Research

We have a new Publications Page!

We have a new Publications Page!

Check out publications by Asian Studies faculty on our brand-new page!

UBC Tianzhu-Hurvitz Lecture Series: Karma in Chinese Buddhist Historiography Lecture Report and Video

UBC Tianzhu-Hurvitz Lecture Series: Karma in Chinese Buddhist Historiography Lecture Report and Video

The second iteration of the UBC Tianzhu-Hurvitz Lecture Series was held on October 9, with speaker Dr. John Kieschnick (Stanford University) exploring why Chinese Buddhist historians turned to the doctrine of karma for explanation of historical causation and truths.

Asian Studies Professor Oberoi’s Writings Featured in New Book

Asian Studies Professor Oberoi’s Writings Featured in New Book

University of Chicago Press recently published Professor Laurie Patton’s book, Who Owns Religion? Scholars And Their Publics in the Late Twentieth Centuries, which includes references to writings by Asian Studies Professor Harjot Oberoi (South Asian Social and Religious History).

Jinhua Chen Announced as an RSC Fellow for 2020!

Jinhua Chen Announced as an RSC Fellow for 2020!

Congratulations to Professor Jinhua Chen, who has just been announced as a Royal Society of Canada (RSC) Fellow for the incoming academic year!

UBC prof translates earliest surviving live-action Mulan film

UBC prof translates earliest surviving live-action Mulan film

Mulan, a live-action rendition of the Disney animated classic, premiered on Sept 4th. This highly anticipated film retells the legend of Chinese heroine Hua Mulan, a story that has been appearing on the silver screen for almost a hundred years. Professor Christopher Rea, who recently translated the earliest surviving Mulan film, Hua Mu Lan (1939), talks about why Mulan remains a powerful cultural icon.

Asian Studies Alumni Spotlight – Chulthim Guring

Asian Studies Alumni Spotlight – Chulthim Guring

Interested in what you can do with a degree in Asian Studies? In our Alumni Spotlight Interview Series, we ask our alumni about their career paths, how they became interested in Asian Studies and for any advice they would give to current students. In this interview, Chulthim Guring has just completed his Master of Arts […]

Nusantara’s Indigenous Knowledge

Nusantara’s Indigenous Knowledge

Nusantara’s Indigenous Knowledge was a June 2020 joint undertaking between Dr. Tom Hunter and the University of Indonesia’s Faculty of Cultural Studies. The book features analyses of both local tradition and artifacts, in juxtaposition to contemporary societies of both Indonesia and South East Asia as a whole. Tom shares his experience on the process!

Statement on Academic Freedom

Statement on Academic Freedom

In light of the recent developments in Hong Kong, as well as the on-going challenges in addressing the past and present elsewhere in Asia, the Department of Asian Studies at the University of British Columbia is reaffirming its support of UBC’s commitment to advancing academic freedom.

Meet Our Students: Nicole Lin

Meet Our Students: Nicole Lin

Interested in pursuing a BA in Asian Studies? In this interview series, we ask our students about their experience in our program and their future academic and professional goals. This interview features MA student Nicole Lin, who completed her BA at UBC in 2019, double majoring in History and Asian Area Studies. Her MA focus […]

Discovering Premodern Japan through Video

Discovering Premodern Japan through Video

[youtube]https://youtu.be/6d6OY6iMp7g[/youtube] How did script and books arrive in Japan from the continent? Why does classical Japanese theatre often include scenes of travel? How was the body represented in Buddhist religious texts circulated in Japan? These are some of the questions being answered in visual ways by a team of researchers in Asian studies. Five scholars […]