Center for Asian Studies at the University of Colorado Boulder

10/08/2026

Are you following the 2026 Nobel Prize announcements?

Before tomorrow’s Nobel Peace Prize announcement, revisit Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Malala Yousafzai’s keynote at the 2026 Conference on World Affairs through reflections from teachers who attended with their students. Check out the CAS Blog (link in bio)!

*The Center for Asian Studies (CAS) co-sponsored Malala Yousafzai’s visit to CU Boulder for the Conference on World Affairs in April. Teachers who participated in CAS’s South, Southeast, and West Asia (SSEWA) Outreach Program’s professional development workshop on Afghanistan were invited to bring their students to an exclusive livestream event at the Limelight Hotel in Boulder.

Boulder High School students, accompanied by their teacher, Roberta Spray (top row, leftmost) with their copies of Malala’s new memoir, “Finding My Way.”

Fairview High School students, with their teacher Vanessa Carroll (back row, middle), at the Limelight Hotel before Malala’s CWA keynote address.

Malala Yousafzai and Center for Leadership at CU Boulder director Stefanie Johnson on stage in Macky Auditorium for the CWA keynote event.

10/06/2026

Global Seminar: Self Awareness & Images of the Other

Learn more at the info session today, Oct 6, from 5-6pm in C4C N215!

Self-Awareness and Images of the Other in Xi’an, China explores questions of cultural identity through both Chinese and American perspectives. You will have a first-hand look at China in the making by studying it through literature and integrating into campus life at Xi’an Jiaotong University. Excursions include: the Terra Cotta Army, the Tang and Han Dynasty tombs, 3 nights in the Qinling Mountains, and 3 nights in Beijing where you’ll see the Great Wall, Temple of Heaven and the Forbidden City.

This program offers each participant a generous Tang Scholarship through the Center for Asian Studies.

09/28/2026

Our very own Dr. Lauren Collins has been named Editor of Education About Asia (EAA), effective October 1, 2026! 👏🏻

Dr. Collins is an Asian Studies scholar and assistant teaching professor at University of Colorado Boulder, where she oversees the curriculum for the Asian Studies undergraduate program. Her work focuses on how societies remember and interpret the past, with particular interests in East Asia, Southeast Asia, and the Americas. She mentors students as they develop research projects on the cultures, histories, and politics of Asia and is passionate about bringing Asia into the classroom, having served as consultant and seminar leader for the National Consortium for Teaching about Asia since 2019.

With extensive experience in journal editing, study-abroad instruction, and project management, Dr. Collins brings a broad perspective and diverse set of skills to the position of EAA Editor. She has previously authored two articles for EAA: “Independent Cinema as a Lens on a Changing Cambodia: Using Films of Anti-Archive in the Classroom,” and “Teaching Taiwan: An Experiential Learning Essay.”

We’re so proud of this well-deserved appointment—congratulations, Lauren! 🌎📚

Read more in the link in our bio.

09/23/2026

CULTURE CRAWL ALERT!
Wednesday, Sept 30, 5:00-7:00 p.m.
Muenzinger Auditorium

Join the Center for Asian Studies for a free screening of the award-winning documentary “Bangla Surf Girls” as part pf this year’s Culture Crawl. 🎬🏄🏽‍♀️🌊

This coming-of-age film follows three teenage girls in Cox’s Bazaar, Bangladesh, as they pursue their dreams of becoming professional surfers while navigating family expectations, gender norms, poverty, and the pressures of growing up.

The film invites audiences to consider broader questions about gender, youth empowerment, globalization, and social change in contemporary South and Southeast Asia.

Presented by CAS, International Film Series at CU Boulder, and the Alma Collective.

09/23/2026

CAS Event Tuesday September 29

Sept. 29, Tuesday 11:30-12:45 on Zoomby South Asian scholar and CU PhD alumniAssistant Professor Jashodhara SenSchool of Theatre and Dance, University of

08/24/2026

Is China's embrace of AI-everything our future?

Take a walk with us through Beijing, where everyday A.I. can be useful, gimmicky, or unexpectedly funny.

04/30/2026

The CAS recognition ceremony is Friday at 5:30pm in the Chancellor's Hall!

04/21/2026

Thanks to all who joined us for the CAS 15th annual Asia Symposium on Friday, April 17th!

04/14/2026

Join us for the 15th annual Asia Symposium: Gender, Sexuality, and Intimacies in Asia
Friday, April 17th
Center for British and Irish Studies, 5th Floor, Norlin Library

Symposium Schedule

10:45a - 11:30a Reception

11:30a - 11:45a Welcoming Remarks with Rachel Rinaldo, CAS Faculty Director and John Masserini, Dean of the College of Letters, Arts and Sciences at Metropolitan State University in Denver.

11:45a - 1:15p Gender, Sexuality, and Cultural Life in Asia
Domestic Violence in a Changing Landscape in Vietnam Lynne Kwiatkowski, Colorado State University
Q***r Futures in Okinawa: On Miyagi Futoshi’s American Boyfriend Project Daryl Maude, CU Boulder
Domestic Nationalism: Muslim Women, Health and Modernity in Indonesia Chiara Formichi, Cornell University
Commodification of Intimacy in the K-pop World Stephanie Choi, CU Boulder
Moderated by Carla Jones, CU Boulder

1:15 Remarks by Daryl Maeda, Interim Dean of the College of Arts & Sciences, CU Boulder

1:45p - 3:15p Feminist Struggles and Social Movements in and beyond Asia
The Forced Disappearance of Enforced Disappearances in Kashmir Ather Zia, University of Northern Colorado
Is Climate Change Increasing Child Marriage? Amanda Carrico, CU Boulder
Sanctioning States, Silencing Speech: Iran’s Woman, Life, Freedom Movement and the Challenges of Transnational Feminist Solidarity, A. Marie Ranjbar, CU Boulder
Coming of (r)age in Pakistan: Exploring the Aurat March and its afterlives Sana Malik, University of Denver
Moderated by Shae Frydenlund, CU Boulder

Keynote Address

3:30p - 4:30p Intimate Placemaking: Women, Care, and Community After Displacement
Shenila Khoja-Moolji, Georgetown University

Across Asia, the realm of gender, sexuality, and intimate relationships is shifting rapidly. New articulations of gender and sexuality have emerged, often in conversation with both local and Western categories. Women and sexual minorities have pushed for greater empowerment but in some countries, counter-movements are contesting hard-won rights. Changes in marriage and family and intimate life are generating political debates and contestations across the region. This year's theme will explore the flux of gender, sexuality, and intimate life across Asia, from both historical and contemporary perspective. We seek to highlight phenomena such as gender and sexuality related social movements, cultural expression, migration, work and labor, family and household life, law and politics, and regional/transnational connections.

04/07/2026

From Boulder to Southeast Asia:
A Global Career Conversation with Rick Vargo
Wednesday, April 8
3:30-4:45pm
Humanities 135

Join us for a conversation with CU Boulder alumnus Rick Vargo, former CEO of Singlife, a leading insurance company in Southeast Asia. Drawing on his experience leading a major international firm, Rick will share insights into global business, career pathways abroad, and what it’s like to live and work in Asia.

This is a unique opportunity for students interested in international business, Asia, and global careers to engage directly, ask questions, and learn from an accomplished industry leader.

Co-Sponsored by CU Denver’s Institute for International Business and the International Affairs Program at CU Boulder.