About

Asian Studies is an interdisciplinary program designed to encourage students to deepen their study of Asian cultures through courses and the senior thesis, along with rigorous training and expertise in Chinese or Japanese language.

In a globalized society, it is important to find alternatives to US-centric world views and create opportunities to center and learn from equally important voices and perspectives from around the world. We have much to learn from Asia’s complex experiences with local, regional, and global flows of privilege, power, colonialism, and ethnic conflict.

Asian popular musics, cinema, and literature–manga, anime, Bollywood, and martial arts films–have become mainstays in the world’s media sphere, while innovative new media cultures invite the world to listen to the new Asia. While technology makes the world feel increasingly interconnected in some senses, we also encounter troubling stereotypes, prejudice, and racism within and toward Asia in today’s fast-paced global media, politics, as well as in everyday encounters.

Visit Asia With Your Peers

Bates College enhances the academic experiences of its students by providing them with opportunities to experience Asia first-hand through a series of academic trips.

Trips to Asia

Why Should We Learn Foreign Languages?

Some of our students and faculty explain why. Read their insights and experiences.

Studying Foreign Languages

What You’ll Study

By learning about the languages, histories, philosophies, politics, economies, literatures, arts, religions, and cultures of the many peoples of Asia and its diasporas, we hope for students to gain the knowledge, contexts, and inter-cultural competency necessary to engage with the joys and troubles of a large part of the world that is under-acknowledged in academic institutions outside Asia.

Asian Studies is an interdisciplinary program designed to encourage students to deepen their study of Asian cultures through courses and the senior thesis along with rigorous training and expertise in Chinese or Japanese language. The program features three majors: Chinese, Japanese, and Asian Studies. In addition to the majors, the Program in Asian Studies offers minors in Chinese, Japanese, and Asian Studies.

We also have fun together—regular language tables as well as cultural events where we celebrate cultural traditions of Asia—and strongly encourage a semester (or a full year) of study abroad in China or Japan as an integral part of our curriculum for linguistic and cultural immersion and exploration on the ground.

Provided with blank masks and prepared Chinese watercolor paints and brushes, six Chinese language students, led by Learning Associate in Chinese Veronica Huang, recently gathered around a Roger Williams Hall table to create the traditional faces of Peking Opera masks. The students were able to use pictures of Peking Opera masks provided by Huang as a reference. Or they could design their own. According to Huang, “Different face colors represent different characters and personalities.” For instance, the color red on a mask represents the character wearing it as “brave and loyal.” Huang worked alongside the students to make the masks in other colors too. “By making these Peking Opera masks, students can experience traditional Chinese Opera culture more vividly,” she says, “which will have a positive impact on their learning of Chinese language and culture.” Sheila Robledo ‘25, Alex Sandvil ‘27, Alex Takeyh ‘26, Cora Zuwallack ‘27, Myat Htut ‘27, and Vova Sosnovskii ‘26 wound down a busy week with the creative activity. Huang plans to decorate the Chinese department’s hallway with their efforts.

Provided with blank masks and prepared Chinese watercolor paints and brushes, six Chinese language students, led by Learning Associate in Chinese Veronica Huang, recently gathered around a Roger Williams Hall table to create the traditional faces of Peking Opera masks. The students were able to use pictures of Peking Opera masks provided by Huang as a reference. Or they could design their own. According to Huang, “Different face colors represent different characters and personalities.” For instance, the color red on a mask represents the character wearing it as “brave and loyal.” Huang worked alongside the students to make the masks in other colors too. “By making these Peking Opera masks, students can experience traditional Chinese Opera culture more vividly,” she says, “which will have a positive impact on their learning of Chinese language and culture.” Sheila Robledo ‘25, Alex Sandvil ‘27, Alex Takeyh ‘26, Cora Zuwallack ‘27, Myat Htut ‘27, and Vova Sosnovskii ‘26 wound down a busy week with the creative activity. Huang plans to decorate the Chinese department’s hallway with their efforts.

Students in Douglas Brook’s practitioner-taught Short Term course, “Apprentice Learning: Building the Japanese Boat,” launched their boats in a traditional Japanese boat launching ceremony on the Puddle at 3:30 p.m., a prelude to The Annual Showcase Event for Short Term Redesigns and Practitioner Taught Courses held in the Perry Atrium of Pettengill Hall. .

Students in Douglas Brook’s practitioner-taught Short Term course, “Apprentice Learning: Building the Japanese Boat,” launched their boats in a traditional Japanese boat launching ceremony on the Puddle at 3:30 p.m., a prelude to The Annual Showcase Event for Short Term Redesigns and Practitioner Taught Courses held in the Perry Atrium of Pettengill Hall. .

Taught by Japanese Lecturer in Asian Studies Keiko Konoeda. JPN 101 - Beginning Japanese I An introduction to the basics of spoken and written Japanese as a foundation for advanced study and proficiency in the language. Fundamental patterns of grammar and syntax are introduced together with a practical, functional vocabulary. Mastery of the katakana and hiragana syllabaries, as well as approximately seventy written characters, introduces students to the beauty of written Japanese.

Taught by Japanese Lecturer in Asian Studies Keiko Konoeda. JPN 101 – Beginning Japanese I An introduction to the basics of spoken and written Japanese as a foundation for advanced study and proficiency in the language. Fundamental patterns of grammar and syntax are introduced together with a practical, functional vocabulary. Mastery of the katakana and hiragana syllabaries, as well as approximately seventy written characters, introduces students to the beauty of written Japanese.

The 2019 Mount David Summit held in Pettengill Hall “Cultural Forces in Contemporary China A How has hip hop found a place in China, and how do video games export Chinese ideas to the world? Chelsea Anglin '19: Re-branding China? The Swordplay Martial Arts Video Game, E-Sports, and Their Contributions to Chinese Soft Power George Fiske '19: Nationalism, Capitalism, and Trap Drums: A Study of the Manifestation of Hip Hop in China Moderator: Nathan Faries, Asian Studies

The 2019 Mount David Summit held in Pettengill Hall “Cultural Forces in Contemporary China A How has hip hop found a place in China, and how do video games export Chinese ideas to the world? Chelsea Anglin ’19: Re-branding China? The Swordplay Martial Arts Video Game, E-Sports, and Their Contributions to Chinese Soft Power George Fiske ’19: Nationalism, Capitalism, and Trap Drums: A Study of the Manifestation of Hip Hop in China Moderator: Nathan Faries, Asian Studies