Critical Asian Studies
@criticasianstds.bsky.social
Critical Asian Studies publishes scholarly articles that challenge accepted formulas for understanding the Asia and Pacific regions, the world, and ourselves.
Notes from the Field | Kamil Tilyabaev introduces and contextualizes a collection of Uzbek and Karakalpak poetry from central Asia translated into English for the first time. criticalasianstudies.org/commentary/2...
Notes from the Field | Kamil Tilyabaev, Uzbek and Karakalpak Poetry in Translation — Critical Asian Studies
As a citizen of Uzbekistan, a post-Soviet Central Asian country, I am very pleased to share some pieces from Uzbek and Karakalpak literature translated into English for the CAS readers. Both literatur...
criticalasianstudies.org
November 18, 2025 at 9:49 PM
Notes from the Field | Kamil Tilyabaev introduces and contextualizes a collection of Uzbek and Karakalpak poetry from central Asia translated into English for the first time. criticalasianstudies.org/commentary/2...
Commentary | Ed Pulford and Trần Mai Hương discuss Vietnam's new biometric national identity cards, writing that they "underscore further how difficult it is to walk back codified socialist visions of ethnicity once everyone has bought into them." criticalasianstudies.org/commentary/2...
Commentary | Ed Pulford and Trần Mai Hương, Socialist State Subjectivity: The Changing Stakes of Vietnam’s Ethnic Classification Policy — Critical Asian Studies
On August 16, 2024, the online newspaper of the Communist Party of Vietnam, Báo điện tử - Đảng Cộng sản Việt Nam , published a story covering the ongoing rollout of a new generation of biometric nati...
criticalasianstudies.org
November 7, 2025 at 5:40 AM
Commentary | Ed Pulford and Trần Mai Hương discuss Vietnam's new biometric national identity cards, writing that they "underscore further how difficult it is to walk back codified socialist visions of ethnicity once everyone has bought into them." criticalasianstudies.org/commentary/2...
Commentary | Annalise Chang, Tom Le, & Sebastian Maslow suggest hyperbole about Sanae Takaichi is misplaced: "As a non-elite woman in Japanese politics, her rise has been exceptional. Yet, her positions & prime ministership are not as likely to be as special" criticalasianstudies.org/commentary/2...
Commentary | Annalise Chang, Tom Le, and Sebastian Maslow, A Historic Win, Familiar Politics: The Paradox of Takaichi’s LDP Leadership — Critical Asian Studies
On October 4, Sanae Takaichi secured a historic victory against four competitors to become the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP)’s first female president since its founding in 1955. Two weeks later, sh...
criticalasianstudies.org
November 7, 2025 at 5:29 AM
Commentary | Annalise Chang, Tom Le, & Sebastian Maslow suggest hyperbole about Sanae Takaichi is misplaced: "As a non-elite woman in Japanese politics, her rise has been exceptional. Yet, her positions & prime ministership are not as likely to be as special" criticalasianstudies.org/commentary/2...
Commentary | Ka Hang Wong decries the profound impact the National Security Law has had on Hong Kong's national character in the 5 years since it was imposed: "China’s promise that Hong Kong’s way of life would remain unchanged for 50 years has proven hollow" criticalasianstudies.org/commentary/2...
Commentary | Ka Hang Wong, Five Years On, the National Security Law Exposes the Joint Declaration’s Deception — Critical Asian Studies
It has been five years since China imposed the National Security Law (NSL) on Hong Kong. This imposition has sharply curtailed the freedoms and autonomy promised under the Sino-British Joint Declarat...
criticalasianstudies.org
September 5, 2025 at 9:12 PM
Commentary | Ka Hang Wong decries the profound impact the National Security Law has had on Hong Kong's national character in the 5 years since it was imposed: "China’s promise that Hong Kong’s way of life would remain unchanged for 50 years has proven hollow" criticalasianstudies.org/commentary/2...
Commentary | Mishika Chauhan analyses the @netflix.com series #Mo calling it a "politically layered account of resistance against the systemic erasure of Palestinians" from popular media that archives "loss, displacement, and daily precarity in the diaspora." criticalasianstudies.org/commentary/2...
