DAS Mission Statement, 2012
The Department of Asian Studies serves as the intellectual home for faculty and students engaged in the study of Asian languages and cultures at UNC-Chapel Hill. Equally, through research, teaching, and service, we foster the study of Asian artistic and literary expression, history, and politics. We define Asia and the Asian diaspora broadly, aiming to instill appreciation for Asian cultures while building awareness of the di!erences among the regions and the more than four billion people unified by the term “Asia.”
We strongly believe in the University’s mission to promote original research. We are proud of the ways that our internationally renowned faculty is expanding knowledge of Asia through theoretically sophisticated, scholarly publications and lectures. This research serves as the basis for an outstanding array of classes on Asia that provide students in-depth education in Asian pasts and present, and encourages them, too, to reflect on their relationship to local and global dynamics and to become adept at both critical thinking and oral and written expression. Our commitment to research leads in turn to our goal of making a positive impact on the intellectual lives of our students by guiding their academic and creative pursuits.
We are enthusiastic learners and teachers of Asian languages. We firmly believe that language competencies constitute the long-term foundation upon which any serious intellectual or practical engagement with Asian societies and cultures must rest. Our instructors share a commitment to teaching with the latest methods, experimenting with e!ective technology, and developing student language proficiency through the three Cs of “communication, culture, and community.” The department regularly organizes activities that enrich students’ language learning, introducing them, for example, to the foods, martial arts, contemporary and classical music, and spiritual practices found in Asia. Building connections with Asians visiting or living in the Triangle area provides one way to give our students firsthand opportunity to speak the language that they are studying outside the classroom. We also work closely with the UNC Study Abroad Office to develop programs for Carolina students to enhance their language learning and cultural competency with study in Asia.
The Department of Asian Studies actively supports the University’s mission to encourage publicly engaged scholarship, especially as this serves the people of the state of North Carolina. Our faculty members regularly speak on their areas of expertise at workshops for K-12 educators, to community groups, and to public school audiences. Faculty organize special events, lead film series, consult on community e!orts, and participate in public life in numerous ways that enhance North Carolinians’ opportunities to learn about and from Asia. Publishing in newspapers and on internet sites, speaking on radio and TV programs, we strive to teach and to be taught by the public’s concerns and interests.
The Department of Asian Studies aims to promote communication among all at UNC Chapel Hill interested in Asia. Faculty scholarship is strongly interdisciplinary. Our courses complement the disciplinary study of Asia in other Carolina departments, including Anthropology, Art History, City and Regional Planning, Comparative Literature, Economics, Geography, History, Linguistics, Political Science, Religious Studies, and Sociology. We value our links with other departments and centers on campus, and also strive to build connections with other institutions in the state.
The Department of Asian Studies and the College of Arts and Sciences support the University’s core values encouraging diversity and equal educational and employment opportunities throughout the University community. These values are articulated in the University’s nondiscrimination policy and by the o”ce of Diversity and Multicultural A!airs.