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 for the Major in Chinese Studies (40 credits minimum) for students matriculating Fall 2024 and beyond

  • Language requirement: A EAC 101, A EAC 102, A EAC 201, A EAC 202, A EAC 301, and A EAC 302 (22 credits)
  • Chinese History requirement: A EAC/A HIS 379 and A EAC/A HIS 380 (6 credits)
  • Research Methods course: A EAS 305 (3 credits)
  • Upper level elective courses: two courses from among A EAC and A EAS 300 and 400 level courses (6 credits)
  • Capstone course: A EAS 490 (3 credits)

Requirements for the Major in Japanese Studies (40 credits minimum) for students matriculating Fall 2024 and beyond

  • Language requirement: A EAJ 101, A EAJ 102, A EAJ 201, A EAJ 202, A EAJ 301, and A EAJ 302 (22 credits)
  • Japanese History requirement: A EAJ/A HIS 384 and A EAJ/A HIS 385 (6 credits)
  • Research Methods course: A EAS 305 (3 credits)
  • Upper level elective courses: two courses from among A EAJ and A EAS 300 and 400 level courses (6 credits)
  • Capstone course: A EAS 490 (3 credits)

Requirements for the Major in East Asian Studies (40 credits minimum) for students matriculating Fall 2024 and beyond

East Asian Studies: Comparative Track

  • Language requirement: students must complete two years of a single East Asian language: A EAC 101, A EAC 102, A EAC 201 and A EAC 202; or A EAJ 101, A EAJ 102, A EAJ 201, and A EAJ 202; or A EAK 101, A EAK 102, A EAK 201, and A EAK 202 (16 credits)
  • East Asian Premodern History requirement: A EAC/A HIS 379, A EAJ/A HIS 384, or A EAK/A HST 376 (3 credits)
  • East Asian Modern History requirement: A EAC/A HIS 380, A EAJ/A HIS 385, or A EAK/A HST 377 (3 credits)
  • Research Methods course: A EAS 305 (3 credits)
  • Upper level Elective courses: four courses from among A EAC, A EAJ, A EAK, and A EAS 300 and 400 level courses (12 credits)
  • Capstone course: A EAS 490 (3 credits)

East Asian Studies: Korean Studies Track

  • Language requirement: A EAK 101, A EAK 102, A EAK 201, A EAK 202, A EAK 301, and A EAK 302 (22 credits)
  • Korean History requirement: A EAK/A HST 376 and A EAK/A HST 377 (6 credits)
  • Research Methods course: A EAS 305 (3 credits)
  • Upper level elective courses: two courses from among A EAK and A EAS 300 and 400 level courses (6 credits)
  • Capstone course: A EAS 490 (3 credits)

Requirements for the Major in Chinese Studies (34 credits minimum) for students matriculating prior to Fall 2024

  • East Asian Studies Foundations courses: six (6) credits from among A EAC and A EAS 100 and 200 level courses (except A EAC 101 and A EAC 102)
  • Language requirement: A EAC 201, A EAC 202, A EAC 301, and A EAC 302 (up to 16 credits)
  • Information Literacy course: A EAS 305
  • Upper level courses: six (6) credits from among A EAC and A EAS 300 and 400 level courses
  • Capstone course: A EAS 490

Requirements for the Major in Japanese Studies (34 credits minimum) for students matriculating prior to Fall 2024

  • East Asian Studies Foundations courses: six (6) credits from among A EAJ and A EAS 100 and 200 level courses (except A EAJ 101 and A EAJ 102)
  • Language requirement: A EAJ 201, A EAJ 202, A EAJ 301, and A EAJ 302 (up to 16 credits)
  • Information Literacy course: A EAS 305
  • Upper level courses: six (6) credits from among A EAJ and A EAS 300 and 400 level courses
  • Capstone course: A EAS 490

Requirements for the Major in East Asian Studies (34 credits minimum) for students matriculating prior to Fall 2024

  • East Asian Studies Foundations courses: nine (9) credits from among A EAC, A EAJ, A EAK, or A EAS 100 and 200 level courses (except A EAC 101, A EAC 102, A EAJ 101, A EAJ 102, A EAK 101, and A EAK 102)
  • Language requirement: ten (10) credits of intermediate language courses in any one language taught by the Department (A EAC 201 and 202; or A EAJ 201 and 202; or A EAK 201 and 202)
  • Information Literacy course: A EAS 305
  • Upper level courses: nine (9) credits from among A EAC, A EAJ, A EAK, and A EAS 300 and 400 level courses
  • Capstone course: A EAS 490

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 A EAS 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 A EAS 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 A EAS 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.