African Studies Asian Studies Chinese Studies

University of Amsterdam · Student-Led Proposal · 2026

The World has
Changed.
Our Education
Should too.

We call on the University of Amsterdam to introduce three new minors: an African Studies Minor, an Asian Studies Minor and a Chinese Studies Minor. We think it is the right next step for any university that wants its students to actually understand the world they are graduating into.

Sign the Petition
The Starting Point

UvA offers 82 Minors. Most look West.

The University of Amsterdam has 82 minors in English, including a wide range of area- and region-focused programmes.
But looking at the full picture reveals a striking imbalance.

Europe & the West: 16 regional minors
European History European Culture European Politics European Economics European Law EU Law and Politics European Politics & Global Change European Power and German Thinking East European Studies Mediterranean Studies The Netherlands in Global Context American Studies Catalan in a European Context Modern Greek Czech Polish Studies
Other regions: 3 minors
Latin American Studies Middle Eastern Studies Turkish
Not in the curriculum: 0 minors
African Studies ✗ Asian Studies ✗ Chinese Studies ✗

16 minors engage with Europe and the West. Beyond it, Latin America and the Middle East already have a foothold, with a Latin American Studies and a Middle Eastern Studies minor on the books. But Africa, Asia and China, home to roughly 6.3 billion people, nearly 80% of humanity, have no dedicated place in the curriculum. That is what this proposal is about.

The Case

Africa, Asia & China are not a Peripheral Story

1.5B People in Africa

Africa has the world's youngest and fastest-growing population. By 2050, roughly one in four people on Earth will be African.

4.8B People in Asia

Nearly 60% of humanity lives in Asia, which has driven most of the world's economic growth since the early 2000s. That is not a temporary shift.

#1 China by PPP

China is the largest economy in the world by purchasing power parity, and central to every major question of trade, politics and power.

The Curriculum

Three Minors, One Vision

We propose three distinct 30-ECTS minors, each built around core courses and a set of restricted-choice electives. Click any minor on the globe above, or expand a section below, to see the full course structure.

African Studies Minor 30 ECTS

A continent of 1.4 billion people and the world's youngest population, examined through its colonial legacies, economic transformation, political dynamics and present-day challenges.

Introduction to African Development 12 ECTS +
  • Colonial legacies
    • France, Britain, and the Conference of Berlin (1884–85)
    • Post-WWII independence movements (Algeria, Congo, Egypt, Mozambique/Angola, etc.)
  • African Economic Transformation
    • Agricultural modernisation: Crops
      • Grains
      • Textiles (e.g. cotton)
      • Raw materials (e.g. rubber)
    • Transition towards higher economic sectors
      • Service sector: telecommunications, tourism, real estate
      • Technological Grassroots: Case Study Nigeria
    • Debt-traps, investments and neo-colonial trickery
      • Raw material extraction
      • IMF
      • Case study: France's CFA franc policy
    • Poaching and illegal industries
  • Political Dynamics
    • African Union governance
    • Energy and resource politics
    • One-party and military authoritarian states
    • Intrastate conflict and non-state actors
  • Religion and society in Africa
    • Youth demographics and urbanisation
    • Inequality in an African Context (both domestically and internationally)
    • Emigration and brain-drain
  • Investment and Infrastructure Projects
    • Chinese investment and infrastructure
Challenges of Modern Africa 6 ECTS +
  • Historical background: Colonial History
  • Gender, religious, and racial segregation
    • Female genital mutilation
    • Case study: South Africa's femicide crisis
    • Case study: Persecution of Nigerian Christians
  • Security
    • Resource conflicts
    • Proxy conflicts, non-state actors and security partnerships
      • Russian influence in Africa
      • Coup d'État and Terrorism
  • Water Politics
    • Ethiopia, Egypt and Nile politics
      • The Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD)
  • Foreign aid dilemma
    • The expectations and realities of foreign aid
  • Mass emigration
    • Arab Spring
    • Sudan, Morocco, Egypt, South Africa, etc.
  • Healthcare crisis
    • Cholera crisis in Sudan
    • Guinea worm disease
    • Ebola
Restricted-choice electives 6 + 6 ECTS +
  • Sociology of Urban Africa
    • Mega Cities: Nairobi, Lagos, Johannesburg, Cairo, Kinshasa
    • Regional and Interstate Transportation Challenges
  • Understanding African Religious Diversity
    • African Traditional Religions, Islam and Christianity
    • Religion and Violence
  • Introduction to African Philosophy
    • Foundations and Epistemological Debates
    • African Existentialism and Social Ethics
    • Thinkers: Aimé Césaire and Frantz Fanon (not African, but relevant influences), Kwame Nkrumah, W.E.B. Du Bois
  • Environmental challenges in continental Africa
    • Land Degradation & Desertification
    • Water and Air Pollution
    • Emigration and Brain Drain
Asian Studies Minor 30 ECTS

