Asian Studies - Department Hero
Asian Studies
School of Global Studies and Languages

Courses

Discover engaging courses in Asian Studies through the lens of anthropology, art history, cinema studies, comparative literature, geography, history, international studies, journalism, languages and literatures of Asia (Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Hindi, Vietnamese, Thai, and more), linguistics, political science, religious studies, and sociology. Students are encouraged to develop courses of study that match their individual interests and future career plans.

Explore Asian Studies Courses

The University of Oregon course catalog offers degree plans and a complete list of courses in the Asian Studies Program.

Featured Courses

City skyline

ASIA 350 What Is Asia: Theoretical Debates    
Instructor: NEED

An interdisciplinary seminar designed to introduce students to current theoretical debates about Asia, modernization, and area studies.

Floating market in Asia

ASIA 425 Asian Foodways    
Instructor: NEED

Explores socio-cultural, political-economic and historical dimensions of food in China, Japan, Korea, Southeast Asia and India, including modernization, transnationalism, globalization.

Computer chip

ASIA 480 Chinese Economy: Transition, Development, Globalization    
Instructor: NEED

Comprehensive introduction to the Chinese economy: market transition; macroeconomic conditions and policies; key sectors such as industry, banking, finance, energy, export, technology, agriculture; globalization. Offered alternate years.

Asian Studies Courses

Below is a partial list of recent courses. Please check the UO Class Schedule for current offerings.

Anthropology

  • ANTH 4/510: Pacific Island Studies (Ayres)
  • ANTH 4/540: Southeast Asian Archeology (Ayres)
  • ANTH 610: East Asia Pacific Archeology (Lee)

Art History

  • ARH 4/510: Japanese Architecture (Oh)
  • ARH 4/510: Nirvana (Walley, A.)
  • ARH 4/510: Eccentrics Japan Art (Walley, A.)
  • ARH 4/510: Global Japan (Walley)
  • ARH 4/510: Modern Asia Photography Global (Lin)
  • ARH 4/510: Visualizing Japanese Culture (Oh)
  • ARH 4/588: Japanese Prints (Walley, A.)

Asian Studies

  • ASIA 4/510: Culture/Religion/Media S Asia (Loan)
  • ASIA 4/525: Asian Foodways (Buck)
  • ASIA 4/588: Chinese Economy: Transition, Development, Globalization (Buck)

Chinese

  • CHN 4/507: Environment & Nature in Early Chinese Literature (Habberstad)
  • CHN 4/507: Seminar Modern Chinese Literature (Chan)
  • CHN 4/507: Seminar Novels (Epstein)
  • CHN 4/510: Chinese Socialist Texts (Chan)
  • CHN 4/523: Issues Early Chinese Literature (Habberstad)
  • CHN 4/524: Issues Medieval Chinese Literature (Wang)
  • CHN 4/525: Issues Modern Chinese Literature (Groppe)
  • CHN 4/536: Literary Chinese (Wang)
  • CHN 4/537: Literary Chinese (Chen, Zikpi)
  • CHN 4/538: Top Literary Chinese Poetry/Politics (Wang)
  • CHN 4/538: Top Poetry & Civil Services (Wang)
  • CHN 4/539: Chinese Academic Writing (Chen)
  • CHN 4/545: Top Cultural Geography (Chen)
  • CHN 4/545: Top Religion & Culture (Chen)
  • CHN 4/545: Top Wellness (Chen)
  • CHN 4/545: Top Political Science (Chen)
  • CHN 4/545 : Top Chinese History (Chen)
  • CHN 4/545: Top Business (Chen)
  • CHN 4/552: Chinese Film and Theory (Groppe)
  • CHN 4/580: Chinese Linguistics (Jing-Schmidt)
  • CHN 4/582: History of Chinese Language (Jing-Schmidt)
  • CHN 607: Seminar Mind and Spirit (Chan)
  • CHN 607: Seminar Lu Xun (Chan)
  • CHN 607: Seminar China & Global Society (Chan)
  • CHN 607: Seminar Late Qing Fiction (Chan)
  • CHN 607: Seminar Culture of Qing (Epstein)
  • CHN 607: Seminar Sinophone Critique (Groppe)
  • CHN 607: Seminar Song Dynasty Poetry (Wang)
  • CHN 607: Seminar Chinese Literary Thought (Wang)
  • CHN 607: Seminar Chinese Textuality (Zikpi)
  • CHN 607: Seminar Digital Sinology (Zikpi)

