East Asian Studies
Overview
The East Asian Studies major is intended for students who wish to focus on a particular disciplinary issue in East Asian Studies -- art history, history, politics, religion, sociology, or a transnational issue.
Major Requirements
COURSEWORK
A minimum of 10 courses (to be selected from a pre-approved list of East Asia related courses, and not including the 2 units of senior comps work).
Survey Course
Students must select one course from the list below:
| AMST 280/DWA 246 | The United States and East Asia | 4 units |
| ARTH 160 | Introduction to East Asian Art | 4 units |
| DWA 253 | Security in Asia | 4 units |
| HIST 141 | East Asian Survey | 4 units |
| POLS 227 | East Asian Politics: China, Japan, Korea, and Taiwan | 4 units |
| RELS 160 | How to Live and Die Well in Buddhist Traditions | 4 units |
Language
At least two semesters of Chinese or Japanese (one of which must be either 202 or above)
Seminar
The following courses may count toward the one course seminar requirement. Students are encouraged to select from the list below in consultation with the program coordinator.
| AMST 272/EASN 272 | Asian Immigrants in American Society | 4 units |
| ARTH 395 | Special Topics in Art History | 4 units |
| CSLC 200 | Literature, Culture, Self: Being in the Wor(l)d | 4 units |
| DWA 235 | Nationalism and Ethnicity | 4 units |
| DWA 337 | Junior Seminar: International Relations Theory | 4 units |
| DWA 342 | Junior Seminar: Transnational Identity and International Relations | 4 units |
| HIST 300 | History Colloquium | 4 units |
| SOC 200 | Classical Sociological Theory: Marx, Weber, Durkheim | 4 units |
| SOC 205 | Contemporary Sociological Theory | 4 units |
| SOC 304 | Sociological Inquiry | 4 units |
| SOC 305 | Quantitative Research Methods | 4 units |
| SOC 310 | Sociological Field Methods | 4 units |
| UEP 301/POLS 301 | Urban Policy and Politics | 4 units |
| UEP 303 | Sustainable Development | 4 units |
| UEP 304 | Research Methods for Urban and Environmental Policy | 4 units |
Electives
Students must select six additional courses. In addition to CHIN and JAPN courses numbered 201 and above, students may select electives from the list below:
| AMST 270 | Asian American Literature | 4 units |
| AMST 272/EASN 272 | Asian Immigrants in American Society | 4 units |
| AMST 280/DWA 246 | The United States and East Asia | 4 units |
| ARTH 160 | Introduction to East Asian Art | 4 units |
| ARTH 266 | The Arts of Japan | 4 units |
| DWA 237 | Cuba, Vietnam, China: Communism in a Post-Communist World | 4 units |
| DWA 245/HIST 245 | China and the World | 4 units |
| DWA 342 | Junior Seminar: Transnational Identity and International Relations | 4 units |
| HIST 141 | East Asian Survey | 4 units |
| HIST 242 | Imperial China | 4 units |
| HIST 243 | Modern China: Colonialism, Nationalism, and Revolution | 4 units |
| HIST 245/DWA 245 | China and the World | 4 units |
| HIST 246 | Pre-Modern Korea | 4 units |
| HIST 247 | Pre-Modern Japan | 4 units |
| HIST 248 | Modern Japan | 4 units |
| HIST 249 | Modern Korea | 4 units |
| POLS 226 | Contemporary Chinese Politics | 4 units |
| POLS 227 | East Asian Politics: China, Japan, Korea, and Taiwan | 4 units |
| RELS 160 | How to Live and Die Well in Buddhist Traditions | 4 units |
| RELS 260 | Buddhist Thought From India to Japan | 4 units |
| RELS 261 | Contemporary Buddhist Thought | 4 units |
| RELS 266 | Sexuality and Gender in Buddhism | 4 units |
| RELS 276 | Empire and Religion in Asia and the Pacific | 4 units |
| RELS 365 | Buddhist Ethics | 4 units |
| SOC 340 | China's Environmental Challenges: A Sociological Perspective | 4 units |
Second-Stage Writing Requirement
Students will satisfy the Second-Stage Writing Requirement by submitting a paper in English from a 300-level or seminar course (in any subject) in the fall semester of the senior year, which will be evaluated by the appropriate program chair.
Comprehensive Requirement
Students will produce a 20-page paper written in English on an East Asian comparative/transnational topic, typically by completing a seminar course or a 2-unit Independent Study in the fall semester of the senior year. In the spring semester, the student will make any required revisions and prepare an oral presentation to be given in English.
College Honors
Students with an overall GPA of 3.25 and a major GPA of 3.50 may submit an honors research proposal at the end of the fall semester of the senior year. If the proposal is supported by two faculty advisors, the student will enroll in a 2-unit Independent Study in the spring to expand the fall semester senior comprehensive paper into a 40 page paper that will be evaluated to determine whether the student has achieved Honors.
Minor Requirements
Five courses (20 units) from the East Asian Studies course list. CHIN 201 and JAPN 201 or above may be counted toward the minor. At least two of these courses must be taken at Occidental.
Transfer Credit Policies
The East Asian Studies Program does not accept online courses for transfer.
Students who earn a score of 4 on the AP Chinese Language examination will earn four units of credit and be placed into CHIN 201 while those who earn a score of 5 will earn four units of credit and be placed in to CHIN 202. Students who earn a score of 4 on the AP Japanese Language examination will earn four units of credit and be placed into JAPN 201 while those who earn a score of 5 will earn four units of credit and be placed into JAPN 202. The department does not award credit or placement for IB or A-level examinations.
At most four courses will be accepted in transfer toward the major. At most two courses will be accepted toward in transfer toward the minor.
For students transferring from another institution or students who have taken a leave of absence for at least one semester at most six courses will be accepted toward the major in transfer, while at most three courses will be accepted toward the minor in transfer.
Students should reference the Transfer Credit section for more details.
Courses
East Asian Studies Courses
Faculty
Affiliated Faculty
Alexander F. Day, chair
Associate Professor, History
B.A., Colby College; M.A., Ph.D., University of California, Santa Cruz
Tsung Chi
Professor, Politics
B.A., National Chengchi University; M.A., Ph.D., Michigan State University
Motoko Ezaki
Non-Tenure Track Professor, Comparative Studies in Literature and Culture
B.A., M.A., Seinan Gakuin University; M.A., Ph.D., University of California, Los Angeles
Amy Holmes-Tagchungdarpa
Associate Professor, Religious Studies
B.A., Victoria University of Wellington; Ph.D., Australian National University
John Chung-En Liu
Assistant Professor, Sociology
B.S., National Taiwan University; M.A., M.E.M, Yale University; Ph.D., University of Wisconsin-Madison
Yurika Wakamatsu
Assistant Professor, Art and Art History
B.A. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; A.M., Ph.D., Harvard University
Xiao-huang Yin
Professor, American Studies
Affiliated Faculty, History
B.A., Nanjing University; M.A., Ph.D., Harvard University