Introduction to Asian Studies

"Asia" is not a fixed geography on a map, but a fluid and contested entity with porous borders and vibrant lines of intersection.

Image: Man Sitting on a Bridge in a Misty Mountain Landscape, The Walters Art Museum via Unsplash

Schedule
Daily plan across 4 weeks
Assignments
Essays, projects & proposal
Policies
Guidelines & community

About This Course

This course opens multiple pathways for studying Asia—across disciplines, national borders, and historical periods. We draw on methods from anthropology, history, politics, cultural studies, and beyond.

Moving from K-pop to shamanic rituals, from nation-building projects to environmental struggles and everyday acts of care, we work with visual and textual sources, museum objects and archival documents, maps, films, literature, and lived experiences.

We trace how "Asia," in all its diverse yet deeply interconnected parts, has come to be shaped by empire and war, trade and migration, religious encounters, gendered and sexual politics, popular culture, and global capitalism. Grounding our learning in specific local contexts, we unsettle simple West–Rest binaries and cultivate cross-cultural curiosity and accountability.

Learning Objectives

1 Understand Asia as a fluid, interconnected, and historically shaped region.
2 Engage critically with debates on representation, power, empire, gender, and knowledge production.
3 Practice close reading and watching across texts, films, maps, and museum objects.
4 Reflect on how power and positionality shape knowledge across cultures.
5 Connect global questions to local contexts, including here in Colorado.
6 Develop interdisciplinary thinking across anthropology, history, literature, and politics.

Explore the Course

Hover over highlighted regions to discover the themes and topics we explore.

Central Asia South Asia East Asia Korea Japan Southeast Asia Colorado N
East Asia
Japan
Korea
South Asia
Southeast Asia
Central Asia
Colorado