Asia Studies

The research focuses on cultural and social conditions in four linguistic regions of Asia, and also examines historical and contemporary connections and movements across the continent and the globe.

Asia Studies draws on theories and methods from both the humanities and the social sciences and encompasses language-based area studies focusing on India and South Asia, Japan, China, and Korea, respectively. Knowledge of the languages of these countries is key to understanding the cultures and societies of these regions, their interrelationships, and their global context. Against this backdrop, the research explores a wide range of issues in literature, art, media, history, religion, technology, economics, and politics.

Contact

Mikkel Bunkenborg
Head of section

Indian and South Asia Studies focuses particularly on themes such as the nation and nationalism in the 21st century, postcolonial state-building, the history of capitalism, labor cultures, climate policy, media and advertising, and cultural memory.

Japanese Studies focuses, drawing on history, cultural studies, and anthropology as disciplinary perspectives, on Japan’s modern cultural history, architecture, and cultural heritage; on education, the Sustainable Development Goals, and global citizenship; and on robotics, museums, and monster culture.

Chinese Studies draws on history, cultural and media studies, anthropology, and political science, and encompasses research on a range of topics – from classical Chinese philosophy to the latest science fiction, and from politics and religion in rural areas to China’s globalization and knowledge diplomacy.

Korean Studies focuses on the Korean language, popular culture, music, literature, and politics, with a particular emphasis on literary texts and their cross-border transmission, as well as on Korea’s modern history and international relations.

Asia Studies at ToRS upholds a tradition of linguistic specialization but is increasingly turning toward themes that span languages and disciplines in collaborative projects, ranging from smaller studies with an interdisciplinary or comparative approach to long-term initiatives such as Contemporary Buddhist Studies, where disciplines such as religious studies, anthropology, environmental humanities, and language-based area studies collaborate on research into contemporary Buddhism in India, Nepal, Mongolia, China, Japan, and Oceania.

The researchers contribute to international research in the field through monographs and articles in regional and disciplinary journals. They share their expertise with high schools, elementary schools, and the general public through lectures and media contributions, and they provide advice on culture, language, and politics to private and public decision-makers.

Research clusters and collaborative research projects

Research clusters

Contemporary Buddhist Studies

Projects

Social Worlds: China’s Cities as Spaces of Worldmaking
Science Diplomacy Between Denmark and China
Tempting Tunes: Interfaces of Narrative and Sound in Korean Culture
WASTE: Consumption and Buddhism in the age of Garbage

Nordic Himalayan Research Network
South Asia across the Nordic Region
Nordic Association for the Study of Contemporary Japanese Society
Modernizing Rural China Network
Nordic Korean Studies Days
The Danish Chinese Research Network

Buddhism, Business and Believers
Funding: Independent Research Fund Denmark (2016-2021) and Carlsberg Foundation (2015-2018)
Contact: Trine Brox

Emerging Worlds - Ethnographic Explorations of New South-South Connections
Funding: Independent Research Fund Denmark
Project period: 2014-2019
Contact: Ravinder Kaur

Moral Economies of Food in Contemporary China
Funding: Independent Research Fund Denmark
Project period: 2016-2024
Contact: Mikkel Bunkenborg

Steering Urban-Rural Integration in China
Funding: German Research Foundation (DFG)
Project period: 2018-2023
Contact: Elena Meyer-Clement