Simon Fraser University
Engaging the World

Course Outlines

Fall 2026 - GA 101 D100

Introduction to Global Asia (3)

Class Number: 3174

Delivery Method: In Person

Overview

  • Course Times + Location:

    Sep 9 – Dec 6, 2026: Thu, 10:30 a.m.–12:20 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, stories, and struggles moved across borders? How have these movements shaped the worlds that Asian and Asian diasporic communities inhabit?

This course introduces Global Asia as a way of thinking about connection, movement, power, and belonging. Rather than treating “Asia” as a fixed or bounded region, we will approach it as a dynamic set of relationships that extend across oceans, empires, borders, environments, and futures. Together, we will examine how Asian and Asian diasporic worlds have been shaped by transnational movements of peoples and capital, imperial entanglements and resistances, diasporic cultural production in food and visual media, and ongoing solidarities around race, labour, Indigenous-Asian relations, and ecological change.

Each week will focus on a key theme, question, or form of connection. Course materials include academic essays, films, short stories, oral histories, visual art, digital media, and public scholarship. Assignments will invite students to practice close reading, visual and cultural analysis, collaborative research, and creative forms of knowledge-making.

This course also serves as a gateway to SFU’s Global Asia program by introducing students to major questions, concepts, and approaches in the study of Asia, Asian diasporas, and global interconnections.

Grading

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

NOTES:

This course is a requirement for the Global Asia Minor. Reach out to the advisor (gaadv@sfu.ca) to learn more!

Materials

REQUIRED READING:

All course materials will be available on Canvas.


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.