UVA East Asia Center

05/21/2026

Interested in East Asian art?
ARTH 2861— East Asian Art, Fall 2026
M/W 2-3:15 pm, Cam 160, 4 credits
This course is a general introduction to the artistic traditions of China, Korea, and Japan from the prehistoric period to the modern era. Major topics include funerary art, Buddhist art, and later court and secular art. The course seeks to understand artistic forms in relation to technology, political and religious beliefs, and social and historical contexts. It also introduces the major philosophic and religious traditions—Confucianism, Daoism, Shinto, and Buddhism—that have shaped cultural and aesthetic ideals of East Asia. The lectures survey major monuments and the fundamental concepts behind their creation.

04/17/2026

Join us tonight in the Colonnade Club for our 50th Anniversary Reception!

04/15/2026

Join us for our 50th Anniversary alumni conference this Saturday!

East Asian Studies at 50 Alumni Conference

10:00 – 11:30 a.m. "Pacific Asia Beyond the American Century" Social Sciences Panel, Colonnade Club (Pavilion VII) Solarium

12:30 – 1:30 p.m. "U.S. Policy Impacts on Asia in a Turbulent Era" Lunch Address with Ambassador Daniel Kritenbrink

2:00 – 3:30 p.m. "Buddhist Studies and Asian Humanities" Panel, Colonnade Club (Pavilion VII) Solarium

04/10/2026

One week away!

Join the East Asia Center as we celebrate 50 years of East Asian Studies at the University of Virginia, April 17-19. Our flagship conference will feature

03/26/2026

Join us for our 50th Anniversary celebration weekend April 17-19!

03/23/2026

Join us for China's Evolving Use of Economic Development Zones in the Reform Era with April Herlevi this Friday!

Free and open to the public!

03/11/2026

50 Years, 50 Stories of East Asia
Founded in 1975, the UVA East Asia Center has spent fifty years connecting students and faculty across disciplines, fostering engagement with key issues in East and Southeast Asian studies. To celebrate this milestone, we will be highlighting fifty UVA alumni-authored works from the field. This series culminates with our April 18 Alumni Conference, where we will come together to honor our legacy and look ahead to our next chapter.

The UVA East Asia Center is proud to feature Dr. Ka Zeng in our upcoming 50th Anniversary Alumni Conference. She is currently a professor of political science at UMass Amherst and received her PhD from UVA. Her main focus is on Chinese trade policy.

Fragmenting Globalization explores how the growth of global supply chains has transformed the politics of trade in the major economies of the United States and China. The book argues that modern production networks have reshaped the interests of firms and industries, influencing their support for trade agreements and international economic cooperation. Drawing on firm-level data, policy analysis, and case studies, the authors show how businesses embedded in global supply chains often advocate for preferential trade liberalization to maintain access to foreign markets and suppliers. The book highlights how these dynamics are changing the coalitions that shape trade policy and the structure of the global economic system.

If you are interested, please follow the link below or click our bio to reserve a ticket to our 50th alumni conference: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/east-asian-studies-at-50-alumni-conference-tickets-1981770772729

03/11/2026

50 Years, 50 Stories of East Asia
Founded in 1975, the UVA East Asia Center has spent fifty years connecting students and faculty across disciplines, fostering engagement with key issues in East and Southeast Asian studies. To celebrate this milestone, we will be highlighting fifty UVA alumni-authored works from the field. This series culminates with our April 18 Alumni Conference, where we will come together to honor our legacy and look ahead to our next chapter.

The UVA East Asia Center is proud to feature Dr. Ka Zeng in our upcoming 50th Anniversary Alumni Conference. She is currently a professor of political science at UMass Amherst and received her PhD from UVA. Her main focus is on Chinese trade policy.

Fragmenting Globalization explores how the growth of global supply chains has transformed the politics of trade in the major economies of the United States and China. The book argues that modern production networks have reshaped the interests of firms and industries, influencing their support for trade agreements and international economic cooperation. Drawing on firm-level data, policy analysis, and case studies, the authors show how businesses embedded in global supply chains often advocate for preferential trade liberalization to maintain access to foreign markets and suppliers. The book highlights how these dynamics are changing the coalitions that shape trade policy and the structure of the global economic system.

