Outline

Overview

This unit examines the theoretical and methodological underpinnings of studying Asia, including the question 'what is Asia?' The unit examines key Asia-centred approaches to the field, including the critique of Western-centred forms of knowledge. From that basis, students engage critically with significant bodies of literature in different disciplines as the starting point for designing and carry out their own research projects in the field.

Unit details and rules

Academic unit	Asian Studies
Credit points	6
Prerequisites ?	12 credit points at 2000 level in Asian Studies
Corequisites ?	None
Prohibitions ?	CHNS3902 or INMS3902 or JPNS3902 or ASNS3902
Assumed knowledge ?	None
Available to study abroad and exchange students	Yes

Teaching staff

Coordinator	Timothy David Amos, timothy.amos@sydney.edu.au

Assessment

The census date for this unit availability is 1 September 2025

Details
Criteria

Type	Description	Weight	Due	Length	Use of AI
Presentation	Presentation of research proposal Oral presentation of research proposal	10%	Multiple weeks	equivalent of 500wd	AI allowed
Outcomes assessed:
Contribution	Classwork Discussion of set readings and presentations of others	20%	Ongoing	equivalent to 1000wd	AI allowed
Outcomes assessed:
Research analysis	Draft research proposal n/a	30%	Week 08 Due date: 26 Sep 2025 at 11:59	equivalent to 1500 words	AI allowed
Outcomes assessed:
Experimental design	Final research proposal n/a	40%	Week 13 Due date: 09 Nov 2025 at 11:59	3000 words	AI allowed
Outcomes assessed:

Assessment summary

Detailed information for each assessment can be found on Canvas.

Assessment criteria

The University awards common result grades, set out in the Coursework Policy 2014 (Schedule 1).

As a general guide, a High distinction indicates work of an exceptional standard, a Distinction a very high standard, a credit a good standard, and a pass an acceptable standard.

Result name	Mark range	Description
High distinction	85 - 100
Distinction	75 - 84
Credit	65 - 74
Pass	50 - 64
Fail	0 - 49	When you don’t meet the learning outcomes of the unit to a satisfactory standard.

For more information see guide to grades.

Use of generative artificial intelligence (AI)

You can use generative AI tools for open assessments. Restrictions on AI use apply to secure, supervised assessments used to confirm if students have met specific learning outcomes.

Refer to the assessment table above to see if AI is allowed, for assessments in this unit and check Canvas for full instructions on assessment tasks and AI use.

If you use AI, you must always acknowledge it. Misusing AI may lead to a breach of the Academic Integrity Policy.

Visit the Current Students website for more information on AI in assessments, including details on how to acknowledge its use.

Late submission

In accordance with University policy, these penalties apply when written work is submitted after 11:59pm on the due date:

Deduction of 5% of the maximum mark for each calendar day after the due date.
After ten calendar days late, a mark of zero will be awarded.

Academic integrity

The University expects students to act ethically and honestly and will treat all allegations of academic integrity breaches seriously.

Our website provides information on academic integrity and the resources available to all students. This includes advice on how to avoid common breaches of academic integrity. Ensure that you have completed the Academic Honesty Education Module (AHEM) which is mandatory for all commencing coursework students

Penalties for serious breaches can significantly impact your studies and your career after graduation. It is important that you speak with your unit coordinator if you need help with completing assessments.

Visit the Current Students website for more information on AI in assessments, including details on how to acknowledge its use.

Learning support

Simple extensions

If you encounter a problem submitting your work on time, you may be able to apply for an extension of five calendar days through a simple extension.  The application process will be different depending on the type of assessment and extensions cannot be granted for some assessment types like exams.

Special consideration

If exceptional circumstances mean you can’t complete an assessment, you need consideration for a longer period of time, or if you have essential commitments which impact your performance in an assessment, you may be eligible for special consideration or special arrangements.

Special consideration applications will not be affected by a simple extension application.

Using AI responsibly

Co-created with students, AI in Education includes lots of helpful examples of how students use generative AI tools to support their learning. It explains how generative AI works, the different tools available and how to use them responsibly and productively.

Support for students

The Support for Students Policy reflects the University’s commitment to supporting students in their academic journey and making the University safe for students. It is important that you read and understand this policy so that you are familiar with the range of support services available to you and understand how to engage with them.

The University uses email as its primary source of communication with students who need support under the Support for Students Policy. Make sure you check your University email regularly and respond to any communications received from the University.

Learning resources and detailed information about weekly assessment and learning activities can be accessed via Canvas. It is essential that you visit your unit of study Canvas site to ensure you are up to date with all of your tasks.

