Oberlin has a long-standing commitment to East Asian Studies. Its ties to China go back to the late nineteenth century when graduates began going there to live and work. Over the years, students have come from China, Japan, and Korea to study at Oberlin, and the campus has been greatly enriched by their presence. The College has constantly emphasized the need for well informed, liberally educated Americans to have a knowledge of non-Western cultures, and has recently reinforced that commitment with commitment of significant resources to international and cross-cultural studies.

The East Asian Studies Program is the oldest interdisciplinary program at Oberlin College. Building on a tradition of scholarship and commitment to Chinese Studies, the East Asian Studies Program was established in 1965. From a faculty consisting of a Chinese historian, a Chinese language specialist, and an historian of Chinese religions, we have grown to include numerous specialists on various aspects of Chinese, Japanese, and most recently, Korean histories, cultures, languages, and societies. We have faculty members in the departments of East Asian Studies Chinese, Japanese, History, Religion, Politics, and Art History.

We offer our students opportunities to major with concentrations in Chinese or Japanese language and literature, Chinese or Japanese studies, or regional studies with a variety of disciplinary or methodological focuses. Our students have ample opportunity to study in China or Japan through a variety of programs that we sponsor or co-sponsor. In China, our students ordinarily go to Beijing, though occasionally some choose Taiwan or other sites instead. In Japan they go to Kyoto or Tokyo.

East Asian Studies Website

* Material from this page is taken directly from Oberlin Department websites