The Center for East Asian Studies
The Center for East Asian Studies (CEAS) and its three Committees - The Committee on Japanese Studies, the Committee on Chinese Studies, and the Committee on Korean Studies - work to enhance opportunities available to scholars both in the United States and abroad, and to foster communication and inter-disciplinary collaboration among the community of professors and students at the University of Chicago and throughout the wider East Asian Studies community.
To these ends CEAS and its Committees sponsor a variety of activities including colloquia, workshops, conferences, public lectures, film series, cultural events, and other programs that promote understanding of the cultures and societies of China, Japan, and Korea. University of Chicago faculty and programs in East Asian studies regularly achieve the highest rankings among peer institutions in the United States, making East Asian Studies at the University of Chicago an invaluable national resource and a focal point for East Asian Studies in the Midwest.
CEAS is also designated as an East Asia National Resource Center (NRC), supported by the U.S. Department of Education under Title VI of the Higher Education Act of 1965. NRC designation adds to the breadth and depth of CEAS's activities in specific areas, including: teaching of modern Chinese, Japanese, and Korean; instruction in fields needed to provide full understanding of East Asia; instruction and research on issues in world affairs that concern East Asia and other regions; acquisition of printed materials and other media essential to instruction and research on East Asia; outreach and consultative services on a national, regional, and local basis; maintaining relations with overseas institutions of higher education and other organizations that contribute to the educational and scholarly mission of CEAS.
History of the Center for East Asian Studies
The formal history of East Asian studies at the University of Chicago dates back to 1936, with the establishment of a Chinese studies program in the Department of Oriental Languages and Literatures. The 1950s were a period of major growth and innovation in East Asian studies at the University. In 1951, acknowledging the wide-ranging relevance of East Asia, the University established an interdisciplinary Committee on Far Eastern Studies. This program was later reorganized as the Center for Far Eastern Studies with the support of funds from the Ford Foundation, the U.S. Department of Education and other sources. Today it is known as the Center for East Asian Studies. Read more about the history of East Asian studies at University of Chicago in this article by Associate Director Theodore Foss.
The Director of the Center is a faculty member specializing in an area of East Asian studies, selected to serve for a number of years. Past directors include:
Tetsuo Najita - 1974-1980
William Parish - 1980-1987
Leo Ou-Fan Lee - 1987-1990
William Parish - 1990-1991
Mary Brinton - 1992-1993
D. Gale Johnson - 1993-1998
James Ketelaar - 1998-2005
Donald Harper - 2005-2008
Dali Yang - 2008-
Today, the Center plays a vital role on campus and in the community by connecting resources on East Asia to scholars, students, and the general public.
