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Asian studies “inside-out”: a research agenda for the development of Global Asian Studies

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 June 2021

Jin Sato*
Affiliation:
The University of Tokyo Institute for Advanced Studies on Asia, Tokyo, Japan
Shigeto Sonoda
Affiliation:
The University of Tokyo Institute for Advanced Studies on Asia, Tokyo, Japan
*
Author for correspondence: Jin Sato, E-mail: satoj@ioc.u-tokyo.ac.jp

Abstract

New areas of research and education are emerging under the banner of Global Asian Studies (GAS). This paper examines the intellectual background of the rise of GAS and proposes a research agenda for the further development of GAS to facilitate the extraction of globally relevant findings with the potential to restore an intellectual foundation for connectedness in an increasingly divided world. The paper examines the ongoing repositioning of Asia studies in relation to the Asianization of Asian studies, new methodologies for a new era, the increasing importance of multi-lingual research, and theorizes the potential of area studies “inside-out” in relation to trends in and studies of globalization. Proposing four focal themes as a platform from which a new GAS may depart, this manifesto paper aims primarily to open up a discussion to eventually serve as a foundation for sustained research and education in the field of GAS.

Type
Perspectives on Asia
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2021. Published by Cambridge University Press

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