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Korean Humanism Track

The Department of Asian & Asian American Studies is releasing a new track available for students to pursue! Designed for students with a strong interest in classical texts and a commitment to advancing research on Korea’s humanistic traditions, the program was created in response to a need for a ethically informed, and historically grounded approach in an era of global uncertainty, technological growth, and shifting cultural values. Through close examination with primary sources, students will develop the skills to rethink questions of humanity, knowledge, and responsibility across time and cultures. The program offers a rigorous, interdisciplinary curriculum, with full tuition support available for selected candidates.

Program Highlights

  • Curriculum: A carefully curated 30-credit program completed over three semesters.
  • Full Tuition Scholarships: Available to selected students for up to 30 credits, contingent upon maintaining a minimum GPA of 3.5.
  • Interdisciplinary Approach: Study Korea’s classical heritage through literature, history, and philosophy.
  • Primary Source Training: Gain the skills to read and interpret premodern Korean materials.
  • Career Preparation: Well-suited for students planning to pursue doctoral study in Korean or East Asian studies.

Course Requirements

30-credits, including 24-credits of course work and 6-credits of thesis. More specifically, students are required to take the following:

  1. A pro-seminar in research methods (3 credits)
  2. Four core courses (12 credits):
    1. AAS 511 Reading Classical Texts in Korean Humanism I
    2. AAS 512 Reading Classical Texts in Korean Humanism II
    3. AAS 536 Korean Humanism in Modern History
    4. AAS 538 Korean Humanists: Lives and Works
  3. Three elective courses (9 credits)
  4. A thesis (6 credits)

Elective courses:

  • AAS 500 Intellectual History of East Asia
  • AAS 521 Korean Literature
  • AAS 523 Language and Society in Korea 
  • AAS 532 (repeatable) Humanities Topics in Korean Studies
  • AAS 537 History of Korea 

Faculty

Dr. Hongkyung KimDirector of the Korean Humanism Project
Professor of Korean Philosophy, Confucianism, and Daoism
PhD, Sungkyunkwan University
 
Visiting Associate Professor of Korean Philosophy and East Asian Intellectual History
PhD, Oxford University
 
Adjunct Professor of Korean Philosophy; Professor, Sungkyunkwan University
PhD, Yonsei University
 
Adjunct Professor of Korean Cultural and Intellectual History of the Twentieth Century
PhD, Columbia University
 
Advanced Senior Lecturer of Korean Modern History
PhD, Stony Brook University

Additional Faculty
Dr. Sohl Lee, Associate Professor of East Asian Art
Dr. Jiwon Hwang, Assistant Professor of Korean Language
Dr. Sandra So Hee Chi Kim, Assistant Professor of Korean American Studies
 

Contact

The Center for Korean Studies
N5520 Frank Melville Library
Stony Brook University
Stony Brook, NY 11794-3377
U.S.A.
 
Center for Korean Studies, koreanstudies@stonybrook.edu, Tel.  631-632-7636