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Core Module:

Key Questions in East Asian Studies

This module introduces students to the study of East Asia as a region by looking at key questions and debates that have shaped the academic study of the region as a whole. The module introduces these questions and debates through case studies of key events, phenomena, or transformations across pre-modern and modern periods. As an introductory module, students will also learn how academic knowledge is produced, how questions are formed and how scholars form their own answers to these questions. Across the academic year, students will gradually build up their core academic skills and learn to see themselves as not just summarising academic arguments but developing their own.

20 credits

Arts, History  and Culture in China, Japan and Korea

This module introduces China, Japan, and Korea through their entangled histories, arts, and cultural practices. By engaging with the sources and subjects that animate these topics we expose students to the diverse cultural topographies of East Asia. Along the way, the module underscores the complexity and analytical potential of the humanities in an East Asian context.

The course is built around three core themes: people, places, and practices. Each of these topics provide a framework to study the region by foregrounding how human communities are formed, shaped by their environments, and transformed through cultural, intellectual, and economic patterns. The study of people invites questions pertaining to identity, kinship, and social organization. The topic of place encourages reflection on geography, mobility, and historical memory. Finally, practices highlight the ways in which belief systems, artistic expression, and intellectual traditions alter or persevere. These three themes will constitute the three distinct sections that make up the course. Each section will progress through time, from an ancient or premodern starting point up to the contemporary moment. In charting this course, the module will allow our discussion to extend from a distant past to the present day.

This module is as much an introduction to the ways we study East Asia as it is a class on the region itself. Towards this end, we focus on core skills within the humanities. These include critical reading of texts, images, and films; locating and assessing primary and secondary sources; comparative research across disciplines; and analytical writing. Students will be encouraged to identify areas of difference, overlap, and transformation across East Asian traditions while also reflecting on broader scholarly tools and methods. By the end of the module, students will not only have a foundational understanding of East Asian cultures and histories but also a working knowledge of the interpretative approaches that define the humanities as a field.

20 credits

Politics, Economy and Society in China, Japan and Korea

East Asian societies today are shaped by rapid economic, social and political change. This module introduces students to social science approaches to engaging with these changes. Taking a critical and diverse approach to how we understand Chinese, Japanese and Korean contexts, students will explore how political, economic and social processes affect the lives of everyday people in the region. Through thematic research-led case studies, students will develop a critical understanding of how political, social and economic systems in East Asia operate, while developing foundational skills necessary for the remainder of the degree and beyond.

20 credits

Specialist Pathways include the following:

Beginner Korean A

This module will provide the student with a basic knowledge of the Korean language, emphasising the acquisition of essential skills in the spoken language, as well as training listening skills.

20 credits

Korean Language 1A

This module is focusing on receptive activities and written productive activities in Korean language. It aims to enable students to acquire basic competence in grammar, reading, writing and translation both from and into Korean. Every week carefully designed grammar structures and vocabulary will be introduced so that students will be able to do something practical in Korean. The target level at the end of this level is roughly equivalent to TOPIK (Test of Proficiency in Korean) beginners level/L1 or CEFR (Common European Framework of Reference for Languages) A1. 

20 credits

Korean Language 2A

This module is focusing on receptive activities and written productive activities in Korean language. This module builds on the achievement of LAS149 and introduces further grammatical structures of the Korean language with a view to further developing reading, writing and translation skills. Every week carefully designed grammar structures and vocabulary will be introduced so that students will be able to do something practical in Korean. At the end of this level students should complete the beginner's level which is roughly equivalent to TOPIK (Test of Proficiency in Korean) upper beginners level/L2 or CEFR (Common European Framework of Reference for Languages) A2.

20 credits

Beginner Japanese A

This module focuses on interactive activities in Japanese. It aims to enable you to acquire basic competence in speaking and listening skills. Every week carefully designed grammar structures and vocabulary will be introduced so that you will be able to communicate in Japanese through a variety of activities, building to completion of the beginner's level which is roughly equivalent to JLPT (Japanese Language Proficiency Test) N4 or CEFR (Common European Framework of Reference for Languages) A2.

20 credits

Japanese Language 1A

This module is focusing on receptive activities and written productive activities in Japanese language. It aims to enable students to acquire basic competence in grammar, reading, writing and translation both from and into Japanese. Every week carefully designed grammar structures and vocabulary will be introduced so that students will be able to do something practical in Japanese. Kanji (Chinese characters) as well as Japanese characters (hiragana and katakana) are introduced from the earliest stages. 

20 credits

Japanese Language 2A

This module is focusing on receptive activities and written productive activities in Japanese language. This module builds on the achievement of Japanese Language 1A and introduces further grammatical structures of the Japanese language with a view to further developing reading, writing and translation skills. Every week carefully designed grammar structures and vocabulary will be introduced so that students will be able to do something practical in Japanese. At the end of this level students should complete the beginner's level which is roughly equivalent to JLPT (Japanese Language Proficiency Test) N4 or CEFR (Common European Framework of Reference for Languages) A2. 

