We study the languages, societies and cultures of major civilizations that stretch from the Arab World to Japan. Students expand their knowledge and challenge assumptions about this large and vital part of the world.
We offer two types of courses: language courses in Arabic, Chinese, and Japanese, and culture courses representing a broad range of academic disciplines such as anthropology, art history, film studies, history, literature, political science, and religion.
Our CurriculumWhether through literature, film, art, architecture, political science, anthropology, religion, or history, Asian Languages and Civilizations allows you to engage this vital and significant part of our world.
The MajorThe department encourages study abroad in the language of concentration to further language development and experience local societies and cultures.
Study AbroadDoshisha University was founded by Joseph Hardy Neesima of the Class of 1870, the first Japanese to graduate from a Western institution of higher learning. Amherst College’s ongoing partnership with Doshisha includes student exchanges, faculty exchanges, and a post-graduate fellowship.
Doshisha UniversityDoes Islam require an iconoclastic hostility to representational media in general, or is this idea just one more misrepresentation? This course takes a historical perspective on such topical questions and on the media through which they circulate and proliferate.
What does it mean to be “Chinese,” when the term stands at once as a marker of nationality, ethnicity, language and culture? Through the lens of literature and film, this course looks into the rich histories and cultural diversities of Chinese communities.
This course will explore the Shahnameh as literature, history, and material culture—including illustrated manuscripts, printed books, ceramics, metalwork, andposters—from Ferdowsi’s tenth-century context to the contemporary moment.
We award the Doshisha Asian Studies Prize for the best undergraduate honors thesis pertaining to Asia, and The Smith Prize for Japanese Studies.