Providing leadership, coordination and support for East Asian studies at the University of Southern California.
113
Affiliated Faculty in over 44 departments
388
Students sent to East Asia on Global East Asia
$2.8 M
Awarded in Student and Faculty Funding
Upcoming Events
Panel Discussion – “Toyota, Sony, and Sushi: Nisei and the Japan Boom in the US”
Thursday, March 21 | TCC Rosen Family Room | 3:00PM – 5:00PM | RSVP
This panel highlights and explores the hidden role that second-generation Japanese Americans (Nisei) played in the boom in Japanese exports.
Professor Saori Katada will layout the context of postwar Japan’s international and domestic economic policies. Jon Kaji and Shawn Layden will address the crucial role played by Nisei for Toyota and Sony. Atsuko Kanai will discuss her Nisei father Noritoshi Kanai’s role in birthing the sushi boom in the US through his business Mutual Trading Company. Finally, Professor Lon Kurashige will chair the panel and introduce the themes connecting the panelists’ talks.
This event is presented by the Shinso Ito Center for Japanese Religions and Culture, and co-sponsored by the Center for International Studies, Department of History, and East Asian Studies Center.
One Country, Two Crises: China’s Waste and Climate Crises—Their Linkages and Potential for Meaningful Change
Wednesday, March 27 | SOS 250 | 4:00PM – 5:30PM | RSVP
Panel discussion on China’s waste and climate crises featuring Liwen Chen: How China’s Environmental NGO Work Shifts as Policies Change, Kaming Wu: Reducing Plastic Waste Through Place-based Education in Hong Kong, and Christie Keith: Climate Action Through Waste System Transformation: The Pivotal Role of China.
Revisiting Buddhist Nuns in Contemporary Korean Buddhism
Thursday, March 28, 2024 | 11:00AM-12:20PM | ZHS 252 | RSVP
This lecture will showcase the practice of contemporary Korean bhikṣuṇī, providing a preliminary overview of this lesser-known community of religious women. It will cover aspects of their monastic life beginning with the ordination ceremony, and discuss the current challenges and future tasks of the Korean bhikṣuṇī sangha. Ultimately, the talk hopes to shed more light on the role of women in Korean Buddhism and how they continue to shape the history of the tradition.
This event is organized by the Department of East Asian Languages and Cultures and is sponsored by USC’s School of Religion, the Shinso Ito Center for Japanese Religions and Culture, the Korean Heritage Library, and the East Asian Studies Center.
Film Screening: “The Ito Sisters: An American Story”
Friday, April 5 | THH 201 | 3:00PM – 5:00PM | RSVP
The Ito Sisters is a feature-length documentary film that captures the stories of three Japanese American sisters, interviewed in their eighties and nineties, as they recount how their immigrant parents struggled to make a life in the United States during the anti-Japanese movement in California that culminated in the evacuation and incarceration of more than 120,000 Japanese Americans from the West Coast during World War II. The Ito Sisters is written, directed and produced by Antonia Grace Glenn, the granddaughter of the middle of the three sisters.
This event is presented by the Shinso Ito Center for Japanese Religions and Culture, and co-sponsored by the East Asian Studies Center, School of Dramatic Arts and Asian Pacific Alumni Association.
The Great Man of Chivalry: The Worldview of Jin Yong’s Martial Arts Novel 俠之大者:金庸武俠小說的世界觀
Monday, April 8 | DML 241 | 3:30PM-4:30PM | RSVP
Calling all martial arts, kungfu, and wuxia enthusiasts! Don’t miss out on Jin Yong (1924-2018), a literary maestro in these genres from Hong Kong. Join us as we celebrate his 100th birthday with Dr. Raymond Tsang‘s talk, guiding you on an odyssey through Jin Yong’s captivating tales. Immerse yourself in the allure of Cultural China, explore the cultural landscapes in postwar Hong Kong and his unique languages, delve into political perspectives, and uncover the magic of martial arts films and adaptations. Be part of this enthralling journey through a tapestry of virtue, philosophy, and martial arts – an event not to be missed!
