EALC 200: Approaches to the Study of East Asian Cultures (HC/BMC) Spring 2017: Background

The purpose of this guide is to introduce students of East Asian studies to some of the key English language research sources.

Literature reviews are a particularly useful kind of article when doing research. They address the issues involved in a particular question and the debates among scholars. They map out the intellectual terrain succinctly and give you the major landmarks in terms of key authors and significant titles.

The Oxford Bibliographies Online provide literature reviews for a variety of fields including Asian Studies (they specify the following subject areas: Chinese Studies, Buddhism, International Relations, etc. You can take a look at their subjects and complete a few searches to find what you are interested in).  The essays take the form of an annotated bibliography.  It gives you the benefit of expert advice when identifying what to read for your research. 

• Oxford Bibliographies Online

   

  Relevant essays include:

  
  "China and the World 1900-1949."   Dong Wang

  "Pilgrimage in Japan"  Barbara Ambros

  "Buddhist Philosophy."   William Edelglass

The following sources provide overviews of subject areas within Asian Studies.  They are a quick way to find out the basic facts and recent scholarly interpretations.

When using an article in an encyclopedia or handbook, always check the bibliography at the end of the article for further reading. It will provide a selective list of the books, articles, and, frequently, Web resources considered to be the most up-to-date and reliable.