Department of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies

Introduction

The department offers students a range of language classes in Arabic, Chinese, Hebrew, Hindi-Urdu, Japanese, Korean, Persian, Turkish, and Vietnamese, as well as a selection of courses taught by our core and affiliated faculty in the humanities (art and art history, cinema, drama, linguistics, literature, and religious studies) and in the social sciences (anthropology, economics, environmental studies, geography, history, sociology, and urban studies).

Students majoring in the Department of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies also may pursue a minor in the department that is different from their major.

Advising

All majors and minors have a primary academic advisor assigned in ConnectCarolina. Students are strongly encouraged to meet regularly with their advisor and review their Tar Heel Tracker each semester. All majors are also required to meet each fall with a faculty advisor within the department. Departmental advising is an opportunity to discuss major progress, course selection and planning, study abroad, graduate school, career opportunities, and other matters pertinent to the major field. Advisors are assigned by concentration; advisor listings and contact information may be found on the department’s website and are also disseminated via the majors’ listserv.

Graduate School and Career Opportunities

As a liberal arts major, the Asian studies major trains undergraduates to read and think analytically and to present their ideas effectively orally and in writing, essential preparation for a variety of careers and for the responsibilities of living in an interdependent world. Graduates of the program have continued their academic preparation in top-ranked graduate programs across the country while others have built distinguished careers in fields including arts, banking, government, international education, journalism, law, medicine, and public health.

Majors

• Asian Studies Major, B.A.–Interdisciplinary Concentration
• Asian Studies Major, B.A.–Arab Cultures Concentration
• Asian Studies Major, B.A.–Chinese Concentration
• Asian Studies Major, B.A.–Japanese Concentration
• Asian Studies Major, B.A.–Korean Studies Concentration
• Asian Studies Major, B.A.–Persian Studies Concentration 
• Asian Studies Major, B.A.–South Asian Studies Concentration

Minors

• Arabic Minor
• Asian Studies Minor
• Chinese Minor
• Modern Hebrew Minor
• Hindi-​Urdu Minor
• Japanese Minor
• Korean Minor
• Middle Eastern Languages Minor
• Persian Minor
• Southeast Asian Studies Minor

Graduate Programs

• M.A. in Asian and Middle Eastern Studies

Courses

• Asian Studies (ASIA)
• Arabic (ARAB)
• Chinese (CHIN)
• Hebrew (HEBR)
• Hindi-Urdu (HNUR)
• Japanese (JAPN)
• Korean (KOR)
• Persian (PRSN)
• Turkish (TURK)
• Vietnamese (VIET)

Professors

Mark Driscoll, Pamela Lothspeich, Morgan Pitelka, Robin Visser, Claudia Yaghoobi, Nadia Yaqub.

Associate Professors

Uffe Bergeton, Li-ling Hsiao, Ji-Yeon Jo, Yaron Shemer, Afroz Taj.

Assistant Professors

Kyoungjin Bae, Keren He, I Jonathan Kief, Yurika Tamura, Ana Vinea.

Teaching Professors

Yuki Aratake, Yi Zhou.

Teaching Associate Professors

Shahla Adel, Dongsoo Bang, Luoyi Cai, John Caldwell, Doria Elkerdany, Yuko Kato, Bud Kauffman, Eunji Lee, Lini Ge Polin, Katsu Sawamura, Hanna Sprintzik.

Teaching Assistant Professors

Dwayne Dixon, Na Fan, Fumi Iwashita, Shuishui Long, Caroline Sibley.

Affiliated Faculty

Barbara Ambros (Religious Studies), Benjamin Arbuckle (Anthropology), Cemil Aydin (History), Inger Brodey (English and Comparative Literature), Becky Butler (Linguistics), Yong Cai (Sociology), Jocelyn Chua (Anthropology), Peter A. Coclanis (History), Barbara Entwisle (Sociology), Michael Figueroa (Music), Banu Gökariksel (Geography), Guang Guo (Sociology), Juliane Hammer (Religious Studies), Gail Henderson (Social Medicine), Carmen Hsu (Romance Studies), Heidi Kim (English and Comparative Literature), Michelle King (History), Charles Kurzman (Sociology), David Lambert (Religious Studies), Christian Lentz (Geography), Lauren Leve (Religious Studies), Townsend Middleton (Anthropology), Christopher Nelson (Anthropology), Lisa Pearce (Sociology), Xue Lan Rong (Education), Steven Rosefielde (Economics), David Ross (English and Comparative Literature), Sarah Shields (History), Kumi Silva (Communication), Jennifer Smith (Linguistics), Sara Smith (Geography), Yan Song (City and Regional Planning), Eren Tasar (History), Meenu Tewari (City and Regional Planning), Michael Tsin (History), Margaret Wiener (Anthropology).

Professors Emeriti

Jan Bardsley, Kevin Hewison, Wendan Li, Jerome P. Seaton.

Associate Professor Emeritus

Gang Yue.

Senior Lecturer Emeritus

Eric Henry.