If you are having difficulties completing your studies, or are feeling unsure about your progress, we are here to help. You can access the support services offered by the University at any time:

Support and Services (including health and wellbeing services, financial support and learning support)
Course planning and administration
Meet with an Academic Adviser

Weekly schedule

WK	Topic	Learning activity	Learning outcomes
Weekly	2-hour lecture and tutorial per week.	Lecture and tutorial (26 hr)

Attendance and class requirements

Attendance: According to Faculty Board Resolutions, students in the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences are expected to attend 90% of their classes. If you attend less than 50% of classes, regardless of the reasons, you may be referred to the Examiner’s Board. The Examiner’s Board will decide whether you should pass or fail the unit of study if your attendance falls below this threshold.
Lecture recording: Most lectures (in recording-equipped venues) will be recorded and may be made available to students on the LMS. However, you should not rely on lecture recording to substitute your classroom learning experience.
Preparation: Students should commit to spend approximately three hours’ preparation time (reading, studying, homework, essays, etc.) for every hour of scheduled instruction.

Study commitment

Typically, there is a minimum expectation of 1.5-2 hours of student effort per week per credit point for units of study offered over a full semester. For a 6 credit point unit, this equates to roughly 120-150 hours of student effort in total.

Required readings

Week 1 (August 2) Introduction

Mullaney, Thomas S. and Christopher Rea. Where Research Begins: Choosing a Research Project That Matters to You (and the World). Chicago, University of Chicago Press, 2022, 19-42.

https://ebookcentral-proquest-com.ezproxy.library.sydney.edu.au/lib/usyd/reader.action?docID=6878223&ppg=161

https://www.asianstudies.org/how-can-asianists-write-general-guides-to-research-and-teaching/

Week 2 (August 9) Asian Studies: paradoxes and possibilities

Cribb, Robert. “‘A Little Knowledge is a Useful Thing’: Paradoxes in the Asian Studies Experience in Australia.” In What about Asia?: Revisiting Asian Studies, edited by J. Stremmelaar and P. van der Velde, 57-68. The Netherlands: Amsterdam University Press, 2006.

https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt46n1pj.7

Duara, Prasenjit. “Asia Redux: Conceptualizing a Region for Our Times.” In Asia Redux: Conceptualizing a Region for Our Times, edited by Presenjit Duara, 5-32. Singapore, ISEAS Publishing, 2013, 5-32.

https://www-degruyter-com.ezproxy.library.sydney.edu.au/document/doi/10.1355/9789814414517/html

Week 3 (August 16) Creative Research / Research Ethics

Munro, Doug. “Autobiography and Faction.” In Bearing Witness: Essays in Honour of Brij V. Lal, edited by Doug Munro and Jack Corbett, 247-272. Canberra, ANU Press, 2017.

https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt1trkk5w.20

Iphofen, Ron. “An Introduction to Research Ethics and Scientific Integrity.” In Handbook of Research Ethics and Scientific Integrity, edited by Ron Iphofen et.al., 3-13. Cham: Springer International Publishing, 2020.

https://link-springer-com.ezproxy.library.sydney.edu.au/referenceworkentry/10.1007/978-3-030-16759-2_62

Week 4 (August 23) Critical reading and writing

DiYanni, Robert. “Reading Responsively, Reading Responsibly: An Approach to Critical Reading.” In Critical Reading Across the Curriculum, edited by Robert DiYanni and Anton Borst, 1-23. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, 2017.

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/9781119154907.ch1

Schostak, John. F. and Jill Schostak. Writing Research Critically: Developing the Power to make a Difference. London: Routledge, 2017, 1-17.

https://www-taylorfrancis-com.ezproxy.library.sydney.edu.au/books/mono/10.4324/9781315619842/writing-research-critically-jill-schostak-john-schostak

Week 5 (August 30) Theory and engagement

Barshay, Andrew. E. “What is Japan to Us?” In The Humanities and the Dynamics of Inclusion since World War II, edited by David. A. Hollinger, 345-371. Baltimore, Johns Hopkins University Press.

https://ebookcentral-proquest-com.ezproxy.library.sydney.edu.au/lib/usyd/reader.action?docID=3318319&ppg=354

Mohanty, Chandra Talpade. Feminism without Borders: Decolonizing Theory, Practicing Solidarity. Durham: Duke University Press, 2003, 1-13.

https://ebookcentral-proquest-com.ezproxy.library.sydney.edu.au/lib/usyd/reader.action?docID=1167891&ppg=1

Week 6 (September 6) Asia and Methodological Approaches

Morris-Suzuki, Tessa. “Liquid Area Studies: Northeast Asia in Motion as Viewed from Mount Geumgang.” Positions: East Asia cultures critique 27, no. 1 (2019): 209-239.

https://login.ezproxy.library.sydney.edu.au/login?auth=unikey&url=https://read.dukeupress.edu/positions/article-pdf/27/1/209/559184/0270209.pdf

