East Asian Studies at Harvard University

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East Asian Studies at Harvard University

This is the official page of the undergraduate concentration in East Asian Studies at Harvard University. For others it leads to graduate studies.

East Asian Studies at Harvard is dedicated to the study of East Asia, both as a vital part of the world today and as one of the great civilizations of human history. To study East Asia is to be exposed to a world with different forms of political activity and social relations, religious traditions of great depth and philosophical schools with enduring insights, and literatures of unusual range and

power. It is also to study a world that since the 19th century has come to share in the dilemmas of modernity that we all confront. For some this inquiry provides a challenging and satisfying addition to a liberal arts education. For some it is an opportunity to restore connections to an ancestral past. And for many others it is the beginning of a professional career with an East Asian component. During the last century East Asia established an extraordinary record of economic growth and cultural change. As the new century begins, economic crises and dramatic political realignments have both cooled simplistic boosterism of the "East Asian miracle" and at the same time reaffirmed the critical importance of developments in East Asia to all of our futures. We can expect the countries of East Asia to play an even greater role in world-wide processes of economic, political, and cultural change in decades to come. The achievements of China, Japan, Korea, and Vietnam should come as no surprise when we recognize that the sophisticated, evolving patterns of political and social organization, literary accomplishment, and economic development of East Asia grow out of a civilization with a history of at least three thousand years. The mixed record of dealing with the problems of modernity is also part of a global story, reminding us of comparable traumas of modern history in the West and around the world, but the East Asian experience may offer valuable and thought-provoking lessons.

09/01/2026

Current EAS Concentrator Arthur Camâra ‘28 (EAS Summer 2026 Social Media Fellow) interviews his supervisor at G-Angle, Michaela Kane ‘18 (Concentration in Statistics with a Secondary Field in EAS and a Japanese Language Citation), on how she ended up where she is today!

Music: “Galdin Quay” from Final Fantasy XV Original Soundtrack by Yoko Shimomura

Internship, G-Angle, Tokyo, alum, alumni, concentrator, travel, study, abroad, career, japan, language

08/20/2026

During my time in Japan, I had the chance to hang out with close friends from many other universities in the United States:

My friend Henry from Purdue, who studied abroad with me in Tokyo last summer, returned for another study abroad session this summer. We took not just one but two Tokyo Disney trips, saw a Chiba Lotte Marines baseball game, and visited the Studio Ghibli Museum. We also ate a LOT of Torikizoku, and managed to see even more of Tokyo than we did last year.

After finishing his internship at Roblox, my friend Aidan from middle school (who now studies at UC Berkeley) joined me for a “Yama no Hi” (Mountain Day) weekend trip to Kamakura and Shimoda. There, we ate the best sushi of our lives (“omakase”-style), visited shrines and temples, and took in the views on scenic train rides along the coast.

My other friend from middle school, Anthony (from UC Irvine), stopped to hang out with me during his Japan vacation. We saw Mount Fuji at sunset from the top of Tokyo Skytree, cooked A5 wagyu, and wandered around Shibuya for a couple of days.

-Arthur Camâra ‘28, Summer 2026 EAS Social Media Fellow

Tokyo, Sapporo, kamakura, reischauer, Japan, internship, friends, reunion, sightseeing

07/28/2026

Our Summer 2026 Social Media Fellow Arthur walks us through what he’s been doing at his G-Angle internship in Tokyo!

Music: “BAREFOOT IN THE PARK” by Shirō Sagisu from NEON GENESIS EVANGELION (Original Series Soundtrack)

East, Asian, Studies, Tokyo, internship, voice, acting, voiceover, client, global, business, development, anime, games

07/23/2026

I had a blast at the Reischauer Institute’s annual summer reception! Meeting fellow students spending their summers in Japan was an absolute treat, and so was meeting alumni, faculty, and incoming members of the class of 2030.

I had a chance to thank Prof. Gavin Whitelaw and Prof. Shigehisa Kuriyama of the RIJS for funding such an exceptional summer. Both of them also played a key role in my studies last semester, with Prof. Whitelaw offering his expertise on Japanese conbini (convenience stores) and Prof. Kuriyama (former DUS for the EAS Program) teaching my graduate media mix seminar how to effectively conduct presentations—a skill I’m using on a daily basis at G-angle!

I also caught up with friends from Harvard who were doing everything from summer school in Kyoto to research at the HBS’s Japan Research Center to interning at Tokyo-based banks. It was inspiring to see how many experiences in Japan the RIJS has made possible!

-Arthur Câmara ‘28, Summer 2026 EAS Social Media Fellow

Tokyo, Reischauer, RIJS, study, abroad, media, reunion

07/16/2026

Over my first couple of weeks in Tokyo, I had the chance to meet up with loads of friends from back home!

