Introduction to Asian Studies final exam (week 7 through 12)
THANK YOU FOR CHECKING OUT THE IA FINALS SUMMARY (2021 -22)!
This summary has the following layout per week:
TOPIC (WEEK) ABOUT WEEK IN ONE SENTENCE
KEY TERMS
term explanation/definition
Other useful terms are …
ARGUMENTS PER AUTHOR
author argument/overview
WHO WROTE WHAT
author article/book/chapter name
EXTRA INFORMATION GIVEN IN CLASS
TOPIC
• text
A general recommendation of how to study the material in this summary:
• start by internalizing the ‘topic’ and ‘about week in one sentence’ sections in conjunction with
the names of the authors per week; study until all weeks are connected;
• then connect the names of authors to their article/book/chapter name; study until all authors
are connected;
• then connect the names of authors to their arguments, if needed, connect the arguments to
the general topic of the week; study until all arguments are connected to their authors and
topics;
• then, learn the definition of terms per week and then as a whole; study until all terms can be
reproduced, and they can be connected to the readings they are drawn out of;
• finally, learn or familiarize yourself with the extra information given in class per week topic;
these are purely for context and need not be internalized in their entirety.
A note on the availability of a full course summary:
• A full course summary of Introduction to Asian Studies (2021-22) taught at Leiden University
is available for a reduced price on Stuvia.
1
, Introduction to Asian Studies final exam (week 7 through 12)
ASIAN AREA STUDIES (WEEK 7) PERSPECTIVES ON THE FUTURE OF AREA STUDIES OF ASIA
KEY TERMS
power-turned-capillary A term used by Bruce Cumings. Explains the power-relation between
universities and their knowledge gathering on the one hand, and political and
economic powers on the other hand as fine branching (capillary meaning
branching blood vessels).
geographies of ignorance A term used by Willem Van Schendel. Used to explain how large regions of Asia
(borderlands) have not been studied properly yet because they fall outside of
the traditional geographically mapped area studies and we thus prosses no real
knowledge about them.
jump(ing) scale A term used by Willem van Schendel. Example of a possible fix for the problem
with missing studies of the borderlands in area studies. Refers to studies that
combine knowledge gathering from heartlands, a large/centralized scale, and
borderlands, a small/local scale.
de-narrowing A term used by Andrew G. Walder. Explains methods for working around the
traditional shortcomings of area studies of China like regional comparisons,
and borrowing theories and methods from other fields of study.
Other useful terms are cold war, heartland vs borderland, crosscutting space, honeycomb analysis, and the
traditional shortcomings of area studies.
ARGUMENTS PER AUTHOR
Bruce Cumings In this article the author examines how powers á la Foucault of economics and
politics have shaped area- and international studies, their institutionalized
forms as universities and departments, and the relationship between power
and knowledge (gathering). The author refers to this movement in Area and
International studies as power-turned-capillary (capillary meaning a fine
branching blood vessel, most likely referring to the high level of branching into
fields at universities), and is negative about this.
The piece is highly satirical and negative and calls for the disbanding of all ties
between governmental economic powers and universities, as well as turning
the social sciences into thematic studies instead of area- or nation-based.
Willem Van Schendel In this article the author examines how, in the wake of World War II, Area
studies formulated heartlands as regions in Southeast Asia on which proper
specific studies were completed, but did not study larger parts of SEA that
were borderlands with less centralized governments and politics that could not
be studied unless they were studied from a small-scale local perspective. As
Area studies were formed further into specializations on geographical regions,
knowledge production of the borderlands that fell outside of these
specializations stopped, creating what the author calls geographies of
ignorance [ie these places are on the map, but we don’t know anything specific
about them].
2
THANK YOU FOR CHECKING OUT THE IA FINALS SUMMARY (2021 -22)!
This summary has the following layout per week:
TOPIC (WEEK) ABOUT WEEK IN ONE SENTENCE
KEY TERMS
term explanation/definition
Other useful terms are …
ARGUMENTS PER AUTHOR
author argument/overview
WHO WROTE WHAT
author article/book/chapter name
EXTRA INFORMATION GIVEN IN CLASS
TOPIC
• text
A general recommendation of how to study the material in this summary:
• start by internalizing the ‘topic’ and ‘about week in one sentence’ sections in conjunction with
the names of the authors per week; study until all weeks are connected;
• then connect the names of authors to their article/book/chapter name; study until all authors
are connected;
• then connect the names of authors to their arguments, if needed, connect the arguments to
the general topic of the week; study until all arguments are connected to their authors and
topics;
• then, learn the definition of terms per week and then as a whole; study until all terms can be
reproduced, and they can be connected to the readings they are drawn out of;
• finally, learn or familiarize yourself with the extra information given in class per week topic;
these are purely for context and need not be internalized in their entirety.
A note on the availability of a full course summary:
• A full course summary of Introduction to Asian Studies (2021-22) taught at Leiden University
is available for a reduced price on Stuvia.
1
, Introduction to Asian Studies final exam (week 7 through 12)
ASIAN AREA STUDIES (WEEK 7) PERSPECTIVES ON THE FUTURE OF AREA STUDIES OF ASIA
KEY TERMS
power-turned-capillary A term used by Bruce Cumings. Explains the power-relation between
universities and their knowledge gathering on the one hand, and political and
economic powers on the other hand as fine branching (capillary meaning
branching blood vessels).
geographies of ignorance A term used by Willem Van Schendel. Used to explain how large regions of Asia
(borderlands) have not been studied properly yet because they fall outside of
the traditional geographically mapped area studies and we thus prosses no real
knowledge about them.
jump(ing) scale A term used by Willem van Schendel. Example of a possible fix for the problem
with missing studies of the borderlands in area studies. Refers to studies that
combine knowledge gathering from heartlands, a large/centralized scale, and
borderlands, a small/local scale.
de-narrowing A term used by Andrew G. Walder. Explains methods for working around the
traditional shortcomings of area studies of China like regional comparisons,
and borrowing theories and methods from other fields of study.
Other useful terms are cold war, heartland vs borderland, crosscutting space, honeycomb analysis, and the
traditional shortcomings of area studies.
ARGUMENTS PER AUTHOR
Bruce Cumings In this article the author examines how powers á la Foucault of economics and
politics have shaped area- and international studies, their institutionalized
forms as universities and departments, and the relationship between power
and knowledge (gathering). The author refers to this movement in Area and
International studies as power-turned-capillary (capillary meaning a fine
branching blood vessel, most likely referring to the high level of branching into
fields at universities), and is negative about this.
The piece is highly satirical and negative and calls for the disbanding of all ties
between governmental economic powers and universities, as well as turning
the social sciences into thematic studies instead of area- or nation-based.
Willem Van Schendel In this article the author examines how, in the wake of World War II, Area
studies formulated heartlands as regions in Southeast Asia on which proper
specific studies were completed, but did not study larger parts of SEA that
were borderlands with less centralized governments and politics that could not
be studied unless they were studied from a small-scale local perspective. As
Area studies were formed further into specializations on geographical regions,
knowledge production of the borderlands that fell outside of these
specializations stopped, creating what the author calls geographies of
ignorance [ie these places are on the map, but we don’t know anything specific
about them].
2
