About the Program
The East Asian Humanities major provides students with an understanding of East Asian cultures through an innovative curriculum taught by scholars of East Asian literature, culture, thought, and religion. The major is deliberately and insistently comparative and offers multiple disciplinary perspectives. It provides students with the opportunity to range across the rich diversity of East Asian cultures—Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Tibetan, and Mongolian--through the array of disciplines and specialties represented in the department, including literary, cultural, visual, and sound studies, religion, philosophy, film and media studies, disability studies, and environmental humanities.
Some courses focus on East Asia’s shared cultural heritages, others on humanistic responses to historical and sociological phenomena, others on systems of thought and belief, and others on the analysis and appreciation of the artistry of cultural invention.
The major can be completed entirely through courses taught in English, with the option of taking courses in the original language at the advanced level. There are no language prerequisites.
Minor Program
There is no minor program in East Asian Humanities.
Other Majors and Minors Offered by the Department of East Asian Languages and Cultures
Chinese Language (Major and Minor)
East Asian Religion, Thought & Culture (Major only)
Japanese Language (Major and Minor)
Korean Language (Minor only)
Tibetan (Minor only)
Major Requirements
In addition to the University, campus, and college requirements listed on the College Requirements tab, students must fulfill the requirements specific to their major program.
General Guidelines
- All courses that fulfill the major requirements below must be taken for graded credit, other than courses listed on a Pass/No Pass basis only.
- No more than one upper division course may simultaneously fulfill requirements for a student's major and minor programs, except for minors offered outside the College of Letters & Science.
- To fulfill the major requirements, a minimum grade point average (GPA) of 2.0 must be maintained in upper- and lower-division courses.
- No more than two upper-division courses can be taken outside the EALC department, and the undergraduate advisor must approve them. A course syllabus may be required to approve courses outside the department.
Please see the College Requirements tab for information regarding residence and unit requirements.
Declaring the Major
Students are advised to begin preparation for the major as soon as possible while completing university, college, and department requirements. For the most up-to-date information, students can view the department's East Asian Humanities website.
Students interested in majoring in the program should schedule an appointment with the undergraduate adviser regarding major requirements, transfer credits, and other academic concerns.
East Asian Humanities Major Courses and Requirements
The major in East Asian Humanities offers a comprehensive, comparative study of East Asia's people, arts, literature, and culture. Students may emphasize a particular region but must balance their focus by including courses that adhere to the guidelines outlined below. Additionally, they can mix and match regions and cultural areas, selecting courses that cover a broad range of areas and cultures within the prescribed requirements.
Lower Division Requirements
Two courses covering at least two geographical or cultural spheres selected from the list below
Code | Title | Units |
---|---|---|
EA LANG/BUDDSTD C50 | Introduction to the Study of Buddhism | 4 |
CHINESE 7A | Introduction to Premodern Chinese Literature and Culture | 4 |
CHINESE 7B | Introduction to Modern Chinese Literature and Culture | 4 |
JAPAN 7A | Introduction to Premodern Japanese Literature and Culture | 4 |
JAPAN 7B | Introduction to Modern Japanese Literature and Culture | 4 |
KOREAN 7A | Introduction to Premodern Korean Literature and Culture | 4 |
KOREAN 7B | Introduction to Modern Korean Literature and Culture | 4 |
Upper Division Requirements
Comparative East Asian Core - Two Courses
Code | Title | Units |
---|---|---|
EA LANG 107 | War, Empire, and Literature in East Asia | 4 |
EA LANG 109 | History of the Culture of Tea in China and Japan | 4 |
EA LANG 110 | Bio-Ethical Issues in East Asian Thought | 4 |
EA LANG 111 | Reading Global Politics in Contemporary East Asian Literature | 4 |
EA LANG 112 | The East Asian Sixties | 4 |
EA LANG 116 | Modern East Asian Fiction | 4 |
East Asian Humanities Electives - Four Courses
Students must select four elective courses to meet these requirements:
- Two courses each in Premodern and Modern Subjects
- Three of the four electives may be in the same geographic and cultural area, and one must be in a geographic or cultural area outside the main focus area.
