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Asian Studies

253.879.5901
asianstudies@pugetsound.edu

Chair

Jennifer Neighbors
253-879-8873

Administrative Support

Soph Kobernusz-Gibbs

Program Description

What are the territorial and conceptual boundaries of Asia? How is Asia connected to the rest of the world? How have perceptions of Asia changed throughout history? What are the key themes and patterns found in Asian literary and artistic traditions, and how does an understanding of Asia enhance our understanding of cultural, social, and political responses?

The vast region labeled "Asia” is complex and diverse, and Asian peoples and institutions have greatly influenced human experience throughout the world. Asian studies offers courses in multiple disciplines, including art and art history, business, history, international political economy, languages, literature, music, politics and government, philosophy, religion, and sociology and anthropology. In addition to offering an interdisciplinary minor, Asian studies also offers majors and minors in Chinese and Japanese languages and cultures.

 

Who You Could Be

  • K-12 educator
  • Foreign service officer
  • Translator
  • Community organizer
  • Curator
  • Software developer
  • International sales manager
  • Journalist/Political analyst

What You’ll Learn

  • Themes and patterns found in Asian literary and artistic traditions
  • Chinese & Japanese languages
  • History and significance of connections between Asia and the rest of the world
  • Cultural, economic, political, and social processes affecting change in Asia
Mengjun Li
Faculty
Mengjun Li, Associate Professor, Asian Studies

"College is the rare moment in life when time, curiosity, and resources align for one to truly explore, question, and grow. So let's pause to dive into the depths of another culture’s history and literature, confront and appreciate the diversity of human experience, and, in doing so, better understand our own stance and place within it."

 

SAMPLE COURSES
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This course uses literary works to explore the art, culture, and society of Asia. Regional focuses may include East Asia, South Asia, or Southeast Asia. Genres under study may include fiction, poetry, drama, essays, and autobiography. Themes and assigned texts vary by instructor.

Code
Connections 200-400 Level

This course is a survey of the major artistic traditions of Asia, primarily of China, India, and Japan, from prehistoric times to the turn of the twentieth century. It examines important monuments and emphasizes the interaction of art and society, specifically, how different artistic styles are tied to different intellectual beliefs, geographical locations, and other historical contexts. The course includes a field trip to the Seattle Asian Art Museum.

Code
Artistic and Humanistic Perspectives

This course explores the interactions of Asian peoples ' the commodities, social practices, and ideas which they produce ' across borders, both political and imagined. The course crosses disciplinary borders, as well, drawing upon divergent materials from the humanities and social sciences in an attempt to do justice to a contemporary context that could be called 'Asia in motion.' An underlying thesis holds that, since nineteenth-century colonialism, nations in the 'West' and 'Asia' participate in a global, dialectical movement in which notions of identity (national, cultural, ethnic, religious, territorial, linguistic) share moments of fluidity and fixity.

Code
Connections 200-400 LevelKnowledge, Identity, and Power
Prerequisites
Two Asian Studies courses or permission of the instructor.

Exploring the Chinese Economy analyzes the economic, political, and social facets of the Chinese economy and their relationships with globalization. First, we discuss China's transition to a market economy and its rise as a global economic power. This includes the role of state and market actors, labor, and the rural-urban divide. Second, students think critically about the role of education and technology in the Chinese economy, including universities, the internet, and social media. Third, we investigate China's place in the global economy, including international trade, foreign investment, the battles of global brands for the Chinese consumer market, and environmental issues. The field school portion of this course will take place between June and August. It will consist of a full time, 8-week internship in Beijing, and weekly cultural activities. Students will be immersed in the Chinese economy, experiencing it as interns, commuters, consumers, and foreigners exploring a new culture. Participation in the field school, including completion of an internship, field notes, and a final video project, is required to pass the course. The instructor will be present for the first three weeks of the field school to meet regularly with students and to ensure that students are settled into their internships.

Code
Social Scientific and Historical Perspectives
Prerequisites
IPE 101 and junior or senior standing.

This course explores lived culture in Southeast Asia with a focus on the themes of power and inequality, gender and sexuality, race and ethnicity, humans and the environment, as well as religion and syncretism. Described as the crossroads of influences from East and South Asia to Europe and beyond, Southeast Asia is one of the most diverse and fascinating regions of the world. The course includes case studies from throughout the region, with a focus on Indonesia. Students begin by working through the prehistory and initial migration to the area, but focus on contemporary themes related to the peoples, cultures, political economies, and representational practices surrounding the region. In addition to providing a cultural overview of the region, this course critically examines sociocultural change that has occurred in Southeast Asia in recent decades. Spurred by new media and communications technologies, environmental challenges, globalized supply chains, volatile inter/national politics, shifting social norms, and new approaches to religious practice, Southeast Asia is experiencing a rapid transformation. Taking an anthropological approach to understanding these themes and foci, students will read and discuss ethnographic work as well as scholarship from a range of disciplines that explores both the background and contemporary manifestations of these cultural shifts.