From the East Asian Miracle to the Indo-Pacific, the political economy, geopolitics and societies of the world's most populous and fastest-changing continent.

The Political Economy of Asian Development 6 ECTS +
  • The "East Asian Miracle", High-Performing Asian Economies (HPAEs): Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Tiger Economies, etc.
  • China's market socialism
  • India's liberalisation
  • Rise of the ASEAN economies
Geopolitics, Hegemony, Conflict, and Foreign Influence in Asia 6 ECTS +
  • The US "Pivot to Asia" and Indo-Pacific strategy
  • Middle-power diplomacy (Japan, Australia)
  • China's Influence
    • Belt and Road Initiative (BRI)
    • Tensions with Taiwan
    • Tensions in the Indo-Pacific
  • Russian Influence
    • In the former USSR states
  • Indian Influence
  • Military conflict in Asia
    • Myanmar's civil war
    • India–Pakistan skirmishes
    • Thailand–Cambodia skirmishes
Asian Societies: Culture, Identity, and Internal Conflicts 6 ECTS +
  • The tension between traditional values (e.g. Confucianism, communal structures)
  • Western-influenced globalisation
  • The politics of state secularism versus religious nationalism
  • Tensions and Persecution of Religious Freedom
Restricted-choice electives 6 + 6 ECTS +
  • Water Politics and Resource Conflicts in Asia
    • The Tibetan Plateau ("The Water Tower of Asia")
    • The Indus Waters Treaty
    • The legacy of the Aral Sea
  • Indo-Pacific: Regional Identity and Foreign Influence
    • Political, security, and trade issues in the Asia-Pacific
    • Māori Culture
  • Connections between philosophy, literature and modernity in South and East Asia (Utrecht University)
  • Regional Technological Development and Transformation
Chinese Studies Minor 30 ECTS

The world's largest economy by PPP, examined from the inside out, domestic policy, its role on the world stage, its economy and its culture.

China's Domestic Policy 6 ECTS +
  • Chinese political institutions
    • Communist Party governance
  • Technology and surveillance
    • Political: stability & infrastructure projects
    • Psychological: cohesion & obedience
  • Chinese State Intervention
    • Cultural: Repression of Muslim minorities, Winnie-the-Pooh, TikTok
    • Freedom of speech/press
  • Domestic policy challenges
    • E.g. Corruption within the system (PLA)
  • Chinese nationalism
  • Demographic transition
    • Chinese social transformation
    • Urbanisation
China on the World Stage 6 ECTS +
  • Belt & Road Initiative
  • Maritime Trade and Indo-Pacific Competition
  • China-Europe relations, China-US competition, China-Africa relations, China-South America relations
  • China's place in the World
Chinanomics 6 ECTS +
  • Historical development
  • Capitalism vs. Socialism
  • State-owned enterprises vs. small companies competition
  • Infrastructure Projects
  • Chinese Financial Markets
  • Chinese Technology and Industrial Policy
  • Chinese development finance
  • Supply chains and trade
Restricted-choice electives 6 + 6 ECTS +
  • Chinese Cultural Diversity
    • 56 Official Ethnicities
    • Fractures Within the Han Majority
    • The Three Teachings
  • The Political Paradox behind Chinese Ideology
    • Politics behind Mega Projects
    • National Rejuvenation
    • CCP Structure / Corruption & Nepotism
  • Technological Panopticism
    • Stability, Liberty, and the Digital State
  • Contemporary Generations: Classrooms and Culture
    • Education: The Gaokao
    • Xi Jinping Generation
    • Household philosophy
    • Propaganda: Faith and State
The Proposal

