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Centre of Japanese Studies(CJS)

Centre of Japanese Studies(CJS)

Japanese Language was introduced in the Centre of Afro-Asian Languages (CAAL) in School of Language, Literature and Culture Studies in 1973 as a one year certificate course, which was upgraded into full-time five year integrated programme leading to M.A. degree in the next year.  During the Cold War period there was not much interaction between India and Japan, be it in the realm of bilateral economic cooperation, trade or commerce or in the field of technology transfer, industrial cooperation and collaboration.  But by the beginning of 1980's with a sudden improvement in Indo-Japanese relations, especially in the field of bilateral trade and technology transfer a spurt in the demand for Japanese Language experts was created and it has been gradually rising. In 2012, the two countries celebrated the 60th Anniversary of Diplomatic relations between India & Japan and have entered  a new phase of strengthening the strategic and global partnership. It  will give a further spur to the demand for  Japanese Language experts as well as researchers and scholars of Japanese Literature, Culture, Society, Religion etc. These are the areas in which the centre has made a  niche in national as well as international circles. The centre also offers M.Phil/P.hD programme. The M.Phil/P.hD was introduced in the Centre in 2006 replacing the existing Pre-P.hD /P.hD .

The initial centre of CAAL was bifurcated in the mid 1980s and the Centre of East Asian Languages (CEAL) consisting of Chinese, Japanese and Korean, came into existence.  However, CEAL was further bifurcated and the Centre for Japanese and North East Asian Studies (CJNEAS) came into existence, with Japanese, Korean and Mongolian Languages in 1995. Furthermore, CJKNEAS was again bifurcated into two independent Centres, i.e., Centre for Japanese Studies (CJS) and Centre for Korean Studies (CKS) in Executive Council meeting held on 10.5.2013.  The CJS has about 200 students.

 

List of courses being offered in Monsoon Semester 2023

 

A warm welcome to the modified and updated website of the Centre for East Asian Studies. The East Asian region has been at the forefront of several path-breaking changes since 1970s beginning with the redefining the development architecture with its State-led development model besides emerging as a major region in the global politics and a key hub of the sophisticated technologies. The Centre is one of the thirteen Centres of the School of International Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi that provides a holistic understanding of the region.

Initially, established as a Centre for Chinese and Japanese Studies, it subsequently grew to include Korean Studies as well. At present there are eight faculty members in the Centre. Several distinguished faculty who have now retired include the late Prof. Gargi Dutt, Prof. P.A.N. Murthy, Prof. G.P. Deshpande, Dr. Nranarayan Das, Prof. R.R. Krishnan and Prof. K.V. Kesavan. Besides, Dr. Madhu Bhalla served at the Centre in Chinese Studies Programme during 1994-2006. In addition, Ms. Kamlesh Jain and Dr. M. M. Kunju served the Centre as the Documentation Officers in Chinese and Japanese Studies respectively.

The academic curriculum covers both modern and contemporary facets of East Asia as each scholar specializes in an area of his/her interest in the region. The integrated course involves two semesters of classes at the M. Phil programme and a dissertation for the M. Phil and a thesis for Ph. D programme respectively. The central objective is to impart an interdisciplinary knowledge and understanding of history, foreign policy, government and politics, society and culture and political economy of the respective areas. Students can explore new and emerging themes such as East Asian regionalism, the evolving East Asian Community, the rise of China, resurgence of Japan and the prospects for reunification of the Korean peninsula. Additionally, the Centre lays great emphasis on the building of language skills. The background of scholars includes mostly from the social science disciplines; History, Political Science, Economics, Sociology, International Relations and language.

Several students of the centre have been recipients of prestigious research fellowships awarded by Japan Foundation, Mombusho (Ministry of Education, Government of Japan), Saburo Okita Memorial Fellowship, Nippon Foundation, Korea Foundation, Nehru Memorial Fellowship, and Fellowship from the Chinese and Taiwanese Governments. Besides, students from Japan receive fellowship from the Indian Council of Cultural Relations.