East Asian Studies Major

Goals for the East Asian Studies Major

Requirements for the East Asian Studies Major

Prospective East Asian Studies majors should begin study of an East Asian language as soon as possible in their first year. The program also recommends that students take one or more courses that explore East Asia (such as HIST 274, REL 108, or EALC 225) in their first two years to attain familiarity with the region. The program encourages students to:

Prospective majors should consult with a member of the East Asian Studies faculty as early as possible to discuss their academic plans. Majors devise their own programs of study in consultation with an advisor from the student's area of concentration. Both the major advisor and the program director must approve proposals for the major.

Ten units are required for the major, consisting of the following:

1. Language courses: four units.

All students must complete at least four language courses above the 100 level in the language most appropriate to their area of concentration. (Students will not receive credit toward the major for the first year of language study.) Those who begin their language study at Wellesley in a 300–level language class must still complete at least four language courses. Students with native or near native fluency in an East Asian language may replace the four units of language with non-language EAS courses, in consultation with their advisor. At least 2 of the non-language courses for heritage speakers must come from the EALC department. Language study beyond what is required for the major is strongly recommended.

All majors are also encouraged to spend at least a summer or a semester studying abroad in China, Japan, Korea, or Taiwan. The East Asian Languages and Cultures Department, through the chairperson of EALC, must approve plans for language study taken away from Wellesley and to be applied toward the major.

2. Non-language courses: six units

(1) All majors must also take at least one non-language course on East Asia in each of the following categories:

    i. Humanities 

    ii. History and Social Science

(2) A minimum of three non-language courses are required to fulfill a selected concentration, and two  must be at the 300 level.

    i. Country/culture-based concentrations may focus on one of the following: China, Japan, Korea(s).

    ii. Discipline or focused interdisciplinary-based concentrations that are normally possible at Wellesley include arts and visual studies, history, linguistics, literature, politics, religion, and women's and gender studies. Under unusual circumstances, and with the approval of her advisor and the program director, a student may design her own disciplinary concentration. Majors normally declare their concentration no later than the spring semester of their junior year.

(3) A minimum of four non-language courses must be taken at Wellesley, including the required two units of 300-level courses. Of the two required 300-level courses, only one may be a 350, 360, or 370.

(4) A maximum of two non-language courses taken outside Wellesley can count toward the major.

(5) Some courses can count as a language or non-language course for the purpose of fulfilling requirements for the major. Each course unit can be credited only once toward the major. No double-counting (e.g. as both a language course and non-language course) is permitted. 

(6) One course in Asian American studies may be counted toward the major, provided that the course addresses a significant aspect of East Asian traditions, culture, or society in its global, cross-cultural contexts. Students should consult with their advisors.

Honors in East Asian Studies

The only route to honors in the major is writing a thesis and passing an oral examination. A grade point average of at least 3.5 in the major, above100-level courses, is the minimum requirement for application. Students must also submit a dossier of required material, including a thesis proposal, to the EAS director and the Faculty Advisory Committee, which will approve students for admission. For details about the dossier, see below. The Faculty Advisory Committee may petition on behalf of a student whose GPA in the major is between 3.0 and 3.5, if the rest of her dossier is particularly strong. [For more details, see Honors Information and Thesis Process.]

1. By spring break of the junior year, craft your topic in rough form and find an adviser.

2. By the end of the first week of senior year, submit a 2-3 page prospectus to the EAS chair, who will circulate it to the faculty steering committee.  A preliminary bibliography should be submitted at the same time.

3.  The prospectus and bibliography should both be drawn up in consultation with the adviser.

4. A transcript (official or unofficial); 

5. A writing sample, preferably a research paper for an East Asian Studies class.

Transfer Credits in East Asian Studies

In order to obtain Wellesley credit for any EAS-related course taken at another institution during the academic year or summer, the student must obtain approval from the College Registrar and the program director prior to enrolling in the course. First the Registrar must award the appropriate college credit for each unit. Second, the approval of the course/s to be credited to the EAS major must be granted by the program director. Students should present relevant syllabi and other materials about the prospective course to the director. Students, especially those taking EAS courses abroad, may be required to contact the course instructor in order to obtain specific details about the course in cases where the online course description may be insufficient to make an informed decision.

