Asian Cultural Studies
Summary
Asian Cultural Studies examines the diverse cultural formations, practices and institutions that have emerged across East, South and Southeast Asia, tracing their historical trajectories and contemporary transformations. It brings into dialogue literary criticism, anthropology, history and media studies to explore how colonial encounters, state formation and globalisation have shaped local and regional identities. Central concerns include the preservation and reinvention of intangible cultural heritage, the politics of language and script, the negotiation of modernity through popular media and the ways in which diasporic communities reconfigure tradition in new social environments. Scholars employ archival research alongside ethnographic fieldwork and digital methods to analyse religious festivals, film industries, urban subcultures and online communities. The field has also embraced decolonial and postcolonial frameworks to interrogate power relations, uncover marginalised voices and challenge Eurocentric narratives. In recent years, attention has turned to the role of cultural diplomacy and soft power in interstate relations, the impact of transnational media on youth identity formation and the use of augmented and virtual reality for museum curation. By bridging local case studies with comparative and theoretical perspectives, Asian Cultural Studies offers insights into global cultural flows, the dynamics of heritage commodification and the potential for culture to mediate social change.
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Asian Cultural Studies publication trend
The graph below shows the total number of articles in asian cultural studies across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).
Technical terms
Intangible cultural heritage: Practices, expressions and skills transmitted within communities, such as oral traditions, performing arts and rituals, acknowledged as vital to cultural diversity.
Transnationalism: The process by which individuals, ideas and cultural products move across national boundaries, creating interconnected social fields and hybrid identities.
Soft power: A form of influence that a state or organisation wields through cultural appeal, values and policies rather than coercion or payment.
Digital humanities: An interdisciplinary approach that applies computational methods and digital tools to humanities research, facilitating new modes of analysis, visualisation and public engagement.
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