Commentary | Mishika Chauhan, Resisting Erasure, Claiming Space: Memory, Belonging, and Palestinian Identity in Mo — Critical Asian Studies
Co-created by Mohammed Amer and Ramy Youssef, the semi-autobiographical comedy-drama series Mo made its mark by receiving critical acclaim for starring a Palestinian refugee as a protagonist in a ma...
criticalasianstudies.org
August 31, 2025 at 4:54 PM
Commentary | Mishika Chauhan analyses the @netflix.com series #Mo calling it a "politically layered account of resistance against the systemic erasure of Palestinians" from popular media that archives "loss, displacement, and daily precarity in the diaspora." criticalasianstudies.org/commentary/2...
Commentary | Manjit Bhatia calls into question Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s construction of the Madani Mosque on the site of a historic Hindu temple Kuala Lumpur, calling it a "cynical ploy to distract from his questionable political legitimacy": criticalasianstudies.org/commentary/2...
Commentary | Manjit Bhatia, Anwar Ibrahim’s Madani Mosque Move Caper in Malaysia — Critical Asian Studies
Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s 27 March proclamation of “ victory ” regarding the construction of the so-called Madani Mosque on the site of a historic Hindu temple in the center of Kuala Lu...
criticalasianstudies.org
August 31, 2025 at 4:44 PM
Commentary | Manjit Bhatia calls into question Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s construction of the Madani Mosque on the site of a historic Hindu temple Kuala Lumpur, calling it a "cynical ploy to distract from his questionable political legitimacy": criticalasianstudies.org/commentary/2...
Commentary | Ankush Chandran notes the lingering impact of colonial urban planning and proposes strategies for moving beyond colonial forms: "A key aspect of this shift involves embracing & celebrating the vernacular & the regional diversity of Asian cities." criticalasianstudies.org/commentary/2...
Commentary | Ankush Chandran, Colonial Legacies in Contemporary Asian Urbanism: The Role of the Architect-Planner — Critical Asian Studies
Asia stands as a crucible of profound economic and physical growth in recent decades. This expansive region is not only experiencing rapid social transformation but also undergoing significant changes...
criticalasianstudies.org
August 31, 2025 at 4:40 PM
Commentary | Ankush Chandran notes the lingering impact of colonial urban planning and proposes strategies for moving beyond colonial forms: "A key aspect of this shift involves embracing & celebrating the vernacular & the regional diversity of Asian cities." criticalasianstudies.org/commentary/2...
Commentary | Monica suggests that the BJP's victory in the recent 2025 Delhi election was not a result of Hindutva strength, but that "governance failures and political credibility crises, rather than ideological shifts, shaped the BJP’s resurgence in Delhi." criticalasianstudies.org/commentary/2...
Commentary | Monika, Decoding Delhi’s Assembly Election 2025: Why the BJP’s Win Reflects AAP’s Decline, Not Hindutva’s Rise — Critical Asian Studies
The recent electoral victory of the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) in Delhi, marking its return to power in the capital after a 27-year hiatus from the state assembly, has ignited extensive scholarly deb...
criticalasianstudies.org
August 31, 2025 at 4:34 PM
Commentary | Monica suggests that the BJP's victory in the recent 2025 Delhi election was not a result of Hindutva strength, but that "governance failures and political credibility crises, rather than ideological shifts, shaped the BJP’s resurgence in Delhi." criticalasianstudies.org/commentary/2...
Notes from the Field | art writer/curator Ruomin Huang discusses the installation of a "crying spot" in Shenzhen for users to anonymously display emotion "where the act of seeing and being seen becomes a small but vital refusal of the terms imposed by power." criticalasianstudies.org/commentary/2...
Notes from the Field | Ruomin Huang, “By Appointment Only”: Domestic Political Depression and Curatorial Resistance in China — Critical Asian Studies
Public distress in modern China has become a battleground — not only over the legitimacy of such emotions but also over who has the right to define such meaning. In a political climate where the visib...
criticalasianstudies.org
August 31, 2025 at 4:19 PM
Notes from the Field | art writer/curator Ruomin Huang discusses the installation of a "crying spot" in Shenzhen for users to anonymously display emotion "where the act of seeing and being seen becomes a small but vital refusal of the terms imposed by power." criticalasianstudies.org/commentary/2...
