Asian Institute

Last updated

Asian Institute
Asian Institute Logo.jpg
Location
Director
Rachel Silvey
Staff
David Chu Professor and Director in Asia Pacific Studies: Takashi Fujitani
  • Director, Centre for South Asian Studies: Ritu Birla
  • Director, Contemporary Asian Studies Program: Dylan Clark
  • Director, Centre for Southeast Asian Studies: Nhung Tuyet Tran
  • Centre for the Study of Korea: Ito Peng, Interim Director
Website http://www.munk.utoronto.ca/ai/Default.aspx

The Asian Institute is a research centre at the Munk School of Global Affairs at the University of Toronto, and is located in the historical Devonshire House, a former residential hall of the university's Trinity College. Rachel Silvey is the Richard Charles Lee Director of the Asian Institute.

Contents

Research Focus

The Asian Institute has over one hundred affiliated scholars whose research focuses on the geopolitical region of Asia. Research at the Asian Institute is interdisciplinary and ranges from the humanities to the social sciences. [1] Examples of this interdisciplinary approach are the Global Ideas Institute, the Contemporary Asian Studies undergraduate program, [2] and the recent student run conference for Sustainable Development that examined how economic and social developments operate in the "regional" context. [3]

Research centres

Centre for South Asian Studies

The Centre for South Asian Studies (CSAS) is a constitutive unit of the Asian Institute at the Munk School of Global Affairs. [4] Ritu Birla is the former director of the centre. CSAS was established in 1981 and is a key research centre of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences at University of Toronto with core faculty across the University of Toronto's downtown St. George, UTSC and UTM campuses. CSAS hosts and organizes many public lectures and academic events throughout the school year. [5]

The CSAS examines "South Asia" and its regions as objects of knowledge, from mythic to governmental, to geopolitical, and "Postcolonial." CSAS programming addresses questions as wide-ranging as the workings of postcolonial democracy, law and activism; histories and contemporary configurations of the sacred and secular; political economy and cultures of capitalism; media, technology and the public sphere; the material and imaginative terrains of literary and visual cultures; and the present life of ancient civilizations. [6]

Geopolitical region of South Asia. South Asia (ed)update.PNG
Geopolitical region of South Asia.

Graduate and Undergraduate Study

CSAS does not grant undergraduate or graduate degrees, but has a collaborative program for students interested in pursuing a MA or PhD who have already been accepted to study at the University of Toronto. The Collaborative Master's and Doctoral Program in South Asian Studies focuses on basic methodological grounding for students working towards their research degrees. The program builds from an interdisciplinary and critical study of South Asia and as starting point to examine the development of global processes. [7]

The CSAS offers a minor in South Asian Studies for undergraduate students that is a part of the Contemporary Asian Studies program at the Asian Institute. The South Asian Studies minor begins with an introduction into the study of Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Nepal, and Sri Lanka. Students can also take a variety of undergraduate courses from other departments and faculties that can be used toward a CSAS minor. [8]

Munk School of Global Affairs. Munk Centre for International Studies.JPG
Munk School of Global Affairs.

Other centres

Notable Lectures

Geopolitical Region of Asia. Asia (orthographic projection).svg
Geopolitical Region of Asia.

Partha Chatterjee (scholar), "Nationalism, Internationalism and Cosmopolitanism: Some Observations from Modern Indian History."

Chen Kaige, Xie Fei, Bart Testa, Chen Biqiang, on the panel, "A Century of Chinese Cinema: Buried Treasures of Chinese Silent Cinema."

Elizabeth J. Perry's, "The Culture of Chinese Communist Resilience: Mining the Anyuan Revolutionary Tradition."

Wang Hui's, "The Beginning of China's Twentieth Century: Revolution and Negotiation in the Era of 'Awakening of Asia.'"

Fall 2011- Spring 2012

Laurie L. Patton's, "Is Every Sanskritist a Nationalist?"

Frank Dikötter's, "Reassessing the Politics of Man-Made Catastrophe: China's Great Leap Forward."

Mahesh Dattani's, "My Life in Theatre and Cinema."

Robert Petit, Kunthear Thorng, and Kate Robertson spoke at the symposium, "From Impunity to Accountability? The Khmer Rouge Tribunal."

Fall 2010- Spring 2011

Mark Selden's, "Electronic Publication and the Critical Intellectual in the Post-Print Era: An Asia-Pacific Perspective."

Saeed Naqvi's, "How Have 170 Million Indian Muslims Remained Moderate?"

Arjun Appadurai's, "The New and the Now: Globalization and the Politics of the Déjà Vu."

Dai Qing's, "China's "Rise" and the Environment's Decline."

Munk School of Global Affairs. JohnW GrahamLibrary,TrinityCollege2.jpg
Munk School of Global Affairs.

Graduate and Undergraduate Study

Not all of the research centres that are a part of the Asian Institute offer taught programs, however, in association with the Dr. David Chu Program in Asia-Pacific Studies and the Centre for South Asian Studies, the Asian Institute runs several undergraduate and graduate programs.