Comparative Literature

  • COLT 4/510: Tokyo Cyberpunk (Brown, S.)
  • COLT 4/510: Asian Horror (Brown, S.)
  • COLT 462/562: Orientalism (Allan)

East Asian Languages and Literatures

  • EALL 4/507: Seminar on Politeness & Phonetics (Idemaru)
  • EALL 4/507: Seminar Figurative Language (Jing-Schmidt)
  • EALL 4/507: Seminar Sociophonetics (Idemaru)
  • EALL 4/510: Language Teaching Methods (tba)
  • EALL 4/510: Wanderers, Exiles (Webb)
  • EALL 4/510: Asian Cultural Studies (Kim)
  • EALL 4/510: Visions of Empire (Kim)
  • EALL 4/510: Transnational Film Authors (Kim)
  • EALL 4/540: Japanese & Korean Grammar (Idemaru)
  • EALL 4/541: Japanese and Korean Syntax (Brown, L.)
  • EALL 4/586: East Asian Sociopragmatics (Brown)
  • EALL 607: Pro-Seminar (Epstein)
  • EALL 607: Seminar 2nd Language Phonetics (Idemaru)

English

  • ENG 4/596: Top Gender & Global Cinema (Gopal)

Geography

  • GEOG 4/575: Top China (Buck, Su)

History

  • HIST 4/507: Seminar Business in Asia (Valiani, A.)
  • HIST 4/507: Seminar Late Imperial China (Asim)
  • HIST 4/507: Seminar Japanese Urban Life (Hanes)
  • HIST 4/507: Seminar Sengoku Era Japan (Goble)
  • HIST 4/507: Seminar Cities of South Asia (Valiani)
  • HIST 4/508: Colonial Shanghai (Goodman)
  • HIST 4/510: Modern Asia War & Society (Hasegawa)
  • HIST 4/510: Muslim Conquests (Anthony)
  • HIST 4/515: Top Asia/Globalization (Belogurova)
  • HIST 4/587: Top Ming & Qing China (Asim)
  • HIST 4/587: Top Late Imperial China (Hasegawa)
  • HIST 4/587: Top Song & Yuan Dynasties (Asim)
  • HIST 4/587: Top China After 1949 (Belogurova)
  • HIST 4/590: Top Shogun’s Japan (Hanes)
  • HIST 4/591: Medicine & Society in Premodern Japan (Goble)
  • HIST 4/597: Modernity and Gender in China (Goodman)
  • HIST 4/597: Top East Asia Religion/Revolution (Schroeder)
  • HIST 4/598: Top Medieval Japan (Goble)Humanities
  • HU 4/510: Food in Chinese Culture (Asim)

Global Studies 

  • GLBL 4/542: South Asia: Development & Social Change (Weiss)
  • GLBL 4/544: Development/Social Change Southeast Asia (Carpenter)

