| |
| |
May 03, 2026
|
|
|
|
|
[PRELIMINARY] Course Catalog 2026-2027
East Asian Studies Major
|
|
The major consists of a minimum of 10 full courses (or the equivalent).
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 pathways:
- Advanced language pathway
- Students aim at building advanced proficiency in Chinese, Japanese, or Korean language.
- Disciplinary pathway
- Students build depth in an academic discipline, such as literature, history, cinema, environmental studies, art history, religion, or politics. Students may also design interdisciplinary pathways.
- Korean studies pathway
- Students may complete this pathway through coursework at Oberlin and through study away at an approved institution.
|
Transfer of Credit Toward the Major
The East Asian studies program will accept up to the equivalent of four full courses of transfer credit to count toward the East Asian studies major requirements. Two types of approval are needed. (1) Approval from the Office of the Registrar that the transfer course meets Oberlin’s transfer-of-credit eligibility standards and (2) approval from the department/program chair that the course(s) may count to the major. Current students taking post-matriculation credit must secure this approval before registering for course(s). Students who enter Oberlin as transfer students will have their pre-matriculation credit evaluated by the Office of the Registrar for elective credit, and they can later seek approval from the department/program for applying coursework to major requirements. Course of Study
Majors are strongly encouraged to take at least one EAST 100-level course early in the major in order to acquire foundational knowledge about East Asia. Majors should consult with their major advisor to design a coherent course of study that combines language study, interdisciplinary breadth, and disciplinary depth. 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 have previous language training or exposure are still required to take a minimum of two full language courses at Oberlin 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. Notes: - One of the two required upper-level seminar courses must center on the society of the student’s language focus. An EAST course with a regional breadth that includes the student’s language focus may count to fulfill this requirement.
- Only one 400-level language upper-level seminar course may count toward the upper-level seminar course requirement.
East Asian Studies Major Elective Courses
Return to the summary of requirements. Notes: - Two of the six required elective courses must center outside of the society of the student’s language focus. An EAST course with regional breadth that includes the student’s language focus may count to fulfill this requirement.
- Only one 300- or 400-level language elective course may count toward the elective course requirement.
Chinese Society Elective Courses
Return to the top of the list of elective courses. - ARTH 223 - Modern Chinese Art ⇒ cross-listed with EAST 222
- ARTH 329 - Cultural Property? Art, Heritage, Ownership ⇒ cross-listed with EAST 329
- CIME 206 - Modern Chinese Literature and Film: The Art of Adaptation ⇒ cross-listed with EAST 206
- CIME 309 - Chinese Popular Cinema and Public Intellectualism ⇒ cross-listed with EAST 309
- 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 134 - Masterworks of Premodern Chinese Literature
- EAST 147 - Chinese Ethnic Minorities in Multimedia Representations
- EAST 206 - Modern Chinese Literature and Film: The Art of Adaptation ⇒ cross-listed with CIME 206
- EAST 218 - Ways of Seeing in Classical Chinese Poetry
- EAST 222 - Modern Chinese Art ⇒ cross-listed with ARTH 223
- 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 261 - On the Edges of China ⇒ cross-listed with HIST 261
- EAST 294 - Eco-Dynasties: China’s Environmental Past, Present, and Future ⇒ cross-listed with HIST 294
- EAST 305 - Tang Dynasty Tales: Fiction, History, Hearsay
- EAST 309 - Chinese Popular Cinema and Public Intellectualism ⇒ cross-listed with CIME 309
- EAST 327 - Mapping China and East Asia ⇒ cross-listed with HIST 327
- EAST 329 - Cultural Property? Art, Heritage, Ownership ⇒ cross-listed with ARTH 329
- EAST 334 - Ecocritical Approach to Chinese Art ⇒ cross-listed with ARTH 334
- HIST 105 - China: From Civilizations to Early Modern Empire ⇒ cross-listed with EAST 121
- HIST 106 - Modern China ⇒ cross-listed with EAST 122
- HIST 233 - The Long War in Modern China ⇒ cross-listed with EAST 233
- HIST 261 - On the Edges of China ⇒ cross-listed with EAST 261
- HIST 294 - Eco-Dynasties: China’s Environmental Past, Present, and Future ⇒ cross-listed with EAST 294
- HIST 327 - Mapping China and East Asia ⇒ cross-listed with EAST 327
Japanese Society Elective Courses
Return to the top of the list of elective courses. - ARTH 225 - Pleasure and Design in Confinement: Japanese Prints in and after Edo ⇒ cross-listed with EAST 225
- EAST 075 - Japan, Nature, Culture
- 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 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 210 - Japan’s Film and Modern Literature
- EAST 215 - Early Modern Japanese Literature and Culture
- EAST 220 - The Art of the Japanese Book: Material Culture, Libraries, Museums
- EAST 225 - Pleasure and Design in Confinement: Japanese Prints in and after Edo ⇒ cross-listed with ARTH 225
- EAST 249 - Green Japan
- EAST 250 - The Great Wave: A Maritime View of Japanese History ⇒ cross-listed with HIST 250
- EAST 284 - Tokyo ⇒ cross-listed with HIST 284
- EAST 307 - Occupied Japan, 1945-1952 ⇒ cross-listed with HIST 307
- EAST 322 - Avant Garde in Japanese Literature, Art and Film
- EAST 332 - Discrimination in Modern Japan ⇒ cross-listed with HIST 482
- EAST 340 - The Tale of Genji
- HIST 159 - Japan: Earliest Times to 1868 ⇒ cross-listed with EAST 131
- HIST 160 - Modern Japan ⇒ cross-listed with EAST 132
- HIST 250 - The Great Wave: A Maritime View of Japanese History ⇒ cross-listed with EAST 250
- HIST 307 - Occupied Japan, 1945-1952 ⇒ cross-listed with EAST 307
- HIST 482 - Discrimination in Modern Japan ⇒ cross-listed with EAST 332
- RELG 233 - Haunted Archipelago: Ghosts, Spirits, and the Occult in Japanese Religion ⇒ cross-listed with EAST 133
Regional Elective Courses
Return to the top of the list of elective courses. - ARTH 152 - Approaches to Chinese and Japanese Art ⇒ cross-listed with EAST 143
- ARTH 226 - Monks, Miracles, and Merit ⇒ cross-listed with EAST 226
- 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 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 226 - Monks, Miracles, and Merit ⇒ cross-listed with ARTH 226
- EAST 328 - The Great War and Asia, 1914-1925 ⇒ cross-listed with HIST 328
- EAST 335 - Buddhism, Healing, and the Body in East Asia ⇒ cross-listed with RELG 335
- 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
- HIST 328 - The Great War and Asia, 1914-1925 ⇒ cross-listed with EAST 328
- 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
- RELG 137 - Introduction to Religion: Buddhism in East Asia ⇒ cross-listed with EAST 137
- RELG 229 - Religious Rituals in East Asia ⇒ cross-listed with EAST 153
- RELG 240 - Religious Objects in East Asian Religions ⇒ cross-listed with EAST 154
- RELG 335 - Buddhism, Healing, and the Body in East Asia ⇒ cross-listed with EAST 335
|
|
|
|
