The concentration in East Asian Studies seeks to develop a critical understanding of the human experience in East Asia. A concentrator develops skills in a language, participates in the tutorial program, and selects from a rich offering of lecture courses and seminars. The program provides preparation for a variety of fields of work and advanced study after graduation.
Study abroad is encouraged.
The concentration offers both a social sciences track, stressing approaches to modern East Asia drawn from the social science disciplines, and a humanities track, in which the history, literature, religion, and philosophy of modern and premodern times are studied. It draws upon faculty working on East Asian topics from the Department of East Asian Languages and Civilizations, the Departments of Anthropology, Economics, Government, History, and Sociology, and the schools of Business and Law. The sophomore tutorial, a two-semester course on East Asia from ancient times to the present, introduces a variety of perspectives from both the humanities and the social sciences, as well as offering concentrators an opportunity to meet with Harvard's East Asia faculty. At the end of the sophomore year, each concentrator chooses to study China, Japan, Korea, or Vietnam, and to enter either the humanities track or the social sciences track. Juniors take two half-courses of tutorial or courses designated as tutorial equivalents.