Asia Institute
Faculty of Arts
The Asia Institute is the University of Melbourne’s key centre for studies in Asian languages, cultures and societies. Asia Institute academic staff have an array of research interests and specialisations, and strive to provide leadership in the study of the intellectual, legal, politico-economic, cultural and religious traditions and transformations of Asia and the Islamic world. The Institute is committed to community engagement and offers a dynamic program of academic and community-focused events and cultural exchanges that aim to promote dialogue and debate.
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Asian Studies
The countries of Asia are Australia’s largest trading partners and are of vital importance to Australia’s economic growth and security. For Australians, Asia increasingly defines who we are and our place in the world.
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Arabic Studies
Arabic is the fifth most commonly spoken native language in the world, with about 230 million people speaking it as their first language. Arabic studies students at the Asia Institute will learn not only about reading, writing and speaking in Arabic, but also living and interacting in the ‘Arab way’.
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Chinese Studies
China is a ‘rising power’ in the Western Pacific region whose future importance for Australia is hard to over-estimate. China’s current levels of investment in research and development and in the tertiary sector indicate that China is poised to make a very rapid transition to a ‘knowledge economy’.
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Gender Studies
Our program explores the significance of gender and sexuality on a range of discourses embedded within culture, identity and global history.
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Indonesian language and studies
Indonesia’s geographic proximity and strategic importance to Australia make it vital to understand its peoples, politics, history, languages and cultures.
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Islamic Studies
The Islamic studies program at the University of Melbourne provides students with the opportunity to study the development of Islamic thought and Muslim societies from a broad multidisciplinary perspective.
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Japanese language and studies
The study of Japanese language and culture gives the individual insight not only into a deep and diverse culture but also provides important contrasts when considering various nations’ roles in the Asia Pacific region.
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Korean Studies
Studying the Korean language as well as its contemporary history, politics, security, economy and society provides students with a deeper understanding of the issues pertaining to the Korean peninsula and its neighbours.
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Language Other Than English (LOTE) accreditation exams
The Asia Institute holds up to three examinations for LOTE accreditation for prospective teachers of Arabic, Chinese, Indonesian and Japanese each year.
Director
| Person | Position | Phone | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Professor Vedi Hadiz | Director, Asia Institute | +61383444329 | vedi.hadiz@unimelb.edu.au |
Director's welcome
As Director, it is my great pleasure to introduce the Asia Institute, a School of the Faculty of Arts at the University of Melbourne.
The Asia Institute is the University of Melbourne’s key centre for studies in Asian societies, languages and cultures. Our programmes include the teaching of Arabic, Chinese, Indonesian, Japanese and Korean languages, as well as the study of their modern societies. We also offer Islamic Studies and Asian Studies more broadly to provide comparative perspectives. The Asia Institute has close links with other Schools and Faculties across the University, and our programmes are strongly interdisciplinary in focus.
Academic staff at the Asia Institute have an array of research interests and specialisations which may be loosely grouped into five broad clusters: Asian Civil Society, Asian Governance Transformations, Islam and Politics in Contemporary Asia and the Middle East, Language Dynamics in the Asia Pacific, and finally Migration, Gender and Environment. Academics are regularly called on by local and national media sources to provide expert opinion on a range of contemporary and historical issues that arise in scholarly, public and policy debates. They are involved in collaborative projects with scholars based in the region and beyond.
The Asia Institute also has an exciting roster of visiting scholars, regularly hosts conferences and is influential in leading international peak organisations. Our close involvement with the broader community is further demonstrated by our hosting of the National Centre for Contemporary Islamic Studies and the Centre for Contemporary Chinese Studies.
The importance of Asia and the Middle East to Australia – and the world – continues to grow at a significant pace. Many of Australia’s largest and most important trading partners are based in Asia, and diplomatic exchanges between Australia and the Middle East are expanding in both number and importance. The Asia Institute strives to provide leadership in the study of the rich intellectual, legal, political, economic, cultural and religious traditions of these vital regions.
On behalf of our staff and students, as well as our alumni and friends, I am delighted to welcome you to the Asia Institute.
Professor Vedi Hadiz, Director, Asia Institute.
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Asian Civil Society
This research cluster employs an interdisciplinary approach to analyse the dynamically expanding role of civil society in contemporary Asia.
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Asian Governance Transformations
How is governance in Asia changing? What is driving change and how is it being contested? What are the implications for human rights, democracy, social welfare, and foreign relations?
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Gender, Environment and Migration
Researchers in this cluster investigate migration in Asia and Australia from gender, environmental, and policy perspectives.