Christian Liu ‘26 and I had some phenomenal udon, and he even had the chance to visit our G-angle offices! Christian, like myself, spent a summer interning in the games industry thanks to the Reischauer Institute, and helped me apply for the RIJS’s generous funding. I had a blast treating him to our signature G-angle omotenashi (hospitality)!

Next, the Harvard Krokodiloes (Harvard’s oldest a ca****la singing group) were on the Tokyo leg of their World Tour, and I got the chance to hang out with several of them! First up was Eddie Gonet ‘26, who joined me for some fantastic noodles followed by unbeatable Japanese ice cream. Then, Will Murray ‘26, Will Flintoft ‘26, and Freddie Sparke ‘28 joined me for some all-you-can-eat A5 wagyu at one of my favorite restaurants in Tokyo. Freddie himself called it “perhaps the best steak I’ve ever had.” Check out the Kroks’ performances if you get the chance!

-Arthur Câmara ‘28, Summer 2026 EAS Social Media Fellow

Tokyo, G-angle, media, internship, Japan, east, Asia, world, tour, a ca****la, singing

07/14/2026

Recently, another extraordinary professor treated me to a visit: Prof. Alex Zahlten!

Last semester, I took Prof. Zahlten’s graduate seminar, EAFM 201 “Media Mix: Representations and Meaning Between Media in Japan”—an outstanding class which let me explore my interest in Japanese media strategies, and one of the main reasons I declared my EAS concentration. I’ve been using skills from Prof. Zahlten’s class in my day-to-day work at G-angle, and he prepared me well for a professional experience in Japanese entertainment.

Prof. Zahlten is going on leave for the 2026-27 school year, but I encourage everyone to take his classes (which include the aforementioned seminar, GENED 1145: Global Japanese Cinema, and more) when he returns!

-Arthur Câmara ‘28, Summer 2026 EAS Social Media Fellow

Tokyo, G-Angle, media, internship, Japan, east, Asia, general, education, faculty, Harvard

07/07/2026

Michaela Kane ‘18 (my supervisor at G-angle) and I had the chance to meet up with the person who made my summer possible—Professor Tomiko Yoda! Both Michaela and I are alumni of Prof. Yoda’s GENED 1042: “Anime as Global Popular Culture,” and when I was looking for a way to get back to Japan this summer, Prof. Yoda very graciously put me in touch with Michaela because of our similar interests. Luckily, all of our schedules in Ebisu lined up, and we were able to catch up over some tonkatsu!

Beyond teaching one of my all-time favorite classes and helping secure my internship at G-angle, Prof. Yoda is also my EAS Concentration Advisor. Now, after a year on leave, she’s returning to campus in the fall! I implore everyone to take her GenEd course. I had very little experience with anime before joining her class, but Prof. Yoda sparked in me a passion for media studies and Japanese entertainment.

-Arthur Câmara ‘28, Summer 2026 EAS Social Media Fellow

Tokyo, G-Angle, media, internship, Japan, east, Asia, general, education, anime

07/03/2026

Beginning in Summer 2026, one East Asian Studies Social Media Fellow will take us along for the ride on their summer study abroad or internship adventure! Our inaugural Fellow is Arthur Câmara '28, a double concentrator in EAS and Economics. Meet Arthur and learn more about G-Angle in Tokyo, where he'll be interning this summer thanks in part to funding from the Reischauer Institute of Japanese Studies.

Follow our new YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/

Harvard East Asian Studies: https://eas.fas.harvard.edu/
Reischauer Institute: https://rijs.fas.harvard.edu/

Music: “Beneath the Mask” from PERSONA5 ORIGINAL SOUNDTRACK, by Lyn, ATLUS Sound Team, and ATLUS GAME MUSIC

05/05/2026

We’re delighted to share that four EAS concentrators (and their thesis advisors) have been awarded the Thomas Temple Hoopes Prize for their senior thesis work! Big congratulations to Efrem, Sasha, Katy, Summer, and their advisors on this well-deserved recognition for outstanding work. More about the prize here: https://prizes.fas.harvard.edu/hoopes-prize

Francesco Efrem Bonetti for “‘As Light as a Goose Feather’: Violence and the Public in Late Qing China”—supervised by Professor Mark Elliott and William Sack

Sasha Claire Hitachi-Kizziah for “Culture and Technology in America’s Wagyu Industry”—supervised by Dr. Gavin Whitelaw and William Sack

Katy Yifan Lin for “When the Past Beckons: Colonial Memory and the Persistence of Japan in Taiwanese Life, 1971–1994”—supervised by Professor Jie Li and Alina Scotti

Summer Anastasia Lin Tan for “‘Goodbye to My Chinese Spy’: Affective Infrastructure, the TikTok Ban, and the Gen Z Countermyth”—supervised by Professor Moira Weigel and Gangsim Eom

Address

9 Kirkland Place
Cambridge, MA
02138

Website

http://eas.fas.harvard.edu/

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