971113 Thesis (Global Asian Studies)

Description

The thesis in Global Asian Studies allows students to focus on dynamic dimensions of people and places in Asia. Through the thesis they conduct interdisciplinary research addressing the economic, political, social, and transcultural influence of Asian states and societies. Thesis supervision and research seminars centre on contemporary research design, including multi-sited frameworks, everyday multilingualism, digital humanities, and theory-building. Students are encouraged to develop approaches beyond Eurocentrism and descriptive area studies, to conduct original research for instance focused on Asia in the world, Asian contexts of globalising issues, comparative urbanisms and ways of life, connectivity among Asian societies, regional environmental change, and pathways to political futures. Topics may include cinema, cities, education, the environment, gender, geography, governance and international affairs, labour and social movements, sociolinguistics, media studies, and politics and political economy, and with particular emphasis on China, Japan, Korea, and Indonesia. Advancing a critically insightful understanding of contemporary Asia, based on an intellectual foundation for connectedness in an uneven world, the thesis prepares students for postgraduate research and professional careers in the arts, business, education, government and non-government sectors, international affairs, media, politics, and public policy.