East Asian Languages and Cultures

Return to: USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences  

East Asian Languages and Cultures offers undergraduate, master’s and doctoral programs in Chinese, Japanese and Korean studies, and a progressive degree in East Asian Languages and Cultures. The department fosters original approaches in East Asian studies. With an emphasis on interdisciplinary and innovative research, the program provides students with systematic training in East Asian languages, literatures and cultures. The faculty is committed to intra-regional and interdisciplinary studies of East Asia, which includes critical interaction among the cultures of China, Japan and Korea across historical times and through diverse media. The department engages the arts, languages, linguistics, literatures, theater and performance, histories, media, religions, visual and material cultures of East Asia.

Taper Hall of Humanities 356
(213) 740-3707
Email: ealc@dornsife.usc.edu
dornsife.usc.edu/ealc
 

Chair: Brett Sheehan, PhD

Faculty

Gordon L. MacDonald Chair in History and Professor of History and East Asian Languages & Cultures: Joan Piggott, PhD (History)

T.C. Wang Family Endowed Chair in Cinematic Arts and Professor of Cinema and Media Studies, East Asian Languages & Cultures, and Comparative Literature: Akira Mizuta Lippit, PhD (Cinema and Media Studies)

Professors: Kyung Moon Hwang, PhD (History); Namkil Kim, PhD; Audrey Li, PhD; Brett Sheehan*, PhD (History)

Associate Professors: Brian Bernards, PhD; David T. Bialock, PhD; Bettine Birge, PhD; Youngmin Choe, PhD; Joshua Goldstein, PhD (History); David James (Cinema); Sonya Lee, PhD (Art History); Lori Rachelle Meeks, PhD (Religion); Sunyoung Park, PhD; Satoko Shimazaki, PhD; Duncan Williams, PhD (Religion)

Assistant Professor: Kerim Yasar, PhD

Associate Professor (Teaching): Jason Webb, PhD

Assistant Professor (Teaching): Mengjun Li, PhD;

Assistant Professor (Teaching) of Japanese: Masako Tamanaha, PhD

Assistant Professors (Teaching) of Chinese: Tin-Yu Tseng, PhD; Yi-Hsien Liu, PhD

Master Lecturers: Wen-Kuang (John) Chang, MA; Yuka Kumagai, MA

Senior Lecturers: Mayumi Ikeda, MA; Maki Irie, MA; Hsiao-Yun Liao, MA; Yumi Matsumoto, MA

Lecturers: Hyunjung Ahn, PhD; Xianxian Fang, MA; Xian Jian, MA; Christopher Magriney, MA

Undergraduate Degree

The core requirements for the EALC major allow students flexibility in designing their own courses of study. Majors typically select one language and cultural area (Chinese, Japanese or Korean) in which they do most of their course work. Majors are encouraged to explore beyond their individual language focus by enrolling in the full range of EALC courses available in literature, film, history, media, and other aspects of East Asian cultures.

All EALC majors and minors are required to take at least one course in each of the following two categories. Cross-Cultural Survey Courses, to be taken within the first two years, offer students a broad, interregional introduction to East Asian philosophy, literature, film, and culture. Cultural Studies Courses, also to be completed before advancing to more theme-specific courses, provide students with an in-depth introduction to a cultural tradition within its regional context. For specific courses in these categories as well as upper-division electives (four for majors and two for minors), please refer to the course list on the department’s Website and the Schedule of Classes.

Study Abroad Programs

East Asian Languages and Cultures majors and minors are encouraged to take advantage of the numerous semester and year-long study abroad opportunities sponsored by the Office of Overseas Studies. Currently, the office offers programs in China (Beijing and Nanjing), Taiwan (Taipei), Korea (Seoul), and Japan (Tokyo, Nagoya). Each of the programs is affiliated with a world class institution, such as Waseda University in Tokyo, National Chengchi University in Taipei or Yonsei University in Seoul. Contact the Office of Overseas Studies at (213) 740-3636 for further details or visit them online at dornsife.usc.edu/overseas.

The majority of course work offered by these programs may be counted toward the EALC major or minor requirements. Students who receive major credit from any of these programs must still take at least eight units of non-language courses within EALC at the upper- division level while at USC (specifically an EALC civilization and an EALC literature course). Students interested in attending one of these programs must meet with an EALC academic adviser to ensure that the courses enrolled in overseas will meet EALC major or minor requirements.

