East Asian Studies Program
Ohio Wesleyan University
East Asian Studies is an interdisciplinary program offering the student an opportunity to draw on the resources of various OWU departments and off-campus programs in East Asia. The purpose of the East Asian Studies program is to provide students with (1) a broad background in East Asia from the perspective of at least three academic disciplines and (2) a specialization in a specific East Asian country. The program stresses interdisciplinary area studies as the foundation for making cross-cultural comparisons. Students interested in pursuing a major or minor in East Asian Studies should contact the director of the program by the middle of the second year at OWU. East Asian Studies Advisory Committee members: Gary DeCoker, EAS Program Director (Education), John Boos (Economics), Xiaoming Chen (History), Don Lenfest (MFL), Blake Michael (Religion), Jim Peoples (Anthropology).
More Information about East Asian Studies at OWU
Statements from Recent EAS Majors
Current Students and Recent Graduates
Recent EAS Programs and Lectures at OWU
East Asian Studies Program News
The East Asian Studies MAJOR: Minimum of 10 courses plus language courses.
The East Asian Studies major requires a second major of the student’s choice.
It includes a concentration in a selected country and requires:
Study abroad: Participation in an approved study abroad program in East Asia (semester/year abroad or summer program). Programs not listed in the OWU catalog must be approved in advance by the EAS committee.
Language requirement: Minimum of four semesters of college language study in a language appropriate to the country chosen for study abroad.
Required courses:
-SOAN 111; one history and one religion course from Category I below
–Seven additional elective courses: Courses may be taken from those listed below; independent study or directed readings courses related to East Asia; or courses taken during study abroad. These courses must be upper-division courses.
–Senior Thesis: A research paper written as an independent study project or as an extension of a course requirement. The thesis, generally about 30 pages, must focus on the selected country and be approved by the EAS committee.
–Six courses in the major must deal substantially with the selected country.
The East Asian Studies MINOR: Minimum of 5 courses plus language courses.
The East Asian Studies minor requires:
Language requirement: Minimum of four semesters of college language study in an East Asian language.
Required courses:
–Two courses from Category I below
–Elective courses: Three additional courses from those listed below (excluding language) or an independent study or directed readings course related to East Asia.
–Study abroad is encouraged, but not required.
Courses in East Asian Studies
Category I: Courses focusing primarily on East Asia
ART 348, ECON 300.4, HIST 116, HIST 322, HIST 323, HIST 324, HIST 325, REL 104, REL
346, SOAN 293. Additional courses dealing with East Asia are offered on an occasional
basis. Contact the EAS program director for information about these courses.
Category II. Courses including East Asian content
ECON 353, ECON 372, HC 127, HC 265, HC 499A, MUS 348, PG 345, PG 360, PG 362, REL 341,
REL 344, SOAN 360, SOAN 363, SOAN 367
NOTE: Students applying courses from Category II to the East Asian Studies program are required to complete a research paper or other project dealing with East Asia. Approval must be granted from the instructor and the East Asian Studies program. Contact the EAS program director for approval procedures.
Study abroad programs
Ohio Wesleyan students may participate in study abroad programs through OWU exchange
agreements with Asian universities or through Great Lakes Colleges Association programs.
At this point there are four programs in China and three in Japan. In addition, OWU
students have the option of enrolling in various other non-GLCA programs. Refer to the OWU
Catalog for a description of off-campus study programs and speak with the off-campus
program coordinator for more information.
GLCA Japan Study--two semester program at Waseda University, Tokyo
Kansai Gaidai University--one or two semester program near Osaka and Kyoto
See East Asian Studies News for scholarship opportunities.
Language Study at OWU
Offerings at Ohio Wesleyan in East Asian languages are presently limited to four
semesters of Japanese and study of Chinese under the special languages program.
Updated: August 31, 1999 09:02 AM