Center for East Asian Studies, University of Chicago

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Center for East Asian Studies, University of Chicago We connect students and faculty studying East Asia at UChicago to programs and resources locally, nationally, and internationally.

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.

**PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS EVENT HAS BEEN CANCELLED**
10/21/2026

**PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS EVENT HAS BEEN CANCELLED**

Next Week!

Hear Associate Professor of Economics at UMass Amherst's Isabella Weber discuss her book, together with Postdoctoral Scholar in the Department of History at the University of Chicago, Timothy Barker!

This event is co-sponsored with the Chicago Center for Contemporary Theory (3CT) at the University of Chicago, with the support of the Rosa Luxemburg Stiftung - New York Office.

Learn more and REGISTER:
https://isabella_weber.eventbrite.com

The Center for East Asian Studies, University of Chicago is excited to announce its 2026-2027 CEAS Spotlight Lecture Ser...
10/16/2026

The Center for East Asian Studies, University of Chicago is excited to announce its 2026-2027 CEAS Spotlight Lecture Series (formerly known as the CEAS Lecture Series) line up!

Learn more about the series, and who's speaking:
https://ceas.uchicago.edu/events/ceas-lecture-series

This series is co-sponsored by The University of Chicago Library.

Next Week! Hear Associate Professor of Economics at UMass Amherst's Isabella Weber discuss her book, together with Postd...
10/14/2026

Next Week!

Hear Associate Professor of Economics at UMass Amherst's Isabella Weber discuss her book, together with Postdoctoral Scholar in the Department of History at the University of Chicago, Timothy Barker!

This event is co-sponsored with the Chicago Center for Contemporary Theory (3CT) at the University of Chicago, with the support of the Rosa Luxemburg Stiftung - New York Office.

Learn more and REGISTER:
https://isabella_weber.eventbrite.com

On September 29th, the UChicago Hong Kong Campus hosted the webinar Beyond Nolan’s Odyssey: Near Eastern Roots, Chinese ...
10/14/2026

On September 29th, the UChicago Hong Kong Campus hosted the webinar Beyond Nolan’s Odyssey: Near Eastern Roots, Chinese Epics, and the Global Power of Myth.

The panel featured two CEAS faculty, Kenneth Pomeranz (Professor of Modern Chinese History) and Haun Saussy (Professor of East Asian Languages and Civilizations and the Committee on Social Thought). They were joined by Carolina López-Ruiz of the Divinity School. In light of the global attention on Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey, the discussion looked at the Near Eastern roots of Homeric epic, parallels with Chinese epic traditions, and the enduring power of myth across cultures.

📺 Recording: https://youtu.be/3qNDTzgCILw

Congratulations to Professor Wu Hung, who was conferred an Honorary Fellowship by the Hong Kong University of Science an...
10/13/2026

Congratulations to Professor Wu Hung, who was conferred an Honorary Fellowship by the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) on September 22! 🎉

HKUST honored five distinguished leaders this year for their contributions to society and support of the University. The ceremony was officiated by HKUST Council Chairman Professor Harry Shum and President Professor Nancy Ip.

Professor Wu is the Harrie A. Vanderstappen Distinguished Service Professor of Art History and the College at UChicago, Director of the Center for the Art of East Asia, and Adjunct Curator at the Smart Museum of Art. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential historians of Chinese art. His honors include the College Art Association’s Distinguished Scholar Award, the Mellon Lectures in the Fine Arts at the National Gallery, and an honorary degree from Harvard.

Professor Wu has also shared his research with Hong Kong audiences through a public lecture series hosted by the UChicago Hong Kong Campus in partnership with HKUST.

The Center for East Asian Studies, University of Chicago is ramping up for the fall quarter, and excited for the 2026-20...
09/25/2026

The Center for East Asian Studies, University of Chicago is ramping up for the fall quarter, and excited for the 2026-2027 academic year!

Take a look at what's to come this year, including fall quarter activities!

https://conta.cc/46J9t6E

The Center for East Asian Studies, University of Chicago is pleased to announce the winners of the 2026 CEAS M.A. Thesi...
09/25/2026

The Center for East Asian Studies, University of Chicago is pleased to announce the winners of the 2026 CEAS M.A. Thesis Prize in Japan Studies!

Brennan Chang (Master of Arts Program in the Social Sciences)
Prayer & Play: Ise & the Foundations of the Japanese Nation

Yike Ren (Master of Arts Program in the Humanities)
Structuring Imperceptibility: Formal Techniques and the Conditions of Perception in Mushishi

Read more about the winners including their thesis topics, and their future plans!

https://ceas.uchicago.edu/news/ceas-announces-winners-2026-ma-thesis-prizes-japan-studies

Coming up in October! A Reading Kuzushiji Symposium & Workshop, taking place October 24-25!Featuring Tohoku University's...
09/23/2026

Coming up in October! A Reading Kuzushiji Symposium & Workshop, taking place October 24-25!

Featuring Tohoku University's Takahashi Akinori (Professor Emeritus), this two-day event brings together scholars for an all day symposium, followed by an upper beginning to intermediate level workshop on Sunday!

Learn more and REGISTER:
https://kuzushiji_takahashi_2026.eventbrite.com (CHECK OUT THE LIVE ZOOM OPTION FOR THE SATURDAY SYMPOSIUM!)

Join us for a lecture by Duke University's Rey Chow on October 8th!Scholars argue that Asian Studies in North America is...
09/22/2026

Join us for a lecture by Duke University's Rey Chow on October 8th!

Scholars argue that Asian Studies in North America is inextricably tied to American geopolitics and a complex, highly contentious value system. Over time, external geopolitical events—such as wars and transnational conflicts—have transformed into internalized assumptions, perceptions, and cultural idealizations that actively shape interpersonal and intellectual exchanges. In response, area studies must undergo an overhaul similar to comparative literature's effort to expand beyond Western-centric frameworks. Whether area studies can successfully transform into a viable, inclusive collective intellectual project remains an open question.

REGISTER: https://rey_chow.eventbrite.com

This event is co-sponsored by Critical Inquiry.

Yesterday, a full house at the Reva and David Logan Center for the Arts, saw staged readings of a work-in-progress entit...
09/22/2026

Yesterday, a full house at the Reva and David Logan Center for the Arts, saw staged readings of a work-in-progress entitled, "OBON," by acclaimed playwright and novelist, Yū Miri.

Based on oral history interviews that Yū and collaborator Michael Bourdaghs (Robert S. Ingersoll Distinguished Service Professor of East Asian Languages and Civilizations at The University of Chicago) have carried out with approximately fifty members of Chicago’s Japanese American community, the play brought together professional actors with community member interviewees to reimagine the multi-generational history of a Japanese American Chicago, including the 20,000 persons who moved to the city from wartime incarceration camps and their descendants, as well as more recent arrivals from Japan and elsewhere.

Catch continued readings of "OBON," tomorrow at Theater Wit, Wednesday, September 23 at 7:30 pm.

REGISTER HERE: https://www.theaterwit.org/tickets/productions/615/performances

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1155 E 60th Street, Fl 3rd
Chicago, IL
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