Global Asia Program

Is Global Asia for you?

Are you interested in Asia, its global histories, and the global movement of Asian people? Do you enjoy thinking about complex sociocultural and geopolitical processes, including migration, imperialism and decolonization, cultural representation and exchange, racial formation, inequality, globalization, war, pandemic, identity, political activism, social transformation, and environmental change?

As a Global Asia student, you will study topics of pressing contemporary relevance from a transnational, interdisciplinary, and social justice perspective rooted in SFU’s Lower Mainland location. Courses are taught by faculty from across SFU, and foreground the heterogeneous experiences of Asian and Asian diasporic people as they navigate diverse, unequal, and changing societies. Minoring in Global Asia will complement any program of study by helping you to better understand a world shaped by the movement of Asian people, practices, and ideas.

Whether you pursue it for professional or personal reasons, the Global Asia minor will complement any other SFU credential.

If your main interests are in business, communications, the sciences, or any of the major degree programs offered by FASS, the Global Asia minor will pair that learning with a comprehensive knowledge of the Asian region, an introduction to Asian languages, and a broad understanding of human experience.

In the Global Asia program, you will:

  •  Learn to think and communicate powerfully and critically
  • Pair your Global Asia minor with another credential to showcase your intercultural skills on the job market
  • Prepare for a career in government, public policy, management, education, international trade and marketing, journalism, or tourism
  • Learn a new Asian language (Chinese, Japanese, or Punjabi), or build on the linguistic abilities you already have
  • Choose from four dozen electives from twelve disciplines (Business, Communications, English, Global Asia, History, Humanities, International Studies, Philosophy, Political Science, Sociology and Anthropology, World Languages and Literature, and Gender, Sexuality, and Women’s Studies)
  • Pursue SFU’s study-abroad opportunities in China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Philippines, South Korea, Singapore, Taiwan, and Thailand

Message from the Director, Dr. Nadine Attewell

Having grown up in suburban Vancouver, with family and research ties to Hong Kong, I’m excited to take over as director of SFU’s undergraduate Global Asia Program, which welcomes students interested in Asia and its global histories, including the global movement of Asian people and their experiences in diaspora. Come investigate the tangle of roots and routes that connect us!

To learn more about the program or our course offerings, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with me directly at ga_dir@sfu.ca.

Undergraduate Advisor
Erin Norman

AQ 6025
gaadv@sfu.ca


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