Research
If you're interested in it, we'll help you study it!
Art and history come together in Japanese calligraphy.
Dr. Michael Bodden with artists and children of Studio Hanafi Children鈥檚 Theatre, Greater Jakarta region. Photo by BJD Gayatri.
The research we conduct in Pacific and Asian Studies is diverse and dynamic. We are proud of our publication record—in recent years our faculty have received several grants to carry out major research projects on Japanese language retention, innovations in Japanese theatre, Tibetan Buddhism, and much more. We hire and train graduate students to work on these and other projects related to our research in the Humanities.
Our program is multidisciplinary, encompassing analytical, critical approaches to literature, language, history, intellectual history, theatre, cinema, philosophy, religion, and social issues. Our faculty members draw on historical and contemporary sources from across Asia. We explore a wide range of theoretical traditions, grounding ourselves in a specifically Asian perspective. We use a wide range of methods, ranging from the close reading of literary texts to historical contextualisation of current issues.
We have a particularly strong research record in the following areas:
- Cinema (Iles)
- Premoden and Modern Literature (Bodden, Chau, Iles, Lin)
- Language and language acquisition (Tian)
- Religion (Adam, Iles)
- Theatre (Bodden, Iles)
- Historical issues (Iles, Lee, Marton)
- Contemporary cultural practice (Chau, Iles, Marton)
- Politics, philosophy, and resistance (Adam, Bodden, Iles)
- Globalization, development and society (Marton)
Bring us your interests in the narrative, philosophical, linguistic, and historical traditions of Asia! We'll help you reach your fullest potential—academically, intellectually, and personally.
Faces of UVic Research
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