Premodern Electives
Code | Title | Units |
---|---|---|
CHINESE 110A | Introduction to Literary Chinese | 4 |
CHINESE 110B | Introduction to Literary Chinese | 4 |
CHINESE C116 | Buddhism in China | 4 |
CHINESE 120 | Ancient Chinese Prose | 4 |
CHINESE 122 | Ancient Chinese Poetry | 4 |
CHINESE 130 | Topics in Daoism | 4 |
CHINESE 134 | Readings in Classical Chinese Poetry | 4 |
CHINESE 136 | Readings in Medieval Prose | 4 |
CHINESE C140 | Readings in Chinese Buddhist Texts | 4 |
CHINESE 155 | Readings in Vernacular Chinese Literature | 4 |
CHINESE 176 | Bad Emperors: Fantasies of Sovereignty and Transgression in the Chinese Tradition | 4 |
CHINESE 178 | Traditional Chinese Drama | 4 |
CHINESE 179 | Exploring Premodern Chinese Novels | 4 |
CHINESE 180 | The Story of the Stone | 4 |
JAPAN C115 | Buddhism and its Culture in Japan | 4 |
JAPAN 116 | Introduction to the Religions of Japan | 4 |
JAPAN 120 | Introduction to Classical Japanese | 4 |
JAPAN 130 | Classical Japanese Poetry | 4 |
JAPAN 132 | Premodern Japanese Diary (Nikki) Literature | 4 |
JAPAN 140 | Heian Prose | 4 |
JAPAN C141 | Introductory Readings in Kanbun | 4 |
JAPAN 144 | Edo Literature | 4 |
JAPAN 170 | Classical Japanese Literature in Translation | 4 |
KOREAN 130 | Genre and Occasion in Traditional Poetry | 4 |
KOREAN 140 | Narrating Persons and Objects in Traditional Korean Prose | 4 |
MONGOLN 110 | Literary Mongolian | 4 |
MONGOLN 116 | The Mongol Empire | 4 |
MONGOLN C117 | Mongolian Buddhism | 4 |
TIBETAN 110A | Intensive Readings in Tibetan | 4 |
TIBETAN 110B | Intensive Readings in Tibetan | 4 |
TIBETAN C114 | Tibetan Buddhism | 4 |
TIBETAN 116 | Traditional Tibet | 4 |
TIBETAN 119 | Tibetan Medicine in History and Society | 4 |
TIBETAN C154 | Death, Dreams, and Visions in Tibetan Buddhism | 4 |
MODERN ELECTIVES
Code | Title | Units |
---|---|---|
CHINESE 153 | Reading Taiwan | 4 |
CHINESE 156 | Modern Chinese Literature | 4 |
CHINESE 157 | Contemporary Chinese Literature | 4 |
CHINESE 158 | Reading Chinese Cities | 4 |
CHINESE 172 | Contemporary Chinese Language Cinema | 4 |
CHINESE 187 | Literature and Media Culture in Taiwan | 4 |
CHINESE 188 | Popular Media in Modern China | 4 |
JAPAN 155 | Modern Japanese Literature | 4 |
JAPAN 159 | Contemporary Japanese Literature | 4 |
JAPAN 160 | Introduction to Japanese Linguistics: Grammar | 4 |
JAPAN 161 | Introduction to Japanese Linguistics: Usage | 4 |
JAPAN 163 | Translation: Theory and Practice | 4 |
JAPAN 173 | Modern Japanese Literature in Translation | 4 |
JAPAN 178 | Murakami Haruki and Miyazaki Hayao: the Politics of Japanese Culture from the Bubble to the Present | 4 |
JAPAN 180 | Ghosts and the Modern Literary Imagination | 4 |
JAPAN 181 | Reframing Disasters: Fukushima, Before and After | 4 |
JAPAN 185 | Introduction to Japanese Cinema | 4 |
JAPAN 188 | Japanese Visual Culture: Introduction to Anime | 4 |
JAPAN 189 | Topics in Japanese Film | 4 |
KOREAN 150 | Modern Korean Poetry | 4 |
KOREAN 153 | Readings in Modern Korean Literature | 4 |
KOREAN 155 | Modern Korean Fiction | 4 |
KOREAN 157 | Contemporary Korean Literature | 4 |
KOREAN 170 | Intercultural Encounters in Korean Literature | 4 |
KOREAN 172 | Gender and Korean Literature | 4 |
KOREAN 174 | Modern Korean Fiction in Translation | 4 |
KOREAN 180 | Critical Approaches to Modern Korean Literature | 4 |
KOREAN 185 | Picturing Korea | 4 |
KOREAN 186 | Introduction to Korean Cinema | 4 |
KOREAN 187 | History and Memory in Korean Cinema | 4 |
KOREAN 188 | Cold War Culture in Korea: Literature and Film | 4 |
KOREAN 189 | Korean Film Authors | 4 |
MONGOLN 118 | Modern Mongolia | 4 |
TIBETAN 115 | Contemporary Tibet | 4 |
TIBETAN 118 | The Politics of Modern Tibet | 4 |
College Requirements
Undergraduate students must fulfill the following requirements in addition to those required by their major program.
For a detailed lists of L&S requirements, please see Overview tab to the right in this guide or visit the L&S Degree Requirements webpage. For College advising appointments, please visit the L&S Advising Pages.
University of California Requirements
Entry Level Writing
All students who will enter the University of California as freshmen must demonstrate their command of the English language by fulfilling the Entry Level Writing requirement. Fulfillment of this requirement is also a prerequisite to enrollment in all reading and composition courses at UC Berkeley and must be taken for a letter grade.
