EAS119 Exploring East Asia

Academic Year 2025-2026

20 Credits

Module Organiser: Dr Mike Prentice (mike.prentice@sheffield.ac.uk )

Overview

Exploring East Asia is a core module for Level 1 single-honours East Asian Studies students that runs for the academic year. The module is team-taught and split across six units that provide students with an introduction to important disciplines (fields) that make up Korean, Japanese, Chinese and East Asian Studies. This year's units will focus on the following topics: pre-modern East Asia, modernity, culture, economic development, international relations and media culture. In each unit, students will learn important case studies from across the region utilising different methods from each discipline.

The broad goal of the module is to cultivate an appreciation of different ways of studying East Asia so that you can begin to think about what topic or area you might want to specialise in for your studies. The module also demonstrates why it is important to know about the entire East Asian area.

The module will also provide training in core reading, writing and analytical skills for your studies modules throughout your degree.

The course will help you develop the following skills (Sheffield Graduate Attributes)

• Translate knowledge: through taking the content provided by lectures and readings and using this in seminar discussions and in answering portfolio questions.

• Emotional intelligence: Recognising your own and others’ emotions to guide thinking and behaviour.

• Global awareness: Global competence and cultural intelligence, engaging with global issues and contexts.

• Inclusivity: Recognising and valuing different abilities, backgrounds, beliefs and ways of living.

• Self-awareness: Reflective and understanding of personal strengths, values and areas for development.

• Growth mindset: Recognising the value of continuing development and effective life- and career-management techniques.

• Academic writing: Using clear, concise language appropriate to the academic discipline, and credible evidence to present written arguments or reports, using relevant referencing and citation.

Study Hours

The University recommends that you spend 200 hours working on a 20 credit module. This will include:

• Lecture: 22 hours

• Seminar: 12 hours

• Independent study: 176 hours

Assessment

• Short mini-assessments (5% x 2): 

• Unit writing assessments: (15% x 6)