Reposted by Critical Asian Studies
excited to share we're preparing a themed section in @criticasianstds.bsky.social, slated for mid-summer, & it's the basis for this upcoming webinar on 5/5: What can democracy movements learn from Korea’s vigorous history of citizen engagement? w/ @yoonkyung.bsky.social & @jamiedoucette.bsky.social
Standing Up for Democracy: Studies of Democratic Renewal in Korea
May 5, 2025, 7:00-8:30 PM (central U.S.) Via Zoom
csd.wustl.edu
May 3, 2025 at 8:08 PM
excited to share we're preparing a themed section in @criticasianstds.bsky.social, slated for mid-summer, & it's the basis for this upcoming webinar on 5/5: What can democracy movements learn from Korea’s vigorous history of citizen engagement? w/ @yoonkyung.bsky.social & @jamiedoucette.bsky.social
Reposted by Critical Asian Studies
So proud of my dear friend Ahmad Ali Shah, who has just published his first scholarly work with @criticasianstds.bsky.social, exploring how Pakistani migrant networks sustain their lives and identities in China. An important contribution to the study of South-South migration.
doi.org/10.1080/1467...
doi.org/10.1080/1467...
Collaboration, Conflict, and Integration: Tracing Pakistani Migrant Networks in China
This paper examines transnational networks of Pakistani migrants in two Chinese cities, Guangzhou and Shaoxing. It investigates how five key migrant networks (interpersonal, caste-based, religious,...
doi.org
August 8, 2025 at 7:20 AM
So proud of my dear friend Ahmad Ali Shah, who has just published his first scholarly work with @criticasianstds.bsky.social, exploring how Pakistani migrant networks sustain their lives and identities in China. An important contribution to the study of South-South migration.
doi.org/10.1080/1467...
doi.org/10.1080/1467...
Commentary | Jun Fu, Jian Xu, Wanning Sun, & Jia Tina Du argue that political actions of Chinese Australians challenge narratives of political apathy amongst migrant communities in Australia: "migrants do care & are eager to participate in Australia politics" criticalasianstudies.org/commentary/2...
criticalasianstudies.org
March 15, 2025 at 1:44 AM
Commentary | Jun Fu, Jian Xu, Wanning Sun, & Jia Tina Du argue that political actions of Chinese Australians challenge narratives of political apathy amongst migrant communities in Australia: "migrants do care & are eager to participate in Australia politics" criticalasianstudies.org/commentary/2...
Interested in publishing with CAS? Please stop by and say hello this Saturday afternoon between 12.15 and 1.45 pm. We will be in room A125 at the Columbus Convention Center for our annual open door information session.
March 13, 2025 at 1:52 PM
Interested in publishing with CAS? Please stop by and say hello this Saturday afternoon between 12.15 and 1.45 pm. We will be in room A125 at the Columbus Convention Center for our annual open door information session.
CAS will be at the AAS meeting in Columbus, please stop by and say hello. We won't have any free food, but we will be happy to talk with you about publishing with us! You can find us in room 125A of the Columbus Convention Center on March 15, from 12.15 pm to 1.45 pm.
February 20, 2025 at 2:43 PM
CAS will be at the AAS meeting in Columbus, please stop by and say hello. We won't have any free food, but we will be happy to talk with you about publishing with us! You can find us in room 125A of the Columbus Convention Center on March 15, from 12.15 pm to 1.45 pm.
Commentary | Sike Chan lays out 4 scenarios four Myanmar's upcoming 2025 elections and how each might impact the future of democracy and security in SE Asia: "the 2025 election serves as both a challenge and an opportunity to redefine Myanmar’s future." criticalasianstudies.org/commentary/2...
Commentary | Sike Chan, Myanmar’s 2025 Election: Four Scenarios Shaping a Fractured Nation — Critical Asian Studies
Six months after its 2021 coup, Myanmar’s junta pledged election by August 2023. For over two years, China observed patiently, but when August passed without an election, the junta extended emergenc...
criticalasianstudies.org
February 18, 2025 at 12:01 PM
Commentary | Sike Chan lays out 4 scenarios four Myanmar's upcoming 2025 elections and how each might impact the future of democracy and security in SE Asia: "the 2025 election serves as both a challenge and an opportunity to redefine Myanmar’s future." criticalasianstudies.org/commentary/2...