Chinese Summer Programs in Beijing and Taipei

The Department of East Asian Languages and Cultures offers its Chinese language summer courses in Beijing and Taipei. Participants can transition seamlessly to the next level courses upon returning to campus. Cultural visits and excursions are included in the tuition fee. All courses count toward a major and minor in East Asian Languages and Cultures.

Bachelor of Arts with a Combined Major in Linguistics/East Asian Languages and Cultures

See Department of Linguistics .

Progressive Degree Program in East Asian Languages and Cultures

The progressive degree program permits exceptional undergraduate students to receive both a Bachelor of Arts and a Master of Arts in East Asian Languages and Cultures within five years. It is intended for students with extraordinary EALC preparation and performance who demonstrate a superior level of overall scholarship.

Admission

Applicants may apply after the completion of 64 units of course work applicable to their undergraduate degree since graduating from high school. (AP units, IB units and course work taken prior to high school graduation are excluded). Applicants must submit their applications before completing 96 units of course work. Normally, the application is submitted in the fall semester of the third year of enrollment at USC. The application for admission to a progressive degree program must be accompanied by a departmentally approved course plan proposal and two letters of recommendation from USC faculty members in the Department of East Asian Languages and Cultures.

Awarding of Degrees

Progressive degree program students must fulfill all of the requirements for both the bachelor’s degree and the master’s degree, including a master’s thesis. The unit requirement for the master’s degree can be reduced by as much as one-third. The degrees may be awarded separately, but the master’s degree will not be awarded before the undergraduate degree.

Time Limits

The time limit for completing a progressive degree program is 12 semesters.

Further details about progressive degrees can be found here .

Graduate Degrees 

EALC offers graduate students advanced training in the languages, literatures, and cultures of China, Japan and Korea. Our students have combined approaches from cultural studies, literature, linguistics, film and media studies, theater and other disciplines to broaden more traditional paradigms and provide a different perspective on the reading of the texts in their fields. By allowing a greater degree of flexibility, our interdisciplinary approach enhances students’ research skills and enables them to become well-rounded scholars. Appropriate cross-registration with other departments allows students to enhance their theoretical and methodological training.

Certificate in Foreign Language Teaching

The certificate in Foreign Language Teaching provides certification in the theory and practice of second or foreign language teaching for student language teachers concurrently enrolled in graduate degree programs in foreign languages or related graduate programs at USC; for graduates of such programs who are teaching languages; for external candidates concurrently enrolled in similar programs at accredited colleges or universities; or for graduates of such programs who are teaching languages. The certificate is meant to supplement graduate study in the literature or linguistics of foreign languages. It is also meant to supplement classroom teaching. Refer to the Department of Latin American and Iberian Studies  for course work requirements.

Programs

Bachelor’s Degree

• •  East Asian Languages and Cultures (BA)

Minor

• •  Chinese for the Professions
• •  Cultures and Politics of the Pacific Rim Minor
• •  East Asian Languages and Cultures Minor

Master’s Degree

• •  East Asian Languages and Cultures (MA)

Doctoral Degree

• •  East Asian Languages and Cultures (PhD)

