Campana wins MLA’s Scaglione Prize for book on Japanese poetry
“Expanding Verse: Japanese Poetry at the Edge of Media" is study of work by poets who push the genre in unexpected directions.
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Our faculty members are a multi-disciplinary group in the humanities who conduct research and teach on topics arranged under our rubrics of "Literature & Linguistics," "Religion," and "Society & Culture," as well as offering instruction in 14 modern Asian languages, and the department also offers instruction in five classical Asian languages (Sanskrit, Pali, Literary Chinese, Literary Japanese and Literary Vietnamese).
The department works with Asian specialists of all disciplines across campus, who collectively comprise the East, South and Southeast Asia area studies programs.
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History of Asian Studies at Cornell
The Department of Asian Studies was initially organized in 1946 as the Department of Far Eastern Studies (changed to Asian Studies in 1962). It developed from a wartime program in the language, history, and culture of China that trained people for government service. The three Cornell Asian area programs for South Asia, Southeast Asia, and East Asia subsequently developed within the department before assuming their separate existences in the 1970s. Initially, the Department was located in Franklin Hall (renamed Tjaden Hall in 1980).
As more positions were assigned to the Department, and with the growth of graduate programs that provided universities around the world with prominent scholars of Asia, the problem of space became chronic. In the early 1970s the Department shifted to Rockefeller Hall where it now occupies the third floor.
Asian Studies News
Cultural Significance of National Cuisines
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 th...
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Indonesian women created a political voice through gendered care work
In "Domestic Nationalism," Chiara Formichi argues that during the 1920s to 1950s, Indonesian women’s domestic activities contributed to nation-building as a political project.
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Einaudi welcomes SWANA Program
The Einaudi Center welcomes the Southwest Asia and North Africa Program and four new program directors this fall.
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2025 Nexus Scholars talk about academic growth, transformation
Ten students who participated in this summer's Nexus Scholars Program share their stories..
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From posters to precedent, humanities scholars showcase their research
Projects spanned topics from Confederate cemeteries to Korean textiles.
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Students got game at annual video game showcase
The showcase was the final exam for students in Cornell’s game design courses
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