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

Special Lecture and Debriefing Seminar on Japanese Culture and Literature

Details

The UP Asian Center and the Japan Foundation Manila will be holding a public seminar, "Special Lecture and Debriefing Seminar on Japanese Culture and Literature," at the UP Asian Center, Quezon City, 6 September 2019, 2 - 4 pm. The seminar is free and open to the public. Seating is first come, first served. Walk-ins are welcome but encouraged to sign up.

Happiness and Independence: Japanese Propaganda and Problems in Translation during the Wartime Occupation of the Philippines (1942)

Unlike its military component, Imperial Japanese propaganda arm at the beginning of the Pacific War, despite having been composed of the country’s best civilian writers and artists, was hugely underdeveloped if compared to its counterparts in other countries, as exemplified by Germany, Russia, and the United States. The paper explores some of the problems it encountered in 1942 colonial Philippines particularly in relation to the wide linguistic gap that involved several languages. Highlighting two key concepts, or sound-images as referred to by Saussure, utilized by Japanese propaganda, the paper attempts to historicize and analyze the complex political relations in wartime context through the seemingly minor arena of discourse. 

This lecture will be delivered by Dr. Gonzalo Campoamor, Associate Professor at the Department of Filipino and Philippine Literature in UP Diliman.

A Journey to the Deep North: Reflections on Japan

Four students—Dyan de los Reyes, Erika Nañes, Andre Feria, and Jose Matthew Luga— who went on a study tour of Japan in April 2019 will reflect on their visit.

Organizers and Inquiries

The seminar and public lecture is co-organized with the Japan Foundation, Manila Office. For queries, please email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. View vicinity map.

The 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. For an overview of these graduate programs, click here. The Asian Center also publishes Asian Studies: Journal of Critical Perspectives on Asia, the latest issue of which can be downloaded at the journal's website. For other news and upcoming events at the Asian Center, click here.