The department is the home for instruction in the languages, literatures, religions, cultures, and intellectual histories of Asian societies and is one of the few departments in America that offers instruction in social sciences, the humanities and languages across all three regions of Asia: East Asia (China, Japan and Korea), Southeast Asia (Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, Myanmar, The Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore), and South Asia (India, Pakistan, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh). The Department is committed to the examination of social, political, and cultural formations that transcend traditional national and areal boundaries.
Asian Studies Major, Arushi Kende arrived at Cornell with a deep interest in how societies can nurture and encourage a sense of deep community and care for one another. In a time when social discourse seems course and uncaring, Arushi stuck to her vision that there are different models that can be emphasized and fostered. She was motivated to understand how these visions of human caring and social repair are made more explicit in certain social contexts. Her interests led her to Asian Studies where she has studied visions of altruism in Asian traditions. While the majority of her work has focused on Indian cases, including a grant to study in India in the winter of 2025, she has also studied Japanese cases, works by the current Dalai Lama, American Zen cases, and even altruism projects closer to home while an intern at Fallen Tree Zen Center during the summer of 2025. While at Cornell, Arushi has been a Rawlings Cornell Presidential Research Scholar and also a Humanities scholar. Arushi is completing an honors thesis on this project and has been awarded a Fulbright Fellowship to study the practice of selfless service in India beginning in the fall of 2026.
An academic obituary for Professor Dan Gold (1947 - 2026) written by his colleague Professor Anne Blackburn.
Daniel Gold, Professor Emeritus of Asian Studies at Cornell University, brought remarkable intellectual and personal strengths to academic work. His many years of contributions in South Asia studies and religious studies encompassed a multifaceted career of academic writing, documentary film making, and translation.
The College of Arts & Sciences at Cornell University will celebrate the 20-year anniversary of the Cornell Levinson Program in China and Asia-Pacific Studies – and a new faculty director for the program — at an April 24 symposium on the Ithaca campus.
Cornell admits the Class of 2030 emphasizing real-world impact, enrolling 5,776 students from 102 countries.
At Cornell University, the diverse cohort reflects the land-grant mission and applied learning goals across multiple colleges.
Joshua Kam, doctoral candidate in Asian studies, was quoted in Time Magazine on the cultural significance of national cuisines.
Time Magazine, 11/21/25
“Food often came before countries. The dishes that we share often moved with people who were moving about before there were borders, before there were passports.”