American History and American Institutions
The American History and American Institutions requirements are based on the principle that all U.S. residents who have graduated from an American university should have an understanding of the history and governmental institutions of the United States.
Berkeley Campus Requirement
American Cultures
All undergraduate students at Cal need to take and pass this campus requirement course in order to graduate. The requirement offers an exciting intellectual environment centered on the study of race, ethnicity and culture of the United States. AC courses are plentiful and offer students opportunities to be part of research-led, highly accomplished teaching environments, grappling with the complexity of American Culture.
College of Letters & Science Essential Skills Requirements
Quantitative Reasoning
The Quantitative Reasoning requirement is designed to ensure that students graduate with basic understanding and competency in math, statistics, or computer/data science. The requirement may be satisfied by exam or by taking an approved course taken for a letter grade.
Foreign Language
The Foreign Language requirement may be satisfied by demonstrating proficiency in reading comprehension, writing, and conversation in a foreign language equivalent to the second semester college level, either by passing an exam or by completing approved course work taken for a letter grade.
Reading and Composition
In order to provide a solid foundation in reading, writing, and critical thinking the College of Letters and Science requires two semesters of lower division work in composition in sequence. Students must complete parts A & B reading and composition courses in sequential order by the end of their fourth semester for a letter grade.
College of Letters & Science 7 Course Breadth Requirements
Breadth Requirements
The undergraduate breadth requirements provide Berkeley students with a rich and varied educational experience outside of their major program. As the foundation of a liberal arts education, breadth courses give students a view into the intellectual life of the University while introducing them to a multitude of perspectives and approaches to research and scholarship. Engaging students in new disciplines and with peers from other majors, the breadth experience strengthens interdisciplinary connections and context that prepares Berkeley graduates to understand and solve the complex issues of their day.
Unit Requirements
-
120 total units
-
Of the 120 units, 36 must be upper division units
- Of the 36 upper division units, 6 must be taken in courses offered outside your major department
Residence Requirements
For units to be considered in "residence," you must be registered in courses on the Berkeley campus as a student in the College of Letters & Science. Most students automatically fulfill the residence requirement by attending classes at Cal for four years, or two years for transfer students. In general, there is no need to be concerned about this requirement, unless you graduate early, go abroad for a semester or year, or want to take courses at another institution or through UC Extension during your senior year. In these cases, you should make an appointment to meet an L&S College adviser to determine how you can meet the Senior Residence Requirement.
Note: Courses taken through UC Extension do not count toward residence.
Senior Residence Requirement
After you become a senior (with 90 semester units earned toward your B.A. degree), you must complete at least 24 of the remaining 30 units in residence in at least two semesters. To count as residence, a semester must consist of at least 6 passed units. Intercampus Visitor, EAP, and UC Berkeley-Washington Program (UCDC) units are excluded.
You may use a Berkeley Summer Session to satisfy one semester of the Senior Residence requirement, provided that you successfully complete 6 units of course work in the Summer Session and that you have been enrolled previously in the college.
Modified Senior Residence Requirement
Participants in the UC Education Abroad Program (EAP), Berkeley Summer Abroad, or the UC Berkeley Washington Program (UCDC) may meet a Modified Senior Residence requirement by completing 24 (excluding EAP) of their final 60 semester units in residence. At least 12 of these 24 units must be completed after you have completed 90 units.
Upper Division Residence Requirement
You must complete in residence a minimum of 18 units of upper division courses (excluding UCEAP units), 12 of which must satisfy the requirements for your major.
Major Map
Major maps are experience maps that help undergraduates plan their Berkeley journey based on intended major or field of interest. Featuring student opportunities and resources from your college and department as well as across campus, each map includes curated suggestions for planning your studies, engaging outside the classroom, and pursuing your career goals in a timeline format.
Use the major map below to explore potential paths and design your own unique undergraduate experience:
Advising
For advice related to the major, please schedule an appointment with the undergraduate advisor, Cassandra Dunn, on Calendly.
For quick questions about requirements, you can email her at [email protected].
If you have questions or problems related to enrollment or placement exams, please contact the Enrollment Manager, Presi Diaz, at [email protected].
Contact Information
Department of East Asian Languages and Cultures
3413 Dwinelle Hall
Phone: 510-642-3480
Fax: 510-642-6031
Student Services Advisor
Cassandra Dunn
7228 Dwinelle Hall
https://calendly.com/cassandra-dunn-ug-advisor
Undergraduate Faculty Advisor
Dan O'Neill
3408 Dwinelle Hall
https://ealc.berkeley.edu/people/oneill-dan
Department Chair
Robert Ashmore
3403 Dwinelle Hall
https://ealc.berkeley.edu/people/ashmore-robert