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

Dr. Michiyo Yoneno-Reyes Lectures on Japanese Language Education, Directs Films on PH Ethnomusicology in Japan

Details
Category: News @ UP Asian Center

Dr. Michiyo Yoneno-Reyes, Associate Professor at the Asian Center, participated in several international conferences in Japan over the four-month summer break; she spoke on Japanese language education for Filipino nurses and delivered lectures and produced films on Philippine ethnomusicology. In May 2014, she presented a paper at an international symposium, “An audiovisual exploration of Philippine music: the historical contributions of Robert Garfias.” It was held at the National Museum of Ethnology in Osaka, Japan.

Robert Garfias produced in the 1960s films on Northern Luzon music and dance. And in her paper, “Beyond Exoticism in Philippine Ethnography,” Dr. Yoneno-Reyes explains that “the institutionalization of ethnicity” during the early colonial period created a “dichotomy” that served as a “master narrative” in understanding Philippine culture; she adds that this narrative “ignores the highlight-lowland continuum in Northern Luzon.” To illustrate this point, Dr. Yoneno-Reyes argues that Garfias’ films show that the dance of lowland fandango resembles  the eagle dance in a midland area, and manifests ‘spatial continuity’ with those of highland dances. In June, Dr. Yoneno-Reyes traveled to Hiroshima to speak about the implications Garfias' films on Philippine Studies at the 19th Young Scholars' Conference on Philippine Studies in Japan held in Hiroshima University from 28 to 29 June. 

A few weeks later, Dr. Yoneno-Reyes also took part in the week-long World Sociology Congress in Yokohama, Japan held between 13 and 19 July. Her paper, “Japanese Language Education for Japan-Philippine Economic Partnership Agreement” inquires how “Japanese language education for Filipino nurse candidates under JPEPA can be located in Philippine sociocultural settings to provide academic grounding towards a more meaningful policy-making for both governments.” She cites several sociocultural factors affecting language learning among Filipinos, including “multilingualness with an ambivalent relation with English as both colonial and global language” and “class issue in gaps in motivation and needs of Japanese language learning.” This paper was part of the session, “Globalization and Human Resources for Health in Asian Countries.”  

Dr. Yoneno-Reyes ended her conference swing at the 9th International Symposium of the Music and Minority Group of the ICTM held at National Museum of Ethnology in Osaka on July 19-23. She presented a film, "Sounds of Bliss, Echoes of War: A Kalinga Wedding in the Northern Philippines," which she codirected with Yoshitaka Terada. The film was received favorably and will premiere in the Philippines in October. This was one of two films on Kalinga music that Dr. Yoneno-Reyes produced with Terada at the National Museum of Ethnology, where she was Visiting Research Fellow from April to July 2014. 

Dr. Yoneno-Reyes teaches graduate-level courses in Japanese Studies at the Asian Center, including one on Japanese culture and society and on Asian art. The Center offers masters degrees in Asian Studies covering four areas of specialization: Northeast Asian Studies, Southeast Asian Studies, South Asian Studies, and West Asian Studies. The Center also offers an M.A. and a Ph.D.program in Philippine Studies.

Like the Asian Center on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.