Courses

East Asian Languages and Cultures

• •  EALC 101x Conversational Chinese and Intercultural Communication
• •  EALC 102 Language, Art and Culture: Calligraphy
• •  EALC 103a Fundamental Chinese I
• •  EALC 103b Fundamental Chinese I
• •  EALC 104 Chinese I
• •  EALC 106 Chinese II
• •  EALC 108 Reading and Writing Chinese
• •  EALC 110gp East Asian Humanities: The Great Tradition
• •  EALC 115 Korean I
• •  EALC 117 Korean II
• •  EALC 118 Essential Communications in Korean I
• •  EALC 119 Essential Communications in Korean II
• •  EALC 120 Japanese I
• •  EALC 121 Extensive Reading in Japanese I
• •  EALC 122 Japanese II
• •  EALC 125g Introduction to Contemporary East Asian Cinema and Culture
• •  EALC 130gp Introduction to East Asian Ethical Thought
• •  EALC 145g Introduction to Chinese Culture, Art and Literature
• •  EALC 150gw Global Chinese Cinema and Cultural Studies
• •  EALC 202 Language, Art, and Culture: Calligraphy II
• •  EALC 204 Chinese III
• •  EALC 206 Chinese IV
• •  EALC 207a Intermediate Chinese: Reading and Oral Communication
• •  EALC 207b Intermediate Chinese: Reading and Oral Communication
• •  EALC 215 Korean III
• •  EALC 217 Korean IV
• •  EALC 220 Japanese III
• •  EALC 221 Extensive Reading in Japanese II
• •  EALC 222 Japanese IV
• •  EALC 255gw Southeast Asian Literature and Film
• •  EALC 264g Asian Aesthetic and Literary Tradition
• •  EALC 304 Advanced Modern Chinese I
• •  EALC 306 Advanced Modern Chinese II
• •  EALC 315 Advanced Korean I
• •  EALC 317 Advanced Korean II
• •  EALC 318 Readings in Contemporary Korean
• •  EALC 320 Advanced Japanese I
• •  EALC 322 Advanced Japanese II
• •  EALC 332 Modern Korean Literature in Translation
• •  EALC 333g Introduction to Korean Film
• •  EALC 334 Chinese Language Through Films and Television
• •  EALC 335m Korean American Literature
• •  EALC 336 Chinese Language through Films and Television II
• •  EALC 340gp Japanese Civilization
• •  EALC 342gp Japanese Literature and Culture
• •  EALC 344gp Korean Culture from Ancient to Modern Times
• •  EALC 345 Korean Civilization
• •  EALC 346g Hallyu, the Korean Wave
• •  EALC 350gp Chinese Civilization
• •  EALC 352g Chinese Literature and Culture
• •  EALC 354g Modern Chinese Literature in Translation
• •  EALC 355 Studies in Chinese Thought
• •  EALC 358g Transnational Chinese Literature and Culture
• •  EALC 360g Performing Japan: Bodies, Media, and Textuality
• •  EALC 365 Studies in Japanese Thought
• •  EALC 366 Chinese Professional Internship: Communication and Culture
• •  EALC 374 Language and Society in East Asia
• •  EALC 375 Women and Gender in China: Past and Present
• •  EALC 377 Law and Society in Premodern China and Japan
• •  EALC 380 Cultural Topics in East Asian Literature
• •  EALC 381g Visual Cultures of Asia
• •  EALC 382 Art and Cultural Heritage in East Asia
• •  EALC 383 Later Chinese Art
• •  EALC 384 Early Chinese Art
• •  EALC 385 Myth, Folklore, and Fantasy in Japanese Literature and Film
• •  EALC 386 Readings in Modern Korean Literature
• •  EALC 387 Early Japanese Art
• •  EALC 388 Later Japanese Art
• •  EALC 390 Special Problems
• •  EALC 400 Classical Chinese I
• •  EALC 402 Classical Chinese II
• •  EALC 404 Advanced Modern Chinese III
• •  EALC 406 Advanced Modern Chinese IV
• •  EALC 407 News and Web Chinese
• •  EALC 410 Chinese-English Translation
• •  EALC 412a Business Chinese
• •  EALC 412b Business Chinese
• •  EALC 413 Business Japanese
• •  EALC 415 Advanced Korean III
• •  EALC 416 Advanced Chinese Oral Communication
• •  EALC 417 Advanced Korean IV
• •  EALC 418 Korean Writing in Mixed Script
• •  EALC 419 Newspaper and Documentary Korean
• •  EALC 422 Advanced Japanese III
• •  EALC 424 Advanced Japanese IV
• •  EALC 426 Classical Japanese
• •  EALC 427 Women’s Lives in Premodern Japanese Literature
• •  EALC 428 Nature and the Ecological Imagination in Japanese Literature
• •  EALC 429 Gender in Korean Film and Literature
• •  EALC 430 Gender and Sexuality in Korean Literature and Culture
• •  EALC 431 The Taoist Tradition
• •  EALC 438 The Tale of Genji and its Worlds
• •  EALC 440 Current Topics in Japanese
• •  EALC 450 Contemporary Japanese Literature and Global Modernity
• •  EALC 452 Chinese Fiction
• •  EALC 454 Bildungsroman in Modern East Asia
• •  EALC 455 Japanese Fiction
• •  EALC 460 Love, Self and Gender in Japanese Literature
• •  EALC 465 Topics in Korean Visual and Cultural Studies
• •  EALC 470 Introduction to East Asian Linguistics