Japanese

  • JPN 4/507: Seminar Buddhism in Literature (Harrison)
  • JPN 4/507: Seminar Anime & Philosophy (Harrison)
  • JPN 4/507: Seminar Auteur Cinema (Arnold)
  • JPN 4/507: Seminar Haiku/Haikai (Walley, G.)
  • JPN 4/507: Seminar Vampires in Anime (Harrison)
  • JPN 4/507: Seminar Japanese Genre Film (Harrison)
  • JPN 4/507: Seminar Radical Japanese Cinema (Arnold)
  • JPN 4/507: Seminar Pre-Modern Japanese Literature (Harrison)
  • JPN 4/507: Seminar Japan and Gender
  • JPN 4/510: Classical Japanese Literary Language (Harrison)
  • JPN 4/510: Culture of Play (Walley, G.)
  • JPN 4/510: Contemporary Literature Akazome Akiko (Walley, G)
  • JPN 4/510: Radical Cinema (Arnold)
  • JPN 4/510: Pedagogical Grammar (Idemaru)
  • JPN 4/510: Digital Age Stories (Freedman)
  • JPN 4/510: Translation and Japanese Literature (Walley, G.)
  • JPN 4/510: Chikamatsu Monzaemon (Walley, T.)
  • JPN 4/510: Akira Kurosawa Films (Miyao)
  • JPN 4/510: New Approaches to Shinto (Webb)
  • JPN 4/510: Japanese Cinema Studies (Miyao)
  • JPN 4/510: Tale of Genji (tba)
  • JPN 4/510: Great Writers: Bakin (Walley, G.)
  • JPN 4/525: Top Contemporary Japanese Literature (Freedman)
  • JPN 4/534: Advanced Readings in Japanese Literature (Idemaru)
  • JPN 4/535: Advanced Readings in Japanese Literature (Ikei)
  • JPN 4/536: Advanced Readings in Japanese Literature (O’Brien, Harrison)
  • JPN 4/537: Classic Japanese Literary Language (Webb)
  • JPN 4/555: Japanese Business, Culture & Language (Nakadate)
  • JPN 4/571: Japanese Cinema (Arnold)
  • JPN 4/590: Translation Japan Lit (Walley, G.)
  • JPN 607: Seminar Disaster Japan (DiNitto)
  • JPN 607: Seminar Modern Japan (Freedman)
  • JPN 610: Top Contemporary Japan (Freedman)

Korean

  • KRN 4/510: Violence in Korean Film (Kim)

Landscape Architecture

  • LA 4/533: Japanese Gardens (Lovinger)

Music

  • MUS 4/554: Music of India
  • MUS 4/590: Balinese Gamelan (Kyr, R.)

Political Science

  • PS 4/560: Political Economy of East Asia (Vu, King)

Religious Studies

  • REL 4/507: Seminar East Asia Death/Afterlife (Habberstad)
  • REL 4/507: Seminar Buddhism and Psychotherapy (Unno)
  • REL 4/510: Body/Medicine in Chinese Religion (Habberstad)
  • REL 4/532: Islamic Mysticism: Topic (Colby)
  • REL 4/540: Reading Buddhist Scripture (Unno)
  • REL 4/544: Medieval Japanese Buddhism (Unno)

Register for Individualized Study Credits

If you are looking to get credit for an independent study, whether it be Special Readings, Field Study, Thesis Writing, Research, etc., you must complete a GSL Individualized Study credit form.

Download the GSL Individualized Study Registration Form

This form will need to be completed with:

  • Your student information (Name, ID Number, email, etc.)
  • Personalized course title (UNDER 22 characters), if applicable (see form instructions for additional naming convention requirements)
  • Course number
  • Course CRN (consult Class Schedule)
  • Faculty Supervisor Signature (plus department faculty approval for non-department supervision)
  • NOTE: If your faculty supervisor is not able to electronically sign your form, they may email the correct address (see below) and provide their consent to serve as your supervisor via email).
  • Outline of Student/Supervisor understanding of expectations

GSL Individualized Study Contract

Where to Send Your Completed Contract

You will only be able to register for the independent study when everything is completed and emailed to the appropriate email account.

undergraduate students

Email completed forms to: gsl@uoregon.edu

graduate students

Email completed forms to: gslgradcoord@uoregon.edu

Individualized Study Registration Deadlines

Fall Term

  • Early registration: September 15
  • Final deadline: Friday of Week 1

Spring Term

  • Early registration: March 15
  • Final deadline: Friday of week 1

Winter Term

  • Early registration: December 15
  • Final deadline: Friday of week 1

Summer Term 

  • Early registration: June 15
  • Final deadline: July 15