Our Achievements
Teaching
Sheffield was an early pioneer of the teaching of East Asian Studies through the dual degree system, in which education in East Asian languages are combined with study of the social sciences. This system is now standard throughout the UK.
The top quality of teaching at SEAS (in terms of both language and `studies´ modules) has been acknowledged by various national and international agencies. In the 2007 National Student Survey, for instance, SEAS was ranked - by students themselves - first in six out of seven categories (awareness, clarity and usefulness) amongst a range of Asian Studies schools and departments in the UK. SEAS was rated 'Excellent' in the recent Teaching Quality Assessment and HEFCE has noted that '…the School [of East Asian Studies] maintains a high reputation for excellence which is reflected in the high level of graduate employment, and the academic attainment and confidence of students'.
SEAS has an established reputation worldwide for the quality of its teaching in both Japanese language and in all aspects of contemporary Japanese life. In 2005, members of the Japanese language teaching staff at SEAS were awarded University Centenary Awards in recognition of their achievements in this field.
In terms of Chinese language teaching, SEAS was commended in the 2006 Independent Evaluation of Teaching for `the thematic organisation of the Chinese language programme, team organisation and resulting degree structure´. As a reflection of the quality of teaching in our Chinese Studies programme, SEAS students have consistently been ranked in the top three in the annual `Chinese Bridge language proficiency competition´ since the competition´s inception, and have won the UK leg of the competition a number times.
SEAS is also a pioneer through the provision of our award winning taught postgraduate courses in Japanese and Chinese studies by Distance Learning. These are designed with students' diverse situations in mind and cater to a wide range of abilities and language levels.
Research
SEAS is a recognised international centre of excellence for its research activities. This is reflected in the recent award of £4 million for the establishment of the White Rose East Asia Centre and, as a part of WREAC, the National Institute of Japanese Studies.
SEAS research staff routinely publish in top international academic journals. SEAS staff have recently published books on topics as wide ranging as 'The Industrialization of Rural China', 'Contemporary Korean Cinema', 'The Group of 7/8', 'Sources of Chinese Economic Growth', 'The Political Economy of Reproduction in Japan' and 'Foreign Direct Investment in post-crisis Korea'.
In co-operation with Routledge, SEAS has been publishing the Centre for Japanese Studies/Routledge series since 1992. The series now stands at over 30 volumes. Recent publications in this series include the second edition of Japan's International Relations and Japan's Relations with China, both published in 2005, and Global Governance and Japan, published in 2007.
Conferences
The School regularly hosts international conferences. The 2003 British Association for Japanese Studies (BAJS) conference and the 2005 Association for Korean Studies in Europe Annual Conference were both recently held in Sheffield.
In 2007, SEAS hosted the inauguration of the National Institute of Japanese Studies, which included a number of workshops and other activities, such as the international symposium on Shifting Boundaries: Negotiating Identities and Challenges for Scholarship. SEAS is also hosting the Risk in East Asia international symposium in 2007. In 2008, SEAS will play host to the 'Writing Lives in China' conference and a symposium and exhibition on the 'Decline and Revitalization of Japan´s Regions', both of which will bring together scholars from Europe, East Asia and North America.
As part of its commitment to the White Rose East Asia Centre (WREAC), SEAS also regularly hosts seminars held under the WREAC Seminar Series, with speakers from the UK and elsewhere presenting work on contemporary East Asia. SEAS staff are regularly invited to present the results of their research at other institutions and conferences around the world.