Courses for Credit Toward the East Asian Studies Major

Language Courses (Mandarin Chinese, Japanese, Korean): See offerings in the Department of East Asian Languages and Cultures (EALC)

Humanities:

AMST 212 Korean American Literature and Culture

1.0
ARTH 238 Chinese Art and Architecture

1.0
ARTH 240 Asian Art and Architecture

1.0
ARTH 248 Chinese Painting: Theories, Masters, and Principles

1.0
ARTH 249 Japanese Art and Architecture

1.0
ARTH 255 Twentieth-Century Chinese Art

1.0
ARTH 337 Seminar: The Song Imperial Painting Academy

1.0
ARTH 341 Seminar: The Landscape Painting of China, Korea, and Japan

1.0
ARTH 346 Seminar: Poetic Painting in China, Korea, and Japan

1.0
CAMS 203 / CHIN 243 Chinese Cinema (In English)

1.0
CHIN 208 Writing Modern China (in English)

1.0
CHIN 211 Dream of the Red Chamber in Chinese Literature and Culture (in English)

1.0
CHIN 220 / CHIN 320 The Fall of Ming in 1644, An Event in World Culture(In English)

1.0
CHIN 226 City in Modern Chinese Lit &Film (In English)

1.0
CHIN 233 / CHIN 333 Masterworks of Chinese Fiction (In English)

1.0
CHIN 239 Popular Culture in Modern China

1.0
CHIN 244 Classical Chinese Theater (in English)

1.0
CHIN 245 Chinese Women in a Century of Revolution (In English)

1.0
CHIN 311 Dream of the Red Chamber in Chinese Literature and Culture (in English)

1.0
CHIN 326 The City in Modern Chinese Literature and Film (in English)

1.0
CHIN 338 Reading in Modern Chinese Literature

1.0
CHIN 344 Classical Chinese Theater (in English)

1.0
CHIN 345 Chinese Women in a Century of Revolution (In English)

1.0
CHIN 381 Eileen Chang (in English)

1.0
CHIN 382 Seminar: Sci-Fi & Future of China (In English)

1.0
CPLT 236 / EALC 236 The Girl in Modern East Asian Culture

1.0
EALC 221 Gateways to East Asia (in English)

1.0
EALC 225 Traditional Romances of East Asia (in English)

1.0
EALC 325 Traditional Romances of East Asia (in English)

1.0
EALC 345 Seminar: Language, Nationalism, and Identity in East Asia (In English)

1.0
JPN 251 / THST 251 Japanese Writers Explore Their World (in English)

1.0
JPN 252 Supernatural Japan (in English)

1.0
JPN 280 Japanese Pop Culture: From Haiku to Hello Kitty (in English)

1.0
JPN 290 Geisha, Samurai and the Birth of Tokyo

1.0
JPN 308 Advanced Japanese Through Short Fiction and Essays

1.0
JPN 314 Translating Japanese Narrative

1.0
JPN 352 Seminar: Postwar Japan in Word and Image (in English)

1.0
JPN 356 Seminar: Hauntings in Modern Japan (In English)

1.0
KOR 206 An Introduction to Korean Language and Culture (in English)

1.0
KOR 246 / LING 246 Digital Language: Corpus Linguistics (In English)

1.0
KOR 256 Gender and Language in Modern Korean Culture (in English)

1.0
REL 108 Introduction to Asian Religions

1.0
REL 253 Buddhist Thought and Practice

1.0
REL 254 Chinese Thought and Religion

1.0
REL 255 Japanese Religion and Culture

1.0
REL 257 Contemplation and Action

1.0
REL 353 Seminar: Zen Buddhism

1.0


CHIN 338, JPN 314: Fulfill either Language or Humanities requirement for the major.

History and Social Sciences:

HIST 269 Japan, the Great Powers, and East Asia, 1853-1993 1.0
HIST 274 China, Japan, and Korea in Comparative and Global Perspectives 1.0
HIST 277 China and America: Evolution of a Troubled Relationship 1.0
HIST 278 Reform and Revolution in China, 1800 to the Present 1.0
HIST 280 Topics in Chinese Commerce and Business 1.0
HIST 395 International History Seminar: Legacies of Conquest: Empires in Chinese and World History 1.0
PEAC 119Y / REL 119Y First-Year Seminar: Hiroshima, Nagasaki and Yasukuni Shinto Shrine 1.0
POL2 208 Politics of China 1.0
POL2 304 Nation-building and Nationalism in East Asia 1.0