Winichakul, Thongchai. “The Changing Landscape of Asian Studies.” Ajia kenkyu 62, no. 1 (2016): 1-8.

https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/asianstudies/62/1/62_1/_pdf

Tang, Sheila. “Sexuality in cultural studies: Doing queer research in Asia transnationally.” Cultural Studies Review 25, no. 2 (2019): 72-77.

https://libkey.io/libraries/451/articles/404224639/full-text-file

Week 7 (September 13) History / Asian pasts

Gluck, Carol. “National Pasts as Political Presents: War Memory in East Asia.” In National Memories: Constructing Identity in Populist Times, edited by H. L. Roediger Iii and J. V. Wertsch, 280-299. New York, Oxford University Press, 2022.

https://academic.oup.com/book/44547/chapter/376568167?login=true

Mignolo, Walter. D. Local Histories / Global Designs: Coloniality, Subaltern Knowledges, and Border Thinking. Princeton, N.J, Princeton University Press, 2012, 3-45.

https://ebookcentral-proquest-com.ezproxy.library.sydney.edu.au/lib/usyd/reader.action?docID=999946&ppg=40

Week 8 (September 20) Politics / Discourse

Spivak, Gayatri Chakravorty. “Development.” In Political Concepts: A Critical Lexicon, edited by Adi Ophir, et al., 118-130. New York, NY, Fordham University Press, 2018.

https://ebookcentral-proquest-com.ezproxy.library.sydney.edu.au/lib/usyd/reader.action?docID=5151543&ppg=127

Weiss, M. L. and E. Hansson (2018). “Participation and Space: Themes, patterns, and implications.” Political Participation in Asia: Defining & Deploying Political Space. E. Hansson, M. L. Weiss and K. Hewison. New York, Routledge: 206-211.

https://www-taylorfrancis-com.ezproxy.library.sydney.edu.au/chapters/edit/10.4324/9781315112589-12/participation-space-meredith-weiss-eva-hansson?context=ubx&refId=c168a031-c7a7-448b-9759-955cb20fe406

Kingston, Jeff. The Politics of Religion, Nationalism, and Identity in Asia. Blue Ridge Summit: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 2019, 1-14.

https://ebookcentral-proquest-com.ezproxy.library.sydney.edu.au/lib/usyd/reader.action?docID=5811883&ppg=11

Week 9 (September 27) Cultural Studies

Chua, Beng Huat. “Conceptualizing an East Asian Popular Culture." Inter-Asia Cultural Studies 5, no. 2 (2004): 200-221.

https://www-tandfonline-com.ezproxy.library.sydney.edu.au/doi/pdf/10.1080/1464937042000236711?needAccess=true&

Turner, Graeme. Essays in Media and Cultural Studies: In Transition. Abingdon: Routledge, 2019, 145-155.

https://www-taylorfrancis-com.ezproxy.library.sydney.edu.au/chapters/mono/10.4324/9780429322716-11/culture-politics-cultural-industries-graeme-turner?context=ubx&refId=f8e85159-a8d7-4eff-82ae-f79fbad270ee

Week 10 (October 11) Society / Ethnography

Geertz, Clifford. “Deep Play: Notes on the Balinese Cockfight.” Daedalus 134, no. 4 (Fall 2005): 56-86.

https://go-gale-com.ezproxy.library.sydney.edu.au/ps/i.do?p=AONE&u=usyd&id=GALE|A138814067&v=2.1&it=r

Kano, Ayako. “The Future of Gender in Japan: Work/Life Balance and Relations between the Sexes.” In Japan: The Precarious Future, edited by Frank Baldwin and Anne Allison, 87-109. New York: New York University Press, 2013.

https://ebookcentral-proquest-com.ezproxy.library.sydney.edu.au/lib/usyd/reader.action?docID=4012889&ppg=96

Week 11 (October 18) Religion

Bryan S. Turner and Oscar Salemink, “Introduction: Constructing Religion and Religions in Asia.” In Routledge Handbook of Religions in Asia, edited by Oscar Salemink and Bryan S. Turner, 1-14. London: Routledge, 2015.

Jason Ananda Josephson, “The Invention of Religions in East Asia.” In Routledge Handbook of Religions in Asia, edited by Oscar Salemink and Bryan S. Turner, 17-29. London: Routledge, 2015.

https://www-taylorfrancis-com.ezproxy1.library.usyd.edu.au/books/e/9781315758534

Week 12 (October 25) Cinema Studies

Aaron Han Joon Magnan-Park, Gina Marchetti, and See Kam Tan, “‘Asia’ and Asian Cinema,” The Palgrave Handbook of Asian Cinema, edited by Magnan-Park, Han Joon Aaron, Gina Marchetti, and See Kam Tan, 1-12. London: Palgrave Macmillan UK, 2018.

