What comes to your mind when thinking about an island? Is it a geographical object, an anthropological site, a tourist destination, a military base, or a data storage center? This course discusses the stories about the islands and archipelagoes in modern East Asia. We will go through fiction, photographs, and films from Taiwan and Japan (in English translation or with English subtitles). The course includes 3 unites: (1) East Asian islands within the maritime exchange, (2) colonialism and the indigenous cultures, and (3) the ocean as an environmental archive. We will think about how the archaeological imaginations have been shaped by different social and natural forces: migration, imperial expansion, technological development, and environmental impact. While reflecting on the significance of island cultures within the Inter-Asia and trans-Pacific networks of exchanges, we will learn to analyze literary and visual texts, research references, develop interpretations, build up arguments, and present our ideas.