This event is co-sponsored by the East Asian Library and Department of East Asian Languages and Cultures.
Spring 2024 EASC Faculty Luncheon
Wednesday, April 10, 2024 | University Club Patio | 12:00PM – 2:00PM | By Invitation Only
EASC is excited to be able to host our annual Faculty Luncheon Party this spring! We look forward to having the opportunity to introduce new faculty, share recent developments, and reconnect with each other. We will be hosting this year’s lunch party at the University Club Patio.
Please RSVP by Friday, March 29, so we can order enough food and drink for everyone!
Science Fiction and East Asia
Thursday, April 18, 2024 | DML 240| 11:00AM – 1:00PM | RSVP
Researchers Sang-Keun Yoo (Marist College), Jaewuk Kim (USC), and Sunyoung Park (USC) will discuss issues such as the representation of traditional East Asian religious thoughts in Anglophone and Asian SF, Korean translations and adaptations of Western SF, South Korean SF’s utopian aspirations and its thought experiments on race, gender, and sexuality, and the entanglements between the posthuman, the human, and the non-human in the SF stories of the new millennium.
This event is co-sponsored by Korean Heritage Library, USC Libraries, East Asian Studies Center, and Korean Studies Institute.
Levan Book Chat—Christopher Hepburn, Defining Waka Musically
Monday, April 29, 2024 | Virtual | 12:00PM – 1:00PM | RSVP
A discussion of Christopher Hepburn‘s new book, Defining Waka Musically: Songs of Male Love in Premodern Japan (Palgrave MacMillan, 2023). The author will be joined in conversation by Jennifer Guest (University of Oxford) and Stacey Jocoy (Library of Congress), moderated by Kerim Yasar (USC). Registration is required.
This event is co-organized by the East Asian Studies Center and the Center for the Premodern World.
2024 EASC Commencement Reception
Friday, May 10, 2024 | CAS 100 | 11:30AM-1:30PM | By Invitation Only
On Friday, May 10, EASC faculty, staff, family and friends will gather to celebrate our East Asian Area Studies graduating seniors and M.A. students. Please join us from 11:30AM – 1:30PM in front of CAS 100 for the EAAS Reception before the Dornsife Group 2 Satellite Ceremony!
Friday, May 10, 2024 Commencement Schedule
USC Main Commencement Ceremony | 8:30AM
EASC Celebration Reception | 11:30AM
USC Dornsife Group 2 Satellite Ceremony | 2:30PM
EASC Signature Programs
Undergraduate
Global East Asia (GEA) is a four week upper-division Maymester research course with a study abroad component for USC undergraduate students, made possible by the East Asian Studies Center and USC Dornsife. This intensive program gives students the opportunity to travel and conduct research in China or Japan. Students from all majors, schools and language backgrounds are eligible to apply and experience East Asia in a unique way.
Graduate
EASC Graduate Fellowships provide summer stipends, typically between $1,000-$3,000, depending on the proposed course of study. The purpose of the award is to advance understanding of East Asia and/or US-Asia relations. The award may be used for research, language training or area studies, and can also be used for research including Asia in a comparative context or as a case study.
Research
A centerpiece of the East Asian Studies Center’s efforts to support all forms of research that deal with East Asia at USC is the manuscript review. Any USC faculty working on a book that deals with East Asia in some way are eligible for possible support. The program is designed to provide helpful and timely feedback to faculty preparing monographs or other similarly large academic works prior to submission for publication.
Student Journal of Asian Studies @ USC
The USC Student Journal for Asian Studies (SJAS @ USC) is a student-run journal created to publish undergraduate and graduate research in various disciplines in Asian studies. This past spring, SJAS @ USC published a special issue featuring work on Filipino surnames, Korean moon jars, and techno-orientalism.
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Subscribe to our weekly eNewsletter for information on events, funding, news and resources available to the EASC community. Additional events and funding opportunities can be found on our Events Around USC & LA Calendar and Other Funding Calendar. For more EASC news, follow us on Instagram and like us on Facebook!
Contact Us
East Asian Studies Center
3454 Trousdale Parkway, CAS 100
Los Angeles, CA 90089-0154