Undergraduate

Graduate

Related Research Articles

Robarts Library Canadian university library

The John P. Robarts Research Library, commonly referred to as Robarts Library, is the main humanities and social sciences library of the University of Toronto Libraries and the largest individual library in the university. Opened in 1973 and named for John Robarts, the 17th Premier of Ontario, the library contains more than 4.5 million bookform items, 4.1 million microform items and 740,000 other items.

University of Toronto Scarborough A satellite campus of the University of Toronto in Scarborough, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

The University of Toronto Scarborough, also known as U of T Scarborough or UTSC, is a satellite campus of the University of Toronto. Located in Scarborough, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, the campus is set upon suburban parkland in the residential neighbourhood of Highland Creek. It was established in 1964 as Scarborough College, a constituent college of the Faculty of Arts and Science. The college expanded following its designation as an autonomic division of the university in 1972 and gradually became an independent institution.

University of Toronto Faculty of Applied Science and Engineering University of Toronto academic division

The Faculty of Applied Science and Engineering is an academic division of the University of Toronto devoted to study and research in engineering. Founded in 1873 as the School of Practical Science, it is still known today by the longtime nickname of Skule. The faculty is based primarily across 16 buildings on the southern side of the university campus in Downtown Toronto, in addition to operating the Institute for Aerospace Studies facility. The faculty administers undergraduate, master's and doctoral degree programs, as well as a dual-degree program with the Rotman School of Management.

University of Winnipeg University located in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada

The University of Winnipeg is a public research university in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, that offers undergraduate faculties of art, business and economics, education, science and kinesiology and applied health as well as graduate programs. UWinnipeg's founding colleges were Manitoba College and Wesley College, which merged to form United College in 1938. The University of Winnipeg was established in 1967 when United College received its charter. The governance was modeled on the provincial University of Toronto Act of 1906 which established a bicameral system of university government consisting of a senate (faculty), responsible for academic policy, and a board of governors (citizens) exercising exclusive control over financial policy and having formal authority in all other matters. The president, appointed by the board, was a link between the bodies to perform institutional leadership.

The Faculty of Information is an undergraduate and graduate school that offers the following programs: a Bachelor of Information, a Master of Information (MI), a Master of Museum Studies (MMSt), and a PhD in information studies, as well as diploma courses. As a member of the iSchool movement, the Faculty of Information takes an interdisciplinary approach to information studies, building on its traditional strengths in library and information science, complemented by research and teaching in archives, museum studies, user experience, information systems and design, critical information studies, culture and technology, knowledge management, digital humanities, the history of books, data science and other related fields. It is located on St. George Campus, in the Claude Bissell building, at 140 St. George Street, which is attached to the John P. Robarts Research Library and the Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library.

Rotman School of Management

The Joseph L. Rotman School of Management, is the University of Toronto's graduate business school, located in Downtown Toronto. The University of Toronto has been offering undergraduate courses in commerce and management since 1901, but the school was formally established in 1950 as the Institute of Business Administration, which was then changed to the Faculty of Management Studies in 1972 and subsequently shortened to the Faculty of Management in 1986. The school was renamed in 1997 after the late Joseph L. Rotman (1935–2015), its principal benefactor.

Jewish studies is an academic discipline centered on the study of Jews and Judaism. Jewish studies is interdisciplinary and combines aspects of history, Middle Eastern studies, Asian studies, Oriental studies, religious studies, archeology, sociology, languages, political science, area studies, women's studies, and ethnic studies. Jewish studies as a distinct field is mainly present at colleges and universities in North America.

Ronald Deibert

Ronald J. Deibert is a Canadian professor of political science, philosopher, and director of the Citizen Lab at the Munk School of Global Affairs, University of Toronto. The Citizen Lab is an interdisciplinary laboratory focusing on research, development, and high-level strategic policy and legal engagement at the intersection of information and communication technologies, human rights, and global security. He is a co-founder and a principal investigator of the OpenNet Initiative and Information Warfare Monitor projects. Deibert was one of the founders and former VP of global policy and outreach for Psiphon.

The Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy at the University of Toronto is an interdisciplinary academic centre with various research and educational programs committed to the field of globalization. It offers master's degrees in Global Affairs, Public Policy, European, Russian, and Asia-Pacific studies. The Munk School is a member of the Association of Professional Schools of International Affairs, a group of schools that educate students in international affairs. Admission to the Munk School is highly competitive.

University of Toronto Faculty of Arts and Science Academic department at the University of Toronto, Canada

The Faculty of Arts & Science is a division of the University of Toronto which offers arts and science teaching and research institutions. With almost 27,000 undergraduate and 3,000 graduate students, Arts & Science represents over half the student population on the downtown campus.

University of Toronto University in Toronto, Ontario, Canada

The University of Toronto is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution of higher learning in Upper Canada. Originally controlled by the Church of England, the university assumed its present name in 1850 upon becoming a secular institution. As a collegiate university, it comprises eleven colleges each with substantial autonomy on financial and institutional affairs and significant differences in character and history. The university also operates two suburban campuses located in Scarborough and Mississauga.

