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Boulder Meeting of the Western Branch of the American Society for Premodern Asia 2025

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American Society for Premodern Asia Western Branch (ASPA-WB) Conference
October 16–18, 2025 | Hosted by the Department of Asian Languages and Civilizations

From October 16–18, 2025, the Department of Asian Languages and Civilizations was delighted to host the conference of the American Society for Premodern Asia Western Branch (ASPA-WB)—the single most important annual meeting in North America for scholars of premodern Chinese literature and culture. Founded in 1842, the society is the oldest learned society in the United States devoted to a specific field of scholarship. Through its annual meetings and its journal, ASPA continues to support research across a wide range of regions and disciplines, including North Africa, the Middle East, South and Southeast Asia, Inner Asia, and East Asia. This year’s Western Branch conference brought together more than ninety scholars from North America and abroad, from graduate students to senior professors, featuring sixty-one presentations on a wide variety of topics in Chinese, Japanese, and Korean Studies. The conference continues to be a cornerstone of the field, providing a welcoming and intellectually vibrant space for exchanging new ideas and fostering mentorship across generations. Graduate students gained valuable feedback from established scholars, while senior professors had the chance to engage with cutting-edge research from emerging voices in the field. It was a particular pleasure for our department that the two Graduate Student Travel Awards that are traditionally presented at the conference went to two alumni of our graduate program, Crismon Smith Lewis (Columbia) and Xiangyu Wang (UCLA).

Alumni Lunch: Reconnecting and Celebrating

A highlight of the weekend was the ALC Alumni Lunch Meeting on Saturday, October 18, held in the Eaton Humanities Building. The event brought together twenty-nine alumni of the department’s Chinese and Japanese graduate program, five current graduate students, and five current and former faculty members. It was a lively and heartwarming gathering, filled with shared memories, updates on professional paths, and renewed connections within the CU community. 

A Weekend of Scholarship and Community

The Department of Asian Languages and Civilizations extends its deepest thanks to all who participated and helped make the 2025 ASPA-WB Conference such a success. The event showcased not only the strength of ongoing research in premodern Asian studies but also the vibrant, supportive community that sustains this important field.