Wherever I am, the world comes after me.
It offers me its busyness. It does not believe that I do not want it.
Now I understand 
why the old poets of China went so far
and high 
into the mountains, then crept into the pale mist.
"The Old Poets of China" by Mary Oliver

The graduating batch of 2017 pose at the lobby of the GT-Toyota Asian Center auditorium. Click to enlarge. 


The UP Asian Center held its annual college graduation ceremonies last Sunday, 25 June 2017, 1:30 pm, at the GT-Toyota Asian Center Auditorium, University of the Philippines Diliman. This year’s graduating batch saw fifteen students from the UP Asian Center’s MA programs and two from the Tricollege Ph.D. Philippine Studies program.

The batch covers graduates from the 1st and 2nd semesters of Academic Year 2016–2017 and from the mid-year term of Academic Year 2015–2016 (June–July 2016). Dr. Victor Nadera, Director of the Philippine High School for the Arts, was the guest of honor. Delivering the response on behalf of their fellow MA and PhD graduates were Kara David and Alexander Palma, respectively. 

MA in Asian Studies (MAAS) Graduates 

Three (3) students finished their Master of Arts in Asian Studies (MA in Asian Studies), a thesis track. Listed below are the titles of their respective theses:

  • Ganadillo, Ivy

    • New Chinese Migrants in the Philippines: Exploring Non-Economic Factors in Migration Decisions based on Personal Narratives

  • Sumilang, Erika

    • Consuming Culture: The Digitalization of Folktales in the Pokemon Franchise

  • Villota, Alleson II

    • Japanese Pop Culture Exposure and Consumption: Influence on Youth Attitudes Based on Two Asian Studies Survey Data Sets

MA in Philippine Studies (MAPS) Graduates

The MA in Philippine Studies program produced four (4) graduates over the past year. Listed below are their respective theses:

  • Bacalso, Mary
    • The Imperative of the Philippines’ Signature and Ratification of the International Convention for the Protection of all Persons from Enforced Disappearance
  • David, Kara
    • Ang Amo at ang Maamo: Pangangamuhan at Pagkatao ng mga Aeta ng Pampanga
  • Pasigan, Renz
    • Filipinizing the Korean: Representation of Filipino Culture in a Philippine Remake of Selected Korean Dramas
  • Pawilen, Ryan
    • Identity, Transformation, and Customary Law among Bago Igorots: Examining Conflict Resolution Methods in a Changing Ethnoscape

The 2017 graduating batch with faculty of the Asian Center and officials of the Tricollege Ph.D. Philippine Studies Program. Click to enlarge. 


Master in Asian Studies (MAS) Graduates

The MAS program, the nonthesis track of the Asian Studies program, has six (6) graduates for 2017.

  • Arriola, Angelo
  • De Leon, Jhoanna
  • Francisco, Kathrina
  • Gianan, Emy
  • Masakayan, Thea
  • Villar, Paulo

Master in Philippines Studies (MPS) Graduates

The MPS program, the nonthesis track of the Philippine Studies program, has two (2) graduates for 2017.

  • Lanuza, JM
  • Rodriguez, Richard

Tri-College Ph.D. Philippine Studies Program Graduates

Two newly minted PhDs from the Tri-College Ph.D. Philippine Studies Program joined the MA graduates. Listed below their names are the titles of their respective dissertations. 

  • Palma, Alexander
    • Digesting Development: Why Philippine Industrialization Hardly Took Off
  • Salao, May
    • The Animation Industry in the Philippines: Institutional Building for Skill Formation

The UP Asian Center offers M.A. degrees in Asian Studies with four fields of specialization: Northeast Asia, Southeast Asia, South Asia, and West Asia. The Center also has an M.A. program in Philippine Studies that allows students to major in Philippine society and culture, Philippine foreign relations, or Philippine development studies. The Center offers a Ph.D. program in Philippine Studies in conjunction with the College of Arts and Letters and the College of Social Sciences and Philosophy. Get an overview of these programs. The Asian Center also houses a peer-reviewed, open-access journal, Asian Studies: Journal of Critical Perspectives on Asia. It has published several books and monographs, and hosts or organizes various lectures and conferences