Ways of Seeing in Classical Chinese Poetry
- EAST 220 - The Art of the Japanese Book: Material Culture, Libraries, Museums
- EAST 222 - Modern Chinese Art ⇒ cross-listed with ARTH 223
- EAST 225 - Pleasure and Design in Confinement: Japanese Prints in and after Edo ⇒ cross-listed with ARTH 225
- EAST 230 - Women in Chinese Art: Patrons, Artists, and Craftswomen ⇒ cross-listed with ARTH 230
- EAST 233 - The Long War in Modern China ⇒ cross-listed with HIST 233
- EAST 234 - Screening China
- EAST 235 - China on the Global Stage
- EAST 241 - Living with the Bomb: A Comparative Study of Gender, Race, and Nationalism in Japan and the U.S.
- EAST 249 - Green Japan
- EAST 250 - The Great Wave: A Maritime View of Japanese History ⇒ cross-listed with HIST 250
- EAST 261 - On the Edges of China ⇒ cross-listed with HIST 261
- EAST 280 - The Korean War ⇒ cross-listed with HIST 280
- EAST 294 - Eco-Dynasties: China’s Environmental Past, Present, and Future
- EAST 305 - Tang Dynasty Tales: Fiction, History, Hearsay
- EAST 307 - Occupied Japan, 1945-1952 ⇒ cross-listed with HIST 307
- EAST 309 - Chinese Popular Cinema and Public Intellectualism ⇒ cross-listed with CIME 309
- EAST 322 - Avant Garde in Japanese Literature, Art and Film
- EAST 327 - Mapping China and East Asia ⇒ cross-listed with HIST 327
- EAST 328 - The Great War and Asia, 1914-1925 ⇒ cross-listed with HIST 328
- EAST 329 - Cultural Property? Art, Heritage, Ownership ⇒ cross-listed with ARTH 329
- EAST 332 - Discrimination in Modern Japan ⇒ cross-listed with HIST 482
- EAST 334 - Ecocritical Approach to Chinese Art ⇒ cross-listed with ARTH 334
- EAST 335 - Buddhism, Healing, and the Body in East Asia ⇒ cross-listed with RELG 335
- EAST 340 - The Tale of Genji
- EAST 358 - Memory and Justice in East Asia ⇒ cross-listed with HIST 358
- EAST 364 - You Are What You Eat and Wear: Global Crops ⇒ cross-listed with HIST 364
- EAST 367 - The Other Great Game, 1860-1905 ⇒ cross-listed with HIST 367
- EAST 401 - East Asian Studies Honors
- EAST 436 - Science and Technology in Early Modern and Modern East Asia ⇒ cross-listed with HIST 436
- EAST 482 - Discrimination in Modern Japan
Capstone Requirement
Return to the summary of requirements. The capstone project is an opportunity to bring to bear on a focused intellectual project the various elements of one’s East Asian studies training. Normally completed in the senior year, the capstone project may be done in one of three ways: - as a research project in addition to or more substantial than the regular assignments in a scheduled upper-level colloquium or seminar taught by an EAS faculty member;
- as a project in a 400-level Chinese or Japanese language course; or
- as a Winter Term project overseen by an EAS faculty member.
In all cases, students need to consult individually and early in the term with the EAS faculty member. There is a separate form of registration for the capstone project. Students who study away should complete the capstone in residence at Oberlin. Successful completion of honors fulfills the capstone project requirement. |
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