20 credits

Beginner Chinese A

This module aims to enable students to acquire basic competence in the Chinese language with an emphasis on  practical speaking and listening competence. These are developed through practice and situational Chinese.

20 credits

Chinese Language 1A

This module is focusing on receptive activities and written productive activities in Chinese language. It aims to enable students to acquire basic competence in grammar, reading, writing and translation both from and into Chinese skills. Every week carefully designed grammar structures and vocabulary will be introduced so that students will be able to do something practical in writing. Chinese characters and sentences are introduced from the earliest stages. 

20 credits

Chinese Language 2A

This module is focusing on receptive activities and written productive activities in Chinese language. It aims to enable students to acquire basic competence in grammar, reading, writing and translation both from and into Chinese skills. Every week carefully designed grammar structures and vocabulary will be introduced so that students will be able to do something practical in writing Chinese characters and sentences are introduced from the earliest stages. 

20 credits

The Advanced Specialist Pathways include the following:

Chinese Language Advanced Pathway A

This module is focusing on receptive activities, written productive activities and interactive activities in Chinese language at lower intermediate level. This module acts as a transition between the teacher-centred learning required for the acquisition of basic language skills, and the autonomous and self-directed learning required to progress at intermediate and advanced levels. Translation and functional reading skills are extended, with texts including annotated topical materials. Techniques for tackling unseen materials are developed and grammar knowledge is consolidated and expanded. Every week students are made aware of and given the opportunity to practise spoken applications of specific themes, which is shared with the grammar and writing components. Students develop skills needed to make best use of the Year Abroad programme.

20 credits

Chinese Language Advanced Pathway B

This module is focusing on receptive activities, written productive activities and interactive activities in Chinese language at lower intermediate level. This module acts as a transition between the teacher-centred learning required for the acquisition of basic language skills, and the autonomous and self-directed learning required to progress at intermediate and advanced levels. Translation and functional reading skills are extended, with texts including annotated topical materials. Techniques for tackling unseen materials are developed and grammar knowledge is consolidated and expanded. Every week students are made aware of and given the opportunity to practise spoken applications of specific themes, which is shared with the grammar and writing components. Students develop skills needed to make best use of the Year Abroad programme.

20 credits

Chinese Language Advanced Pathway C

This module is focusing on receptive activities, written productive activities and interactive activities in Chinese language at lower intermediate level. This module acts as a transition between the teacher-centred learning required for the acquisition of basic language skills, and the autonomous and self-directed learning required to progress at intermediate and advanced levels. Translation and functional reading skills are extended, with texts including annotated topical materials. Techniques for tackling unseen materials are developed and grammar knowledge is consolidated and expanded. Every week students are made aware of and given the opportunity to practise spoken applications of specific themes, which is shared with the grammar and writing components. Students develop skills needed to make best use of the Year Abroad programme.

20 credits

The Cultural Specialist Pathway includes one core module:

Inventing East Asian Traditions

This module introduces students to the critical study of East Asian traditions. While the region is often touted for its ancient cultures, practices, and rituals, many of these have been carefully represented, invented, or repackaged in contemporary times for a variety of purposes. Students will learn to critically examine the histories and representations of famous traditions such as Japanese samurai, Korean corporate hierarchy and Chinese philosophy. The module will introduce core academic works from scholars across the region that reveal the complicated backgrounds of these traditions. Understanding these dynamics students will have a more robust understanding of the relationship between tradition, modernity, and the modern nation. The module will also allow students to develop their own projects using group-work through which students will build core media skills in addition.

20 credits

For the Cross Cultural Specialist Pathway - 40 credits for the following list of optional modules

Korean for Non-Specialists 1

This module aims to provide an introduction to the Korean Language for students with no previous knowledge. The emphasis is on achieving a basic level of communication in all four language skills; listening, speaking, reading and writing, which will lay the foundation for further study through classroom practice and self-directed learning. The module also aims to stimulate students' interest in Korea and Korean society by being aware of some of the major social and cultural characteristics of modern Korea and Korean culture.

20 credits

Japanese for Non-Specialists 1

This module aims to enable students with no prior knowledge of Japanese to acquire practical skills in spoken and written Japanese, with the focus placed on elementary structures and core phrases for basic daily communication in university settings.. Japanese script (Hiragana and Katakana) will be introduced at the start and consolidated. The module also introduces some Chinese characters (about 68 Kanji). Through classroom activities, coursework and self-directed learning, the module also aims to develop students' cultural agility and confidence to use the language in real communication.

20 credits

Chinese for Non-Specialists 1

This module aims to enable students with no prior knowledge of Mandarin Chinese to acquire basic practical language skills. With an emphasis on communicative abilities, all four language skills - listening, reading, speaking and writing - are developed through classroom practice and self-directed learning.

20 credits

Thinking Cross-culturally in East Asian studies

This module is designed to introduce students to the benefits of thinking cross-culturally. It will examine transnational and cross-cultural approaches that compare, contrast and connect different contexts across East Asia. Through a series of guided readings and lectures, students will be encouraged to think beyond a single-country approach, learning concepts, approaches and skills that are key to a regional understanding of East Asian studies.

20 credits