The Rise of Asia and the End of It as Method?

Abstract

It has been more than a decade since Kuan-hsing Chen published his Asia as Method: Toward Deimperialization (2006), in which he underscores the importance of “multiply[ing] frames of reference in our subjectivity and worldview” (p.223) through the unique histories and cultures of Asian societies. Over the past decade, Asia has experienced strong growth - championed by the swift rise of China - despite the global financial crisis. As highlighted in the Conference’s Call for Proposals, if “such a ‘rise’ often takes place at the expense of global values such as democracy and environmental justice and the decay of nature,” the success of “Asia as Method” cannot but mark its own failure. Notwithstanding their unique cultures and histories, Asian societies witnessed common problems such as rampant corruption, social injustice, uneven distribution of resources and ethnic and religious conflicts. Meanwhile, as presciently warned by Chen, “the severe competition for global power would bring China back to the old binary logic of China and the West, and Sinocentrism would once again cause China to ignore the rest of the world” (p.13). Unless the rise of Asia and China radically challenges how globalization is understood, “Asia as Method” would be a cure worse than the disease. Against a backdrop of growing economic globalization and increasing social inequality around the world, this essay endeavors to rethink the (im)possibilities of “inter-Asia” - and its derivatives such as “trans-Asia” - cultural studies.