We, the Undersigned, Call on UvA

We support the introduction of an African Studies Minor, an Asian Studies Minor and a Chinese Studies Minor at the University of Amsterdam. They are about making sure students can engage with the world as it is right now, will be, and not as it looked thirty years ago.

Universities like Duke, Columbia, Cornell, Dartmouth, Manchester, NUS or the University of Sydney already offer Chinese Studies programmes. UvA is behind on this.

By signing, you are urging UvA to take this seriously and put these minors and other options on the table.

Despite the Cuts

Budget Cuts shouldn't sideline this

Dutch higher education is facing significant budget cuts, and new programmes are an easy target. But this initiative should not be one of them.

Most of the world's technological and human development is now happening across Africa, Asia and China. Understanding these regions is central to making sense of the 21st century. A serious institution should provide students with the tools to engage with the world as it actually is, even when budgets are tight.

Don't let the cuts kill the goose that lays the golden eggs.

Illustrative example Chinese Studies Minor China's Domestic Policy Chinanomics (economics) China on the World Stage Student A Takes the full minor (all courses) Student B Takes one elective (1 of many) the whole minor just one course
Flexible by Design

You don't have to take the whole minor

These minors aren't all-or-nothing. A student could take a single course from within any of the three minors as an elective, picking up exactly the perspective they need for their own degree.

Within the Chinese Studies Minor, for example, there are courses like China on the World Stage, Chinanomics and China's Domestic Policy. A student interested in economics could take Chinanomics as an elective, without needing to commit to the full minor.

Global Precedent

Universities that already offer these programmes

From Ivy League institutions to leading European and Asian universities, African Studies, Asian Studies and Chinese Studies minors are established offerings. UvA is behind the curve.

Chinese Studies

Harvard University Electives Natl. Univ. of Singapore Minor Cornell University Minor Univ. of Sydney Minor Princeton University Electives Columbia University Minor Univ. of Manchester Minor Duke University Minor Univ. of Washington Minor Dartmouth College Minor Leiden University Minor NC State University Minor Univ. of San Francisco Minor

African & Asian Studies

Stanford University Minor Stanford - South Asia Minor UC San Diego Minor Utrecht University Minor
Behind the Proposal

Who we are

Františ​ek

František and Lucas

Lucas

We are Františ​ek and Lucas, two PPLE students at the University of Amsterdam. We kept running into the same blind spots in our courses and got tired of waiting for someone else to do something about it. So we wrote this proposal. We think UvA can do better, and we hope it will.

Special Thanks

A note of gratitude

Sean

Sean

Many thanks to our dear friend Sean, who growing up in China was able to share his first hand knowledge with us. And more than assisted us with crafting a presentation, which successfully helped us launch this initiative.
Also while adding zest to it, by sharing his personal childhood stories ;)

Get in Touch

Questions or want to help?

Reach out whether you're a student, faculty member, or just someone who agrees something needs to change.

skalalehmann@gmail.com

Send us an email
Add Your Voice

Put your Name
Behind the Proposal

Students, staff, alumni, anyone. Show UvA that people actually want this.

Sign the Petition
Via Qualtrics · Student-led initiative · University of Amsterdam