If you are interested, please follow the link below to reserve a ticket to our 50th alumni conference: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/east-asian-studies-at-50-alumni-conference-tickets-1981770772729

03/06/2026

50 Years, 50 Stories of East Asia

Founded in 1975, the UVA East Asia Center has spent fifty years connecting students and faculty across disciplines, fostering engagement with key issues in East and Southeast Asian studies. To celebrate this milestone, we will be highlighting fifty UVA alumni-authored works from the field. This series culminates with our April 18 Alumni Conference, where we will come together to honor our legacy and look ahead to our next chapter.

The UVA East Asia Center is proud to feature Dr. Guan-Yi Leu in our upcoming 50th Anniversary Alumni Conference. She is currently an assistant professor at the University of Mary Washington. She previously taught at National Cheng-Chi University and was a visiting research fellow at Academia Sinica in Taiwan. She earned her B.A. and M.A. from National Taiwan University and her Ph.D. from the University of Virginia

Dr. Leu is featured in a book titled The Strategic Options of Middle Powers in the Asia-Pacific. This book analyses the responses of middle powers in the Asia-Pacific toward the contemporary great powers’ rivalry between the United States and China. Her chapter, specifically chapter 12, titled "Why Hedging Is Not Easily Attainable—Taiwan's Strategic Policy Options Amidst U.S.–China Competition," argues that since Tsai Ing-wen’s 2016 election, Taiwan has struggled to pursue a consistent hedging strategy amid worsening cross-Strait tensions and intensifying U.S.–China rivalry. Although most Taiwanese favor maintaining the status quo, Taiwan’s options are constrained by China’s coercive and inducement tactics, the rising costs of military balancing, and its dependence on U.S. policy. These external pressures, combined with domestic democratic politics and polarization, significantly limit Taiwan’s strategic flexibility.

If you are interested please follow the link below to reserve a ticket to our 50th alumni conference: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/east-asian-studies-at-50-alumni-conference-tickets-1981770772729?fbclid=IwY2xjawQXAj1leHRuA2FlbQIxMABicmlkETFlMXN4aDhFNXBHNm1GSE95c3J0YwZhcHBfaWQQMjIyMDM5MTc4ODIwMDg5MgABHsQ11ZNObbN3HIOVu2ux__FQmhhgVjzTt_6pYn5-oWWl6ZnTFdpdqz3KmFtK_aem_FzrvgzeIuF

03/06/2026

50 Years, 50 Stories of East Asia

Founded in 1975, the UVA East Asia Center has spent fifty years connecting students and faculty across disciplines, fostering engagement with key issues in East and Southeast Asian studies. To celebrate this milestone, we will be highlighting fifty UVA alumni-authored works from the field. This series culminates with our April 18 Alumni Conference, where we will come together to honor our legacy and look ahead to our next chapter.

The UVA East Asia Center is proud to feature Dr. Guan-Yi Leu in our upcoming 50th Anniversary Alumni Conference. She is currently an assistant professor at the University of Mary Washington. She previously taught at National Cheng-Chi University and was a visiting research fellow at Academia Sinica in Taiwan. She earned her B.A. and M.A. from National Taiwan University and her Ph.D. from the University of Virginia

Dr. Leu is featured in a book titled The Strategic Options of Middle Powers in the Asia-Pacific. This book analyses the responses of middle powers in the Asia-Pacific toward the contemporary great powers’ rivalry between the United States and China. Her chapter, specifically chapter 12, titled "Why Hedging Is Not Easily Attainable—Taiwan's Strategic Policy Options Amidst U.S.–China Competition," argues that since Tsai Ing-wen’s 2016 election, Taiwan has struggled to pursue a consistent hedging strategy amid worsening cross-Strait tensions and intensifying U.S.–China rivalry. Although most Taiwanese favor maintaining the status quo, Taiwan’s options are constrained by China’s coercive and inducement tactics, the rising costs of military balancing, and its dependence on U.S. policy. These external pressures, combined with domestic democratic politics and polarization, significantly limit Taiwan’s strategic flexibility.

If you are interested please follow the link below to reserve a ticket to our 50th alumni conference: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/east-asian-studies-at-50-alumni-conference-tickets-1981770772729?fbclid=IwY2xjawQXAj1leHRuA2FlbQIxMABicmlkETFlMXN4aDhFNXBHNm1GSE95c3J0YwZhcHBfaWQQMjIyMDM5MTc4ODIwMDg5MgABHsQ11ZNObbN3HIOVu2ux__FQmhhgVjzTt_6pYn5-oWWl6ZnTFdpdqz3KmFtK_aem_FzrvgzeIuFYY-PiEwdQIEw