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Language Dynamics in the Asia Pacific
This research cluster explores the diverse languages of the Asia-Pacific region – their structures, pragmatics of usage, roles within society, and how they are taught and acquired.
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Islam and Politics in Contemporary Asia and the Middle East
This research cluster investigates how Islam plays a significant role in affecting political and social change today.
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Research projects
Asia Institute’s research projects involve aspects of four target areas (Arabic and Islamic Studies, China, Indonesia, Japan) and also Australia’s relationship to Asia.
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Centre for Contemporary Chinese Studies (CCCS)
CCCS plays a vital role in shaping an Australian approach to the study of contemporary China.
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National Centre for Contemporary Islamic Studies (NCCIS)
NCCIS provides outstanding higher education level programs in Islamic studies.
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Korean Studies Research Hub
The KSRH is an inter-disciplinary virtual hub for collaborative research on Korean Studies at the University of Melbourne.
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Undergraduate
Information about enrolments, placement tests, submissions and extensions.
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Honours, Graduate Diploma (Advanced), and Masters by coursework
Information about course requirements, compulsory subjects, supervision, thesis submissions, extensions, plagiarism and contacts.
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Graduate coursework
Information about student services, course requirements, submissions, extensions, academic honesty and more.
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Graduate research
Information about facilities, thesis submission and extensions, research administration, student services, handbooks and more.
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Future students
Information for future students wishing to undertake an undergraduate, graduate coursework or graduate research degree.
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Language placement tests
Take a Language placement test to determine what level of language studies you should be starting at.
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Language Other Than English (LOTE) accreditation exams
The Asia Institute holds up to three examinations for LOTE accreditation for prospective teachers of Arabic, Chinese, Indonesian and Japanese each year.
The health, safety and wellbeing of our community is our number one priority. Our events program is now online. Find out more about the University’s COVID-19 response.
Ear to Asia
Ear to Asia is a podcast series produced by Asia Institute.
From Japan to Turkey, from China to Indonesia, and to many places in between, Ear to Asia talks with our researchers who focus on Asia – in all its diversity of peoples, societies and histories. If you’d like to feast your ears on in-depth conversations about the world’s most populous and dynamic region, we encourage you to subscribe to Ear to Asia.
You can find all episodes and subscribe on RSS.com, Soundcloud, iTunes, Stitcher , or other podcast apps.
Episodes
Indonesia at Melbourne
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Indonesia at Melbourne blog
The Indonesia at Melbourne blog was launched in July 2015 to present analysis, research and commentary on contemporary Indonesia from academics and postgraduate students affiliated with the University of Melbourne.
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Talking Indonesia
The Talking Indonesia podcast presents an interview with experts on Indonesian politics, foreign policy, culture, language and more.
Melbourne Asia Review is Asia Institute’s hybrid peer-reviewed digital journal-blog that publishes articles on key issues relating to Asia.
With four editions released per year, Melbourne Asia Review has over 300 peer-reviewed articles spanning a wide range of Asia-related research. The journal co-publishes selected articles with a wide range of respected mainstream media and academic publications and publishes in languages other than English.
Editions of Melbourne Asia Review
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Edition 13: Reimagining narratives of Asian language education in Australian universities
Dr Jun Ohashi, March 2023.
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Edition 12: Trajectories of Civil Society in Asia
Professor Akihiro Ogawa, November 2022.
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Edition 11: (Post-)COVID social and environmental challenges in Asia
Professor Mark Wang & Associate Professor Jay Song, September 2022.
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Edition 10: Islam and inter/intra-religious relations in Asia
Professor Abdullah Saeed & Associate Professor Matthew Nelson, June 2022.
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Edition 9: The power politics of the Indo-Pacific in and after COVID-19
Prof Timothy Lynch and Professor Robert Ross, March 2022.
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Edition 8: Transnational migration, diaspora and development in Asia
Prof Andrew Rosser, November 2021.
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Edition 7: The politics of language learning in Asia
A/Prof Michael Ewing, August 2021.
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Edition 6: Human rights and civil society in Asia
Ed 6: Dr Anthony Spires, May 2021.
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Edition 5: Asian Australians
Dr Jay Song and Associate Professor Claire Maree, February 2021.
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Edition 4: Islam and contemporary politics
Prof Abdullah Saeed, December 2020.
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Edition 3: Business and human rights in Southeast Asia
Prof Andrew Rosser, September 2020.
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Edition 2: The Dynamics of Discourse and Power
Dr Ikuko Nakane and Dr Michael Ewing, June 2020.
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Edition 1: Authoritarianism, democracy and civil society
Prof Vedi Hadiz, March 2020.