Commentary | Norman Joshua notes parallels between Indonesian president Prabowo and the Sukarno and Suharto administrations that raise "crucial questions about the future of Indonesia’s economy, its international role, and most importantly, its democracy."
criticalasianstudies.org/commentary/2...
criticalasianstudies.org/commentary/2...
Commentary | Norman Joshua, The Ghosts of Past Autocrats in Prabowo’s Indonesia? — Critical Asian Studies
On October 20, 2024, Indonesia inaugurated its new president and vice-president, Prabowo Subianto and Gibran Rakabuming Raka. Many experts have raised concerns among experts who view it as a signal to...
criticalasianstudies.org
December 27, 2024 at 5:16 AM
Commentary | Norman Joshua notes parallels between Indonesian president Prabowo and the Sukarno and Suharto administrations that raise "crucial questions about the future of Indonesia’s economy, its international role, and most importantly, its democracy."
criticalasianstudies.org/commentary/2...
criticalasianstudies.org/commentary/2...
Notes from the Field | Thanapan Laiprakobsup & Narongpon Laiprakobsup lament the decline of landmarks in suburban Bangkok: "We cannot avoid the expansion of urban communities and their effects on local communities. But...we can make the communities livable." criticalasianstudies.org/commentary/2...
Notes from the Field | Thanapan Laiprakobsup and Narongpon Laiprakobsup, Urbanization, Impermeability, and Deteriorating Local Communities in Suburban Bangkok — Critical Asian Studies
Bangkok’s suburban areas have been transformed tremendously. Previously, the areas were the most important rice fields for Thailand’s rice production and exports for several centuries. It was the rice...
criticalasianstudies.org
December 17, 2024 at 11:08 PM
Notes from the Field | Thanapan Laiprakobsup & Narongpon Laiprakobsup lament the decline of landmarks in suburban Bangkok: "We cannot avoid the expansion of urban communities and their effects on local communities. But...we can make the communities livable." criticalasianstudies.org/commentary/2...
Commentary | Nyi Nyi Kyaw outlines political challenges facing the leadership of Myanmar's Spring Revolution: "we need to analyze this problem of leadership deficit in the country’s politics more deeply, looking for structural roots and personality issues."
criticalasianstudies.org/commentary/2...
criticalasianstudies.org/commentary/2...
Commentary | Nyi Nyi Kyaw, Myanmar’s Spring Revolution and Leadership Deficit — Critical Asian Studies
Introduction The leadership of the Spring Revolution or National Unity Government (NUG) against the February 1, 2021 coup and continued military rule in Myanmar is often described as weak or ineffec...
criticalasianstudies.org
December 17, 2024 at 11:14 AM
Commentary | Nyi Nyi Kyaw outlines political challenges facing the leadership of Myanmar's Spring Revolution: "we need to analyze this problem of leadership deficit in the country’s politics more deeply, looking for structural roots and personality issues."
criticalasianstudies.org/commentary/2...
criticalasianstudies.org/commentary/2...
Commentary | @kimberly-hassel.bsky.social, Akil Fletcher and John G Russell place the recent controversy over Yasuke into the larger context of ongoing conversations about anti-Blackness, misogyny, representation, and ethno-nationalism inside & outside Japan.
criticalasianstudies.org/commentary/2...
criticalasianstudies.org/commentary/2...
Commentary | Kimberly Hassel, Akil Fletcher, and John G. Russell, Stranger Than Fiction?: Yasuke and the Assassin’s Creed: Shadows Controversy — Critical Asian Studies
Introduction “Nothing is true; everything is permitted.” — Assassin’s maxim, Assassin’s Creed On May 15th, 2024, video game publisher Ubisoft released the trailer for the anticipated next in...
criticalasianstudies.org
October 2, 2024 at 9:17 PM
Commentary | @kimberly-hassel.bsky.social, Akil Fletcher and John G Russell place the recent controversy over Yasuke into the larger context of ongoing conversations about anti-Blackness, misogyny, representation, and ethno-nationalism inside & outside Japan.
criticalasianstudies.org/commentary/2...
criticalasianstudies.org/commentary/2...
