Undergraduate Research

DEALL Forum / Denman / Research Courses / Funding

OSU and DEALL encourage undergraduates to engage in original research. For general information on undergraduate research at OSU, see the Undergraduate Research Office homepage.

Majors and students of Chinese, Japanese, and Korean are given the following opportunities to engage in original research. 

DEALL Undergraduate Research Forum

 

Undergraduate student presents a paper at the DEALL Forum

The department annually offers the DEALL Undergraduate Forum as a platform for undergraduates to present their research to their peers and to faculty. Students develop their research in the context of a regular course or in independent study with a faculty member.

In the past, students have presented papers on topics as varied as queer Korean cinema, Han fu poetry, Chinese internet language, religion in China, and Japanese fiction. 2012 DEALL Undergraduate Forum program [pdf]

The forum takes place every April. Students interested in presenting their research should talk with a faculty member in their area of research and/or the DEALL undergraduate director, Kirk A. Denton

Denman Undergraduate Research Forum

The Department also encourages its students to participate in the annual Denman Undergraduate Research Forum, a university-wide opportunity to showcase outstanding student research. 

Undergraduate Research and Undergraduate Honors Research

DEALL students can engage in research in the contexts of the following DEALL courses (offered in Chinese, Japanese, and Korean versions). Students must work with at least one faculty member. 
 
4193: Individual Studies
Students work one-on-one with a DEALL faculty member on a topic decided upon in consultation with that faculty member.  
 
4998/4998(H): Undergraduate Research: Project
Students engage in original research that leads to the completion of a project other than a conventional thesis (e.g., a translation, the production of a play or a film)
 
4999/4999(H): Undergraduate Research: Thesis
Students engage in original research that leads to the completion of a written scholarly thesis. 
 
As of spring 2011, OSU offers "graduation with research distinction" and "graduation with honors research distinction" to those students who complete a research thesis.
 
DEALL honors students working with this department's faculty have completed the following theses:  
 
Katharine Anne Gabele (2004, Japanese minor) 
"Places, Faces, and Spaces in Between: An Exploration of Setting and Identity Formation in the Works of Japanese American Women Authors" 
Advisor: Professor Naomi Fukumori
 
Christopher Merkel (2004, Japanese major) 
"A Translation from the Japanese of 'Koku, The Void' (1950), by the Japanese novelist Haniya Yutaka (1910-1997)" 
Advisor: Professor William Tyler 
 
Anita Allen (2004, Japanese major) 
"A Comparative Study of Early Childhood Discipline in the United States and Japan" 
Advisor: Professor Etsuyo Yuasa
 
Group of students from the Department of East Asian Languages and Literature
Charles Stevens (2005, Japanese major) 
"A translation from the Japanese of 'S. Karuma-shi no Hanzai, The Crime of Mr. S. Karma' (1951), by the Japanese novelist Kobo Abe (1924-1993)" 
Advisor: Professor William Tyler 
 
Daniel Bradshaw (2006, Japanese major) 
"The Unseen World: An Exploration of Contemporary Japanese Short Fiction in Translation" 
Advisor: Professor William Tyler 
 
Jennifer Lin (2006, Chinese major) 
"Taiwanese: A Study of the Language and its Cultural, Sociological and Historical Significance" 
Advisor: Professor Marjorie Chan 
 
Erin Odor (2006, Comparative Studies major) 
"Negotiating Cultures, Creating 'China' and 'The West': Translation Work of the Seventeenth-Century Jesuit Missionaries in China" 
Advisors: Professor Patricia Sieber and Professor Daniel Reff (Comparative Studies) 
 
Brian Baker (2007, Japanese major) 
"Postposing Adnominals in Japanese" 
Advisor: Professor Etsuyo Yuasa
 
Matthew Gerber (2007, Japanese major) 
"The Importance of Poetry in Heian-era Romantic Relationships" 
Advisor: Professor Naomi Fukumori
 
George Stey (2007, Japanese major) 
"Translation into English of the Scenario (by Kubota Mantaro) of Nagai Kafu's Novel Yume no onna (1903)" 
Advisor: Professor William Tyler 
 
Edwin Szeto (2007, Chinese major) 
"Thinking Outside the Closet: Negotiations of Taiwanese Gay and Lesbian Subjectivities in Contemporary Fiction, 1994-1998" 
Advisor: Professor Patricia Sieber
 

Thomas LaPlante (2007, Japanese major)
“From Manga to Comic: Visual Language in Translation”
Advisor: Professor Richard Torrance

Kimberly Miller (2011, Japanese major)
“Direct and Indirect Methods: Manipulations of Feminine Conventions in Heian Period Nikki             (794-1185)”
Advisor: Professor Naomi Fukumori

Zachary Layfield (2011, Japanese major)
“Unpacking Puns: Translating Kakekotoba in Hyakunin ishhu
Advisor: Professor Naomi Fukumori

Ashley Buzzard (2012, Japanese major)
“Sister Solidarity: Compassionate Relationships Among Popular Entertainers and Their Fellow Women in Medieval Japan"
Advisor: Professor Shelley Quinn
 

Funding

The university offers multiple funding opportunities for undergraduate students to engage in research. For information, see the Undergraduate Research Office funding page and the Arts and Sciences Scholarships and Grants page