Simon Fraser University
Engaging the World

Course Outlines

Fall 2025 - GA 101 D100

Introduction to Global Asia (3)

Class Number: 3900

Delivery Method: In Person

Overview

  • Course Times + Location:

    Sep 3 – Dec 2, 2025: Fri, 12:30–2:20 p.m.
    Burnaby

Description

CALENDAR DESCRIPTION:

Introduces students to the interconnected, border-crossing worlds of Asian and Asian diasporic people through discussion of scholarship, films, short stories, essays, oral histories, and visual art. Surveys key topics in the study of globalizing processes, such as migration, trade, imperialism, decolonization, globalization, and environmental change. Students with credit for ASC 101 may not take this course for further credit. Breadth-Humanities/Social Sciences.

COURSE DETAILS:

How do we understand Asia and its diasporas as part of an interconnected world? How have Asian peoples, ideas, goods, and struggles moved across borders — and shaped the worlds they inhabit? How can we approach “Asia” not as a bounded place, but as a dynamic set of relationships that extend across oceans, empires, environments, and futures?

In this course, we will explore Global Asia as a way of thinking about mobility, belonging, power, and creativity. Rather than focusing on one national history or region, we will explore border-crossing connections through several key themes: transnational movements of peoples and capital; imperial entanglements and resistances; diasporic cultural production in food and visual media; and ongoing solidarities around race, labour, belonging, Indigenous-Asian relations, and environmental change.

Each week will focus on a particular theme, question, or form of connection, explored through a mix of films, short stories, oral histories, essays, visual art, and digital media. Assignments will encourage creative thinking, visual and textual analysis, and collaborative learning.

This course also serves as a gateway to SFU’s Global Asia program and will introduce you to key concepts, questions, and pathways for further study.

Grading

  • Participation and Attendance 20%
  • Collaborative Mapping/Zine Project 35%
  • Reflection Essay (approx. 1000 words) 20%
  • Global Asia Synthesis Brief (approx. 1000 words) 25%

Materials

REQUIRED READING:

All course materials will be available on Canvas.


REQUIRED READING NOTES:

Your personalized Course Material list, including digital and physical textbooks, are available through the SFU Bookstore website by simply entering your Computing ID at: shop.sfu.ca/course-materials/my-personalized-course-materials.

Registrar Notes:

ACADEMIC INTEGRITY: YOUR WORK, YOUR SUCCESS

At SFU, you are expected to act honestly and responsibly in all your academic work. Cheating, plagiarism, or any other form of academic dishonesty harms your own learning, undermines the efforts of your classmates who pursue their studies honestly, and goes against the core values of the university.

To learn more about the academic disciplinary process and relevant academic supports, visit: 


RELIGIOUS ACCOMMODATION

Students with a faith background who may need accommodations during the term are encouraged to assess their needs as soon as possible and review the Multifaith religious accommodations website. The page outlines ways they begin working toward an accommodation and ensure solutions can be reached in a timely fashion.