Derek Hon-kong Lam, “Cinema and Development: Towards an Ideological History of Asian Cinema as ‘World Cinema,’” The Palgrave Handbook of Asian Cinema, edited by Magnan-Park, Han Joon Aaron, Gina Marchetti, and See Kam Tan, 53-70. London: Palgrave Macmillan UK, 2018.

https://link-springer-com.ezproxy1.library.usyd.edu.au/book/10.1057%2F978-1-349-95822-1

Week 13 (November 1) Research Close-up

Introduction to Buraku and Outcaste Studies

Amos, Timothy D., et al. “Doing Violence to Buraku History: J. Mark Ramseyer's Dangerous Inventions.” Japan Focus: The Asia Pacific Journal 19. No.9 (2021): 1-25.

https://apjjf.org/-Timothy-Amos--Maren-Ehlers--Anne-McKnight--David-Ambaras--Ian--Neary/5597/article.pdf

Learning outcomes

Learning outcomes are what students know, understand and are able to do on completion of a unit of study. They are aligned with the University's graduate qualities and are assessed as part of the curriculum.

Outcomes
Graduate qualities

At the completion of this unit, you should be able to:

LO1. analyse secondary scholarship well enough to classify the discipline, approaches, and judge the quality of arguments and sources
LO2. apply previous learning to discerning Orientalist narratives and effectively discuss how to undermine corrosive stereotypes
LO3. engage in debates that are based on fact, are professional, ethical, and convincing
LO4. use library and archival resources to identify reliable information; you should also be able to discern how reliable information is based on a variety of factors
LO5. produce a research proposal that draws on relevant scholarship and other sources.

Graduate qualities

The graduate qualities are the qualities and skills that all University of Sydney graduates must demonstrate on successful completion of an award course. As a future Sydney graduate, the set of qualities have been designed to equip you for the contemporary world.

GQ1	Depth of disciplinary expertise Deep disciplinary expertise is the ability to integrate and rigorously apply knowledge, understanding and skills of a recognised discipline defined by scholarly activity, as well as familiarity with evolving practice of the discipline.
GQ2	Critical thinking and problem solving Critical thinking and problem solving are the questioning of ideas, evidence and assumptions in order to propose and evaluate hypotheses or alternative arguments before formulating a conclusion or a solution to an identified problem.
GQ3	Oral and written communication Effective communication, in both oral and written form, is the clear exchange of meaning in a manner that is appropriate to audience and context.
GQ4	Information and digital literacy Information and digital literacy is the ability to locate, interpret, evaluate, manage, adapt, integrate, create and convey information using appropriate resources, tools and strategies.
GQ5	Inventiveness Generating novel ideas and solutions.
GQ6	Cultural competence Cultural Competence is the ability to actively, ethically, respectfully, and successfully engage across and between cultures. In the Australian context, this includes and celebrates Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures, knowledge systems, and a mature understanding of contemporary issues.
GQ7	Interdisciplinary effectiveness Interdisciplinary effectiveness is the integration and synthesis of multiple viewpoints and practices, working effectively across disciplinary boundaries.
GQ8	Integrated professional, ethical, and personal identity An integrated professional, ethical and personal identity is understanding the interaction between one’s personal and professional selves in an ethical context.
GQ9	Influence Engaging others in a process, idea or vision.

Outcome map

Learning outcomes	Graduate qualities
Learning outcomes

Responding to student feedback

This section outlines changes made to this unit following staff and student reviews.

No changes have been made since this unit was last offered'

Disclaimer

The University reserves the right to amend units of study or no longer offer certain units, including where there are low enrolment numbers.

To help you understand common terms that we use at the University, we offer an online glossary.

Current students

Overview

Overview

Unit details and rules

Teaching staff

Assessment

Assessment

Assessment summary

Assessment criteria

Use of generative artificial intelligence (AI)

Late submission

Academic integrity

Learning support

Learning support

Simple extensions

Special consideration

Using AI responsibly

Support for students

Weekly schedule

Weekly schedule

Attendance and class requirements

Study commitment

Required readings

Learning outcomes

Learning outcomes

Graduate qualities

Outcome map

Responding to student feedback

Responding to student feedback

Disclaimer

On this page

Useful links

ASNS3690: Researching Asia

Semester 2, 2025 [Normal day] - Camperdown/Darlington, Sydney

Overview

Overview

Unit details and rules

Teaching staff

Assessment

Assessment

Assessment summary

Assessment criteria

Use of generative artificial intelligence (AI)

Late submission

Academic integrity

Learning support

Learning support

Simple extensions

Special consideration

Using AI responsibly

Support for students

Weekly schedule

Weekly schedule

Attendance and class requirements

Study commitment

Required readings

Learning outcomes

Learning outcomes

Graduate qualities

Outcome map

Responding to student feedback

Responding to student feedback

Disclaimer

On this page

Useful links