Reposted by Critical Asian Studies
Thrilled to share this new piece in @criticasianstds.bsky.social! I had the opportunity to collaborate with two brilliant scholars—Akil Fletcher and John G. Russell—on a commentary that addresses the controversy surrounding Assassin's Creed: Shadows. criticalasianstudies.org/commentary/2...
Commentary | Kimberly Hassel, Akil Fletcher, and John G. Russell, Stranger Than Fiction?: Yasuke and the Assassin’s Creed: Shadows Controversy — Critical Asian Studies
Introduction “Nothing is true; everything is permitted.” — Assassin’s maxim, Assassin’s Creed On May 15th, 2024, video game publisher Ubisoft released the trailer for the anticipated next in...
criticalasianstudies.org
October 2, 2024 at 12:33 PM
Thrilled to share this new piece in @criticasianstds.bsky.social! I had the opportunity to collaborate with two brilliant scholars—Akil Fletcher and John G. Russell—on a commentary that addresses the controversy surrounding Assassin's Creed: Shadows. criticalasianstudies.org/commentary/2...
Gayatri Misra & Vaishali Saikia detail the deeply rooted systemic marginalization, lack of accountability, and socio-economic vulnerabilities that pose serious health challenges & risks to personal safety for tribal women in Northeast Indian tea plantations. criticalasianstudies.org/commentary/2...
Notes from the Field | Gayatri Misra and Vaishali Saikia, Unveiling the Crisis: The State of Maternal Health among Assam’s Tea Tribal Women — Critical Asian Studies
criticalasianstudies.org
June 18, 2024 at 11:37 PM
Gayatri Misra & Vaishali Saikia detail the deeply rooted systemic marginalization, lack of accountability, and socio-economic vulnerabilities that pose serious health challenges & risks to personal safety for tribal women in Northeast Indian tea plantations. criticalasianstudies.org/commentary/2...
Commentary | Luna Sabastian warns of the implications of India's Citizenship (Amendment) Act which ties citizenship to religion: "The elision of the difference between the Hindu religion & Indian citizenship, as a proxy for the Indian state, today is ominous" criticalasianstudies.org/commentary/2...
Commentary | Luna Sabastian, India’s Citizenship Amendment Act: Partition’s Fulfilment or Its Undoing? — Critical Asian Studies
criticalasianstudies.org
June 4, 2024 at 3:26 AM
Commentary | Luna Sabastian warns of the implications of India's Citizenship (Amendment) Act which ties citizenship to religion: "The elision of the difference between the Hindu religion & Indian citizenship, as a proxy for the Indian state, today is ominous" criticalasianstudies.org/commentary/2...
Commentary | Ming Gao explains the background and significance of a recent lawsuit filed in China by 17 surviving Chinese "comfort women" against the Japanese government, noting it's potential for reinvigorating China's movement for comfort women's justice. criticalasianstudies.org/commentary/2...
Commentary | Ming Gao, Historical Justice on Trial: The First Domestic Lawsuit by Chinese Comfort Women's Descendants Against Japan — Critical Asian Studies
criticalasianstudies.org
May 28, 2024 at 2:39 AM
Commentary | Ming Gao explains the background and significance of a recent lawsuit filed in China by 17 surviving Chinese "comfort women" against the Japanese government, noting it's potential for reinvigorating China's movement for comfort women's justice. criticalasianstudies.org/commentary/2...
Notes from the Field | Dhondup T. Rekjong calls attention to discriminatory practices in academic translation: "Replacing indigenous terms with their non-native counterparts...constitutes a form of erasure, almost an act of violence, on the native language." criticalasianstudies.org/commentary/2...
Notes from the Field | Dhondup T. Rekjong, Centering Native Languages in Western Scholarship — Critical Asian Studies
criticalasianstudies.org
May 8, 2024 at 12:55 AM
Notes from the Field | Dhondup T. Rekjong calls attention to discriminatory practices in academic translation: "Replacing indigenous terms with their non-native counterparts...constitutes a form of erasure, almost an act of violence, on the native language." criticalasianstudies.org/commentary/2...