The Columbia Journal of Asia
The Columbia Journal of Asia (CJA) is an open-access, peer-reviewed platform for creative and academic pieces on Asia, the Asian diaspora, and comparative studies broadly related to Asia, written by undergraduates in the U.S. and abroad. Developed at Columbia University in partnership with Columbia Libraries, CJA addresses an urgent need for more representation and understanding of Asian narratives—not in isolation, but as an integral part of the study of humanities and social sciences in academic and artistic circles. Submissions for Volume I, Issue 2 will open this September.
Welcome to our inaugural issue of the Columbia Journal of Asia (CJA), an initiative that has been nearly one year in the making. Volume I, Issue 1 of CJA features eighteen creative and scholarly pieces by undergraduates and recent graduates from across the United States, Europe, and Asia, presented in three sections: creative works, which include art, poetry, and translations; notes, which are brief academic essays; and articles, which are long-form research papers. These works, spanning the arts, history, political science, and literature, illuminate narratives of imperial domination and paths to decolonization, of assimilation and integration amidst Asian diasporas, and of wartime resistance, mediated through the lens of gender. In so doing, they invite an inclusive view of Asia itself—one that transcends the borders of postcolonial nation-states and Cold War regional divides, that situates Asian narratives in the context of transnational and global shifts, that includes the experiences of Asian diasporas across the world. We hope you enjoy reading Volume I, Issue 1 of CJA.