Asian Studies, the open-access, peer-reviewed journal published by the Asian Center, is celebrating its 50th anniversary on 28 November 2013.
One of the first journals of its kind in Southeast Asia, Asian Studies has produced cutting-edge academic work of scholars on Asian concerns covering the social sciences and humanities. Born in the midst of the Cold War, the journal witnessed not only the national, anti-colonial upheavals in Asia but also the emergence of intellectual trends that came along and in the aftermath of those changes, from critiques of Orientalist discourse to developing alternative understandings of Asia.
To celebrate its golden anniversary, Asian Studies has set up a small display at the lobby of the Hall of Wisdom, Asian Center, University of the Philippines Diliman. The exhibit features a commemorative poster, ‘From the Cold War to the Rise of Asia: Fifty Years of Asian Studies’ and displays several milestone issues of the journal.
PHOTO (ABOVE): Front cover of the first ever issue of Asian Studies, dated 28 November 1963.
“It is a privilege to lead Asian Studies at this critical juncture in its history,” says Dr. Eduardo C. Tadem, who took over as editor in chief in June 2012 and reconstituted the editorial board and editorial advisory board. “As a significant part of the history of the academe in the Philippines, if not in Asia, for the past 50 years, the journal has contributed much to our understanding of Asia and the Philippines.”
Throughout its history, Asian Studies has published many pioneering studies
on Philippine history, culture, and society and 
has gathered a sizable collection of articles on East Asian studies (China, Japan and Korea), South Asian Studies (India) and Southeast Asian Studies (mainly ASEAN countries).
The journal has classified these articles according to region, country, and theme including Religion and Spirituality in Asia; Women, Gender, and Sexuality in Asia; Asian Language and Literature; Buddhism in Asia; and Politics and Regionalism in Southeast Asia, among others. These articles and compilations may be downloaded for free from the Asian Studies website, which was launched in early 2013.
“Many of these articles,” shares Dr. Ed Gonzalez, Dean of the Asian Center and member of the journal's editorial board, “represent, among other things, early, yet critical studies on Asian societies. Many of them were written 30 to 50 years ago, but they can offer scholars today a glimpse of how academics then, living amidst social, political, and intellectual change, viewed critical issues that continue to affect us today. I hope that these articles can offer some hindsight that can in turn shed new light on today’s issues.”
PHOTO (RIGHT): Commemorative Poster and milestone issues of the journal
Today, Asian Studies is also poised to help chart new and critical directions in the study of Asia as the historical and intellectual climate shifts again in a region that now plays an increasing and more decisive role in global history.
To know more about Asian Studies and download FREE PDF articles, visit the journal’s website at www.asj.upd.edu.ph.