East Asian Studies Center

Thursday, November 12, 2026 | 2:00PM-3:20PM | Students only

EASC Guest Speaker Series: Talk by Prof. Ajantha Subramanian (Harvard University) with Faculty Moderator Prof. Ketaki Pant (HIST 391: Feminist Histories of South Asia)

Ajantha Subramanian shows that the language of “merit” makes caste privilege invisible in engineering edcuation in contemporary India.

For students in course only.

Thursday, November 12, 2026 | 11:00AM-12:00PM | RZC 119 | RSVP

Passed among three families from ages six to eighteen—and given a new name and identity by each—a young Chinese girl searches for belonging, love, and a life of her own in A Girl Unknown. Director Zou Jing’s deeply moving debut premiered at Cannes Critics’ Week, where it received the Gan Foundation Award for Distribution. Join us after the screening for a special Q&A with Zou Jing, moderated by USC Professor Stan Rosen.

Organized by USC US-China Institute and China Film Pavilion with additional support from US-China Today, USC Cinematic Arts and USC Dornsife East Asian Studies Center.

Friday, November 13, 2026 | 2:00PM-5:00PM | SOS 250 | RSVP

The EASC Manuscript Review is a professional development seminar for faculty and graduate students, from USC and the wider community.

Leading scholars in the fields of cultural, intellectual and literary history of Korea will discuss a new book manuscript by Graeme R. Reynolds, Assistant Professor of East Asian Languages and Cultures, entitled Material Historiography: The Official Histories of Koryŏ from the Fifteenth to Eighteenth Century. Discussants include Donald L. Baker, Professor Emeritus of Asian Studies at The University of British Columbia and Hwisang Cho, Associate Professor of East Asian Languages and Cultures at Emory College of Arts and Sciences. Faculty and graduate students from USC and the community are welcome to attend.

Attendees must read the entire manuscript and actively participate in the professional development review seminar. A copy of the manuscript will be provided after we receive your RSVP.

Please RSVP by October 13, 2026 to allow for adequate time to read through the manuscript.

Thursday, March 4, 2027 | 12:00PM-1:30PM | DML | RSVP

Interested in conducting research in Japan? Join representatives from the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) to learn about fellowship opportunities for Ph.D. students, postdoctoral scholars, researchers, and faculty across all academic disciplines.

As Japan’s largest funding agency for academic research, JSPS offers a wide range of fellowships that support research and scholarly exchange at universities and research institutions throughout Japan. During this information session, JSPS representatives will provide an overview of available programs, eligibility requirements, the application process, and tips for preparing a competitive application. Attendees will also hear from JSPS alumni about their experiences conducting research in Japan and have an opportunity to ask questions.

Whether you are just beginning to explore research opportunities abroad or are preparing to apply for a fellowship, this session is an excellent opportunity to learn more about funding your research in Japan.

Lunch will be served. Please RSVP by Friday, February 18. 

This event is co-sponsored by the USC East Asian Studies Center and the USC Shinso Ito Center for Japanese Religions and Culture

Thursday, April 8, 2027 | 10:00AM-5:00PM | TBA | RSVP

In this one-day workshop, six historians of modern Japan will present new scholarship on “the long 1980s,” conceptualized as a distinct, coherent historical period from the late 1970s to the mid-1990s. From 1985 to 1991, Japan seemed on the verge of taking over the world, buoyed by unstoppable growth in the real estate and stock markets, only to collapse once economic fundamentals brought to heel the popular euphoria driving all bubbles. Thereafter, Japan entered a prolonged period of economic, political, even demographic malaise known as the “Lost Decades” during the 1990s and well into the twenty-first century. While the bubble era has been studied by social scientists, mostly in economics and political science, there is a surprising dearth of historical scholarship that integrates the 1980s with the broader scholarship of modern Japanese history, both in its postwar and contemporary variants. This workshop brings together six historians of modern Japan who will present new research on the “long 1980s” that demonstrate how the peculiar economic conditions of 1980s Japan intersected in surprising ways with the social, cultural, and political histories of Japan.

Participants

Simon Avenell (Australian National University)
Nick Kapur (Rutgers-Camden)
Connor Mills (University of St. Thomas)
Kirsten Ziomek (Adelphi University)

Other speakers TBA

This workshop is co-sponsored by the USC East Asian Studies Center