Welcome to the Boston University
Center for the Study of Asia

Boston University’s Center for the Study of Asia, established in 2008, promotes comprehensive, interdisciplinary, and cross-national understanding of Asia through coordination of teaching missions, research support, community-building among faculty and students, and broad outreach beyond the university. It strives to be an intellectual hub for new ideas and cutting edge research in the humanities and social sciences.

Ongoing virtual events. Click the image box for links to each event post and its recording!

Welcome to the
BU Center for the Study of Asia

Dear Colleagues and Friends in Asian Studies,

I write today to welcome you back to another year to Boston University and to the Boston University Center for the Study of Asia.  As you are all aware, BUCSA was established in July 2008 and has worked since that year to promote the study of Asia at BU, while also fostering awareness of Asian and Asian-American cultures and current affairs at Boston University and in the broader Boston community.  Drawing on the large and diverse group of Asianist faculty and students here at BU, BUCSA has worked over the years to promote discussion and research on Asia—including East Asia, South Asia, Southeast Asia and Central Asia. With approximately 4 billion people and a combined GDP of over 50 trillion dollars, Asia accounts for approximately 60% of the world’s population and over 60% of the global economy. At the same time, while home to some of the world’s oldest civilizations, the vibrant cultures of the region have continued to evolve in new and exciting ways. Japanese anime, Korean K-pop, Indian Bollywood films, Indonesian dangdut music, and Chinese cinema—to mention just a few examples—today attract global audiences. As interest in Asia continues to grow, BUCSA has fostered a deeper appreciation of this region through the sponsorship of lectures, symposia, exhibitions, and performances, as well as by supporting collaborative research ventures within and outside of the university.

Two years ago when I wrote to you I spoke of several ongoing transitions, including the appointment of Dr. Scott Taylor as the new director of the Pardee School. Dean Taylor has been a tireless supporter of area studies at the Pardee School, including Asian Studies. We are deeply grateful for his support. I am also personally grateful to my two colleagues in the BUCSA administration: Maria Elena Rivera-Beckstrom and Bob Murowchick.  BUCSA could not operate without their energy and vision!

BUCSA continues to work closely with and enjoy the generous support of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Boston under the leadership of Director-General Jonathan C.Y. Sun. We work most closely with Director Cynthia Huang and her staff in the Education Division at TECO Boston and are most appreciative of their longstanding friendship and assistance. Last summer we signed a new five-year MOU with TECO and this will allow us to further expand the many educational and cultural programs and activities TECO so generously supports.  Among the many events this past year that TECO supported were several very well attended talks by the prominent Taiwanese author and public intellectual, Lung Yingtai. We all look forward to several more Taiwan and East Asia focused events in the coming year.

Other events this past year included a talk by Luisa Maria Paternico on Chinese historical linguistics; a presentation by Pil Ho Kim on K-Pop, its origins and transformations; Nancy J. Smith-Hefner’s presentation on terms of endearment among Indonesian youth, and a conference on the China Belt and Road Initiative, among many others.  In the fall 2024 semester we look forward to hosting a hybrid talk with Ken Jimbo of Keio University on Japan’s security and alliance with the US, an event co-organized with the Consulate-General of Japan in Boston. Eric Thompson of the National University of Singapore will also give a talk about his book The Story of Southeast Asia (NUS Press, 2024), and Aram Hur (Fletcher School, Tufts) will speak on generational divide in South Korea. You may find the details of past and upcoming events in this BUCSA website. Many more events are in the works for this academic year, and we will keep you posted. 

We hope you will take advantage of our diverse events and join our vibrant community!  I invite faculty, students, and friends with interests or proposals for other events to please contact Maria Elena (meprb@bu.edu) or me (rhefner@bu.edu) to share your ideas. Maria Elena, Bob M, and I thank everyone again for your interest and support – and we look forward to seeing you soon!

Please stay tuned for the opportunity to get involved with these BUCSA events, both in-person and online. Details and event links will be available on the BUCSA website as they are finalized, and will be continuously updated in the BUCSA calendar, so check back often, and also sign up for our BUCSA e-mail newsletter here.

Bob Hefner
Director, Center for the Study of Asia
Professor of Anthropology and International Relations, Boston University

Contact us with your ideas for events and collaborative projects!

Boston University’s Center for the Study of Asia invites faculty and students to join us in organizing and/or sponsoring Asian-oriented events at Boston University. We welcome both BUCSA-organized events and events co-sponsored with other BU centers and departments, and with other colleges and universities.  BUCSA’s programming aims to be open and inclusive, promoting activities and events of benefit to the Asian Studies and Asian-American communities while also emphasizing the diversity of areas and countries within Asia, as well as the range of academic disciplines that engage them.  We welcome inquiries from faculty and student groups wishing to explore the possibility of collaboration.  For BU faculty or students wishing to co-sponsor or organize an event, please contact us and share an informal brief description of the event you have in mind.  If BUCSA funding may also figure in our collaboration, please also provide a sketch of the budgetary commitments or sharing you have in mind.  We look forward to hearing from you!

For more information, please contact Maria Elena P. Rivera-Beckstrom, BUCSA Assistant Director, at <meprb@bu.edu> (with a cc: to BUCSA’s Director, Bob Hefner <rhefner@bu.edu>).