Lauren Collins is the Asian Studies Program Director and an Assistant Teaching Professor in the Center for Asian Studies at the University of Colorado Boulder. Her scholarship explores memory politics in East Asia, Southeast Asia, South Asia and the Americas, with additional interests in international development, critical globalization studies, community engagement, power, and “Global Asias.”
At CU Boulder, Collins oversees key curricular elements of the Asian Studies program and teaches both lecture courses that introduce students to Asia’s regional diversity and upper-division seminars on topics such as urbanization, U.S.–China relations, environmental politics in Southeast Asia, and the politics of memory. She also advises students conducting independent research on culture, history, and politics in Asia.
Collins earned her Ph.D. in Higher Education from the University of Denver (2019), an M.A. in China Studies from the University of Washington, and a B.A. in International Affairs from the University of Colorado. Her recent work includes publications in Transnational Asia, Education About Asia, Frontiers: The Interdisciplinary Journal of Study Abroad, and Third World Quarterly.