Code
Knowledge, Identity, and PowerSocial Scientific and Historical Perspectives
Prerequisites
SOAN 102 recommended.
1/4

Experiential Learning

  • Chinese Reconciliation Foundation (publicity and development intern)
  • Jing Mei Elementary School (teaching assistant)
  • U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (legal intern)
  • PeaceTrees (Vietnam fundraising and development intern)
  • IES Tokyo Study Abroad Program (Tokyo-based administrative intern)
  • World Trade Center Tacoma (trade and market research intern)

Stories

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Students

Reflections From the Pacific Rim

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Community
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Where Graduates Work

Where our graduates work:

  • Consulate General of Japan (economic and commercial affairs researcher)
  • World Bank (research analyst)
  • National Committee on U.S.-China Relations (senior program officer)
  • National Chengchi University, Taiwan (professor of political science)
  • Japan Exchange and Teaching (JET) Program (coordinator for international relations)
  • Microsoft (senior travel manager)

 

Where Graduates Continue Studying

Where our students continue their studies:

  • Harvard University (Master of Public Administration)
  • University of Hawai`i at Manoa (M.A., Asian studies)
  • Yale University (M.A., East Asian studies)
  • Rice University (Ph.D., anthropology)
  • The University of Chicago (Master of Business Administration)
  • National Dong Hwa University, Taiwan (M.A. in Environmental Education)
MEET THE FACULTY
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Priti Joshi
Professor, English and Susan Resneck Pierce Professor of Humanities and Honors

Prof. Joshi's teaching and research both focus on 19th-century British literature and culture, as well as postcolonial literature and film. Her courses include material on Dickens, Bollywood, and gender studies. 

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Sunil Kukreja
Professor, Sociology and Anthropology

As well as serving as editor in chief for the scholarly journals International Journal of Sociology of the Family and International Review of Modern Sociology, Prof. Kukreja researches race and inequality in Southeast Asia.

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Tina Huynh
Assistant Professor, School of Music

Prof. Huynh centers culturally responsive teaching as an approach to the music education classroom. She teaches music curriculum and pedagogy courses and MAT courses.

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Mikiko Ludden
Instructor, Asian Studies

As an instructor in the Asian Studies Program, Prof. Ludden teaches all levels of Japanese language and culture classes.

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Lo Sun Perry
Instructor, Asian Studies

Prof. Perry is a longtime Chinese instructor in the Asian Languages and Cultures Program and serves as the faculty liaison for the university's Summer Taiwan Program at Tunghai University.

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Zaixin Hong
Professor, Art and Art History

Besides being widely published in the research fields of 10th, 14th, and 20th-century Chinese art, Prof. Hong teaches a range of courses from first-year seminars to advanced classes.

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Mengjun Li
Associate Professor, Asian Studies

Prof. Li studies late-imperial Chinese literature and teaches high-level Chinese language and literature classes. She's currently working on book exploring 17th- and 18th-century romance novels.

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Jan Leuchtenberger
Professor, Asian Studies

Prof. Leuchtenberger is currently researching the first representations of Japan in the West.  She teaches all levels of Japanese language and classes on Japanese literature in translation.

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Sam Liao
Professor and Chair, Philosophy

Prof. Liao researches on the interactions between minds and social realities. In practice, this broad interest gets him to explore connections between imagination, cognition, values, art, and more.

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Pierre Ly
Professor, International Political Economy

Prof. Ly's current research explores the political economy of wine in China. He teaches international political economy courses on topics such as NGOs, trade, and finance.

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Gareth Barkin
Professor, Sociology and Anthropology, and Dean of Operations and Technology

Prof. Barkin is a cultural anthropologist whose research focuses on Indonesia and Southeast Asia. His work has focused on mass media, religion, and nationalism, and now explores the intersections of study abroad and neoliberalism.

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Yu Luo
Associate Professor, Sociology & Anthropology, and Suzanne Wilson Barnett Chair in Contemporary China Studies

Prof. Luo a cultural anthropologist whose research focuses on ethnicity and indigeneity in the Asian borderlands. She is also interested in urban-rural transformations, heritage and tourism, wildlife conservation, and China's global nexus.

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Jennifer Neighbors
Professor, History, and Chair, Asian Studies

Prof. Neighbors teaches classes on Chinese and Japanese history. She is the author of a book on homicide law in China, and she serves as Associate Editor for the journal Modern China.

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Jonathan Stockdale
Professor, Religion, Spirituality, and Society

Prof. Stockdale's scholarly interests focus on Japanese religion and culture, with recent research examining the spiritualization of whales in Japanese history and modern memory.

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Nick Kontogeorgopoulos
Professor, International Political Economy, and Dean of Experiential Learning

Prof. Kontogeorgopoulos's research interests center on alternative forms of tourism in Southeast Asia. He teaches courses on tourism, international development, and international political economy.

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Hajung Lee
Associate Professor, Religion, Spirituality, and Society and Bioethics

With research focused on end-of-life decision-making by ethnic minority immigrants, Prof. Lee teaches courses in both the religious studies department and Bioethics Program.

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Karl Fields
Professor, Politics and Government

In addition to teaching classes on comparative politics and Asian politics and political economy, Prof. Fields has written a book and co-authored several textbooks.

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BEYOND THE CLASSROOM

Student in Asia
STUDY ABROAD IN ASIA

Puget Sound offers a range of study abroad opportunities in Asia, from summer field schools with faculty members to full-year programs in China and Japan.

Nicholas Navin '19 and students in Asia
TEACH IN ASIA

Asian studies offers fellowships for graduates interested in teaching in Asia.

Student in China
PACIFIC RIM STUDY ABROAD PROGRAM

The PacRim Program visits several Asian countries over the course of a semester of rigorous academic work and experiential learning.