News

From the opening of trade with Britain in the 1850s, Japan occupied a unique and contradictory place in the Victorian imagination, regarded as both a rival empire and a cradle of exquisite beauty. Quaint, Exquisite explores the enduring impact of this dramatic encounter, showing how the rise of Japan led

The application period for the 2020 conference is now open. Interested students from all institutions within the U.S. and abroad must complete the online application form below, including upload of one document which contains a description of the the paper topic and its significance (up to 500 words) and a short bio (up to 100 words including current institutional affiliation).

We are now accepting applications for the last of three planned workshops funded by the Japan Foundation.

Berkeley’s programs in Chinese and Japanese studies, established over 125 years ago, are among the most developed in the nation. This new Title VI grant focuses on building those areas of its East Asian studies program that are less well developed—mainly Tibetan, Korean and Cantonese studies, and certain aspects of its Chinese and Japanese programs. Coordinated by Berkeley’s Institute of East Asian Studies (IEAS), the nexus of all East Asia programs at Berkeley, these efforts include not only language courses but teacher training, public outreach and organized research activities.

This special issue on “Buddhist Art in Mongolia,” guest edited by Uranchimeg Tsultemin, brings together four research articles and two photos essays that address the specific qualities of Mongolian Buddhist artworks by placing them in the historical, political, and social context of Inner Asia, and specifically the Tibet-Mongolia interface.

The Center for Chinese Studies welcomes Sophie Volpp as the new faculty chair effective July 1, 2019. She is currently Associate Professor and Comparative Literature Chair in the Department of East Asian Languages and Cultures at UC Berkeley.

We would also like to thank prior faculty chair You-tien Hsing for her leadership and support in the past five years.

CSEAS has awarded Foreign Languages and Area Studies (FLAS) graduate student fellowships for the 2019-20 academic year to Jennifer Duque (Ethnic Studies) and Aaron Gatdula (City & Regional Planning) to study Filipino, Ngoc-Mai Phan (Ethnic Studies) to study Vietnamese, and Justin Weinstock (Anthropology) to study Thai. Chyrylle Digsay (South & Southeast Asian Studies and Legal Studies) received an undergraduate FLAS award to study Filipino.

The CJS-JSPS (Japan Society for the Promotion of Science) Fellowship Award provides opportunities for both pre- and postdoctoral students from the University of California, Berkeley to conduct cooperative research with leading research groups in Japanese universities and other research institutions under the guidance of a host sponsor. The fellowship is for a term of 1-12 months, and is open to all fields of the humanities, social sciences, engineering, and the natural sciences. 

Congratulations to Professor Andrew Jones, Department of East Asian Languages and Cultures and member of the IEAS Executive Committee, on winning a 2019 Distinguished Faculty Mentor Award.

Nominated by faculty colleagues and current and former graduate students, the award recipients have demonstrated an outstanding commitment to helping UC Berkeley graduate students to succeed academically, professionally, and personally.

An awards ceremony will be held on Tuesday, April 16 (4:00–6:00pm) at the Anna Head Alumnae Hall (2537 Haste Street).

The Institute of East Asian Studies at the University of California, Berkeley is pleased to announce that Dr. Uk Heo, Distinguished Professor in Political Science at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, has been chosen as the new Editor of the journal Asian Survey.

The 30th quarterly issue of our open-access e‑journal Cross-Currents: East Asian History and Culture Review(link is external) is now online.

Deadline Extended: February 27

The Center for Japanese Studies grants full scholarships to the Japan-American Student Conference for Berkeley undergraduate and graduate students. Awards are open to any full-time student with an interest in Japan.

The 29th quarterly issue of our open-access e‑journal Cross-Currents: East Asian History and Culture Review(link is external) is now online.

The Japan Foreign Minister’s Commendations are awarded to individuals and groups with outstanding achievements in international fields, to acknowledge their contributions to the promotion of friendship between Japan and other countries and areas. This year, we are pleased to announce that Professor Steven Vogel, the Il Han Professor in Asian Studies and Professor of Political Science, has been chosen as a recipient of this award.