East Asian Studies (EAS)

East Asian Studies

The Program in East Asian Studies is interdisciplinary, involving seven departments of the University. It includes coursework in Chinese or Japanese language, as well as courses in a wide variety of fields to introduce the student to the cultures and societies of East Asia. For the EAS minor, students focus their formal study on either China or Japan.

East Asian Studies students are strongly encouraged to participate in Washington and Lee’s study and exchange programs in China and Japan or in another approved study abroad program. Information and applications for these programs are available through the Center for International Education. Currently, a Washington and Lee spring term language program is offered in Kanazawa, Japan; no prior study of Japanese is required for this program. A similar program in Chinese is offered in alternate years at East China Normal University in Shanghai. Spring term non-language programs may also be offered in China and Japan, pending faculty availability. Please speak with program faculty for additional information on opportunities for study abroad in Japan and China (including Taiwan and Hong Kong.

The program draws faculty from art, East Asian languages and literatures, economics, history, politics, and religion. Further information may be obtained from the website at my.wlu.edu/east-asian-studies-program.

Program Head: David A. Bello

Core Faculty

First date is the year in which the faculty member began service as regular faculty at the University. Second date is the year of appointment to the present rank.

David A. Bello, Ph.D. (2004, 2016)
Elizabeth Otey Professor of History
Ph.D., University of Southern California

Janet Ikeda, Ph.D. (1999, 2002)
Associate Professor of East Asian Languages
Ph.D., Princeton University

Li Kang, Ph.D. (2019, 2019)
Assistant Professor of Philosophy
Ph.D., Syracuse University

Timothy Lubin, Ph.D. (1997, 2009)
Professor of Religion
Ph.D., Columbia University

Yanhong Zhu, Ph.D. (2009, 2023)
Professor of Chinese
Ph.D, University of Southern California

East Asian Studies Courses

East Asian Studies courses are as follows:

• ARTH 140: Asian Art
    
• ARTH 240: Arts of China
    
• ARTH 241: Arts of Japan
    
• ARTH 242 - Arts of India
    
• ARTH 288 - Chinese Export Porcelain and the China Trade, 1500 to 1900   
• CHIN 105 - Supervised Study Abroad: Beginning Chinese   
• CHIN 111: First-Year Chinese I
    
• CHIN 112: First-Year Chinese II
    
• CHIN 115: Supervised Study Abroad: First-Year Chinese
    
• CHIN 261: Second-Year Chinese I
    
• CHIN 262: Second-Year Chinese II
    
• CHIN 265: Supervised Study Abroad: Second-Year Chinese
    
• CHIN 301: Third-Year Chinese I
    
• CHIN 302: Third-Year Chinese II
    
• CHIN 311: Advanced Chinese I
    
• CHIN 312: Advanced Chinese II: Contemporary Fiction
    
• EALL 175 - Cool Japan: Manga, Business Etiquette, Language, and Culture  
• EALL 215 - East Asian Cinema  
• EAS 391 - Senior Capstone in East Asian Studies
    
• EAS 393 - Senior Capstone in East Asian Studies
    
• EAS 401 - Directed Individual Study
    
• EAS 403 - Directed Individual Study
     
• ECON 274: China’s Modern Economy
     
• ENGL 382 - Hotel Orient  
• HIST 103: China: Origins to 20th-Century Reforms
    
• HIST 104: Japan: Origins to Atomic Aftermath
    
• HIST 284 - Visions of Japan’s Empire in East Asia: 19th-Century Origins through World War II   
• HIST 289: Topics in Asian or African History (on an Asia-related topic)
    
• HIST 385: Seminar: The Yin and Yang of Gender in Late Imperial China (10th-19th Centuries)
    
• HIST 386: Seminar: Managing Mongols, Manchus, and Muslims: The Control of Ethnic Diversity in China (16th-20th Centuries)
    
• HIST 387 - Seminar: The Struggle Over China’s Environment  
• JAPN 100: Supervised Study Abroad: Beginning Japanese
     
• JAPN 111: First-Year Japanese I
    
• JAPN 112: First-Year Japanese II
    
• JAPN 115: Supervised Study Abroad: First-Year Japanese
    
• JAPN 261: Second-Year Japanese I
    
• JAPN 262: Second-Year Japanese II
    
• JAPN 265: Supervised Study Abroad: Second-Year Japanese
    
• JAPN 301: Third-Year Japanese I
    
• JAPN 302: Third-Year Japanese II
    
• JAPN 311: Advanced Japanese I
    
• JAPN 312: Advanced Japanese II
    
• JAPN 365 - Supervised Study Abroad: Third-Year Japanese  
• JAPN 401
   ,
  402
   ,
  403: Directed Individual Study
    
• LIT 218: Pre-Modern Chinese Literature in Translation
    
• LIT 220: Modern Chinese Literature in Translation
    
• LIT 221: Japanese Literature in Translation
    
• LIT 223: Seminar in Japanese Literature in Translation
    
• LIT 225: Poetry and Drama of Japan in Translation
    
• PHIL 168: Chinese Philosophy
    
• POL 227: East Asian Politics
    
• POL 392: Issues in Asian Politics
    
• REL 103: Introduction to Asian Religions
    
• REL 131: Buddhism
    
• REL 132: God and Goddess in Hinduism
    
• REL 231: Yogis, Ascetics, and Monks in Indian Religions
    
• REL 335: Hindu Law in Theory and Practice
    
• REL 340: Seminar in Asian Religion
    

Degrees/Majors/Minors

Interdisciplinary Minor

• •  East Asian Studies minor

Courses

• •  EAS 391 - Senior Capstone in East Asian Studies
• •  EAS 393 - Senior Capstone in East Asian Studies
• •  EAS 401 - Directed Individual Study
• •  EAS 403 - Directed Individual Study