The Sam Nunn School of International Affairs, at the Georgia Institute of Technology located in Atlanta, Georgia is the only professional school of international affairs at a major technological institution. Founded in 1990, the School was renamed the Sam Nunn School of International Affairs in 1996 in honor of former US Senator and Georgia Tech alumnus Sam Nunn.

The Dr. Eric Jackman Institute of Child Study (JICS) is a research institute and laboratory school of the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education at the University of Toronto. The institute comprises a graduate education centre with a 2-year master of arts program, an elementary school for children from nursery to 6th grade, and a multidisciplinary research centre in child development.

Lisa Lowe

Lisa Lowe is Samuel Knight Professor of American Studies and Ethnicity, Race, and Migration at Yale University. Prior to Yale, she taught at the University of California, San Diego, and Tufts University. She began as a scholar of French and comparative literature, and since her work has focused on the cultural politics of colonialism, immigration, and globalization. She is known especially for scholarship on French, British, and United States colonialisms, Asian migration and Asian American studies, race and liberalism, and comparative empires.

Canada–North Korea relations Bilateral relations

Canada–North Korea relations refer to the relations between Canada and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. The relations between the two nations are very limited, as Canada suspended full diplomatic relations in 2010 over North Korea's destabilizing nuclear activity. Travel and commerce with North Korea are discouraged by the Canadian government and there is very little trade or diplomatic contact due to Canada's perspective that North Korea plays a destabilizing role in the Asia Pacific region.

University of Toronto Libraries

The University of Toronto Libraries system is the largest academic library in Canada and is ranked third among peer institutions in North America, behind only Harvard and Yale. The system consists of 44 libraries located on University of Toronto's three university campuses: St. George, Mississauga and Scarborough. This array of college libraries, special collections, and specialized libraries and information centres supports the teaching and research requirements of 215 graduate programs, over 60 professional programs, and more than 700 undergraduate degree programs. In addition to more than 12 million print volumes in 341 languages, the library system currently provides access to 150,467 journal titles, millions of electronic resources in various forms and almost 30,000 linear metres of archival material. More than 150,000 new print volumes are acquired each year.

Ritu Birla is an historian of modern South Asia. She is an associate Professor of History, is Richard Charles Lee Director of the Asian Institute, and former Director of the Centre for South Asian Studies at the Munk School of Global Affairs at the University of Toronto.

The Princeton Institute for International and Regional Studies (PIIRS) is the main research center for international studies and area studies at Princeton University and is one of the oldest centers of its kind in the United States. The Institute focuses on an interdisciplinary approach and its associated faculty is drawn from more than 150 professors and other scholars from more than 25 different departments within Princeton. Its director is historian Stephen Kotkin, the John P. Birkelund ’52 Professor in History and International Affairs.

Mari Ruti is Distinguished Professor of critical theory and of gender and sexuality studies at the University of Toronto in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. She is an interdisciplinary scholar within the theoretical humanities working at the intersection of contemporary theory, continental philosophy, psychoanalytic theory, cultural studies, trauma theory, posthumanist ethics, and gender and sexuality studies.

The School of the Environment at the University of Toronto is a trans-disciplinary academic unit that acts as a hub for the study of the environment, sustainability and climate change, offering undergraduate and graduate programs, along with joint programs with many disciplinary departments across the University. According to Maclean's Magazine, the School ranks second for environmental science programs in Canada. The School's research focusses on knowledge mobilization on a range of environmental issues, addressing questions of how to integrate scientific knowledge with local, community-based, and Indigenous knowledge to address global environmental crises such as Climate Change. The School is also home to many activist student groups advocating for environmental action.

References

  1. The Asian Institute "Home Page" http://www.munk.utoronto.ca/ai/ (accessed 3 May 2013).
  2. UofT News, " Students dig into the complexities of contemporary Asia." (Accessed 30 May 2013) http://www.news.utoronto.ca/students-dig-complexities-contemporary-asia
  3. The Varsity "Redefining Sustainable Development," http://thevarsity.ca/2012/03/12/redefining-sustainable-development/ (accessed 30 April 2013).
  4. The Varsity "South Asian Studies Moves to Munk" http://thevarsity.ca/2009/03/30/south-asian-studies-moves-to-munk/ (accessed 19 April 2013)
  5. The Canadian Journalism Project "The challenges of bringing diversity into a newsroom: SAJA panel examines how South Asian stories are covered in Canada " http://j-source.ca/article/challenges-bringing-diversity-newsroom-saja-panel-examines-how-south-asian-stories-are-cover (accessed 25 April 2013).
  6. accessed 20 March 2013, "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 22 January 2014. Retrieved 2014-02-11.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  7. "University of Toronto Graduate Program" Centre for South Asian Studies (Accessed 18 April 2013) "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 31 March 2013. Retrieved 2014-02-11.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  8. Faculty of Arts and Sciences University of Toronto, "South Asian Studies" (Accessed 18 April 2013) http://www.artsci.utoronto.ca/futurestudents/academics/progs/southasian Archived 14 February 2014 at the Wayback Machine