Asian Studies: Body Politics in East and South-East Asia

Education facts

Code: COSM52

<p>What do bodies have to do with politics and power? In East and Southeast Asia, quite a lot. This course explores how the bodies of children, women, and families become central to governance, resistance, and social change. </p><p>This course examines how the body has been a central site of power in various Asian societies. You’ll explore how ideas about gender, sexuality, race, disability, and the nation are imposed on the body, and how these ideas are challenged and redefined. <br><br>The focus is on East and Southeast Asia, with examples from South Korea, Japan, China, Vietnam, and Thailand. Topics include military prostitution, transnational adoption, population policies, LGBTQ+ activism, popular culture and more. <br><br>You’ll draw on diverse fields, from gender studies, queer theory, and critical disability studies to anthropology, history, and sociology, to understand how power operates through bodies in everyday life, policy, and across borders. </p>

Entry requirements

Bachelor's degree in social sciences or humanities, and English 6. A general exemption from the requirement of proficiency in Swedish is applied.

Education offerings

Each offering has its own dates and conditions. Closed offerings are retained as history and do not mean that a new application is open.

• Asian Studies: Body Politics in East and South-East Asia

  Lund University

  Start date: 31 August 2026

  End date: 29 September 2026

  Pace of study: 100 %