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

Global Asia: Issues, Challenges, and Opportunities | An International Conference

Details
The Asian Center, University of the Philippines Diliman and the Asian Studies Center, University of Pittsburgh will hold the two-day online conference,  Global Asia: Issues, Challenges, and Opportunities, from 4 – 5 February 2023 via Zoom, 8 AM, Philippine Standard Time (GMT + 8) [3 - 4 February 2023, 7 PM, EDT]. The event is free and open to the public. Registration and signing into a Zoom account are required.  

ABOUT THE CONFERENCE

Asia has been undergoing a historic transformation that has often been referred to as the “Asian Century.” Representing 60% of the world’s population and 4 of the 10 largest economies, Asia plays a critical and ever-expanding role on the global stage. Transnational flows of people, goods, and ideas in and out of Asia have fueled much of the rapid change within the region and increased its influence abroad. As the world wrestles with issues of globalization, environmental sustainability, health, and labor migration, Asia’s impact on these issues defines many research questions spanning both academic and professional disciplines.
Certainly, one critical component of the new Global Asia initiative will be understanding the changing roles of China and India. China’s rapid economic development is funding its ambitious Belt & Road Initiative (BRI) that links Beijing to Central Asia via new rail/air links and Africa/Mediterranean with maritime routes. BRI is quickly remaking traditional political and economic partnerships, and it will continue to have a global impact over the coming decades. India is the world’s largest democracy and its rapid economic growth has allowed it to become the world’s seventh-largest economy. While India’s FDI is focused primarily on capturing foreign companies that can assist in meeting domestic market demand, that trend will soon diversify.
Globalization has also increased Southeast Asia’s geo-economic importance. The region is one of the most economically dynamic in the world with a growth rate of 5.32% in 2022. As a result of Asia’s technological innovation, the Philippines has become a regional center for Information and Communication Technology and is now a formidable contender as an E-services hub of Asia. Of course, the fortune of Southeast Asia has long been connected to global trade–its location on the maritime routes connecting China, India, and the Middle East created an “Age of Commerce” between 1400 and 1650 that revolutionized maritime trade.
Another significant component of this initiative will be to also analyze the changing roles of Japan, Taiwan, and South Korea. The State of Japan was the first Asian country to industrialize, held the region’s first democratic elections (1890), and continues to be a leading voice for Pan-Asianism in the 21st century. As the world’s third-largest economy and a leader in regional governance, Japan is an important counterweight/example to China’s development. Taiwan and the Republic of Korea followed Japan’s model of state-led industrialization focused on export-oriented growth, and they too have all become cultural, economic, and educational influencers on a global scale.
Global Asia’s development is not limited to business and investment. As a growing cultural and artistic influencer, the continent’s new forms of popular art such as Japan’s manga, India’s Bollywood films, Korea’s K-Pop, or China’s modern art have a worldwide impact and legions of international fans. Migration throughout Asia is transforming cities across the globe, particularly in the Philippines with its global workforce. Finally, new regional organizations have become important alternatives to American-led neoliberal globalization.
On February 3-4, 2023, EDT and February 4-5, 2023, PST the faculties of the Asian Center, University of the Philippines Diliman, and the Asian Studies Center, University of Pittsburgh will join to deliver presentations that focus on several aspects of Global Asia. The topics that will be interrogated include health, migration, infrastructure and manufacturing development, and political economy. Our goal will be to exchange ideas and new avenues for research between the two institutions to build future co-sponsored research programs.

THE  CONVENERS

TINA S. CLEMENTE, Ph.D.

Tina S. Clemente is a Professor at the Asian Center, University of the Philippines, Diliman. She earned her Ph.D. at the School of Economics at the same university. Her research interests include development, China Studies in the Philippines, Philippines–China economic relations, and economic history. She co-edited Studies of China and Chineseness since the Cultural Revolution: Volume 2: Micro Intellectual History through De-central Lenses (2023, World Scientific) and China Studies in the Philippines: Intellectual Paths and the Formation of a Field (2018, Routledge). She was a program convener of the 2016 China/Strategic Studies Program of the UP Center of Integrative and Development Studies. Dr. Clemente is a former president of the Philippine Association for Chinese Studies and the first editor-in-chief of the Chinese Studies Journal. She received the 2022 Gawad Tsanselor Sa Natatanging Guro, the most prestigious award for UP Diliman faculty that recognizes excellence in teaching, research, and service. 

JOSEPH S. ALTER, Ph.D.

Joseph S. Alter is a medical anthropologist whose work focuses on yoga, Ayurveda and Nature Cure in contemporary India and the comparison of medical systems in Asia.  He has published on the cultural history of physical fitness, medicine, gender, and sexuality, with a particular interest in questioning nationalist assumptions about the integrity of cultural traditions.  

GLOBAL ASIA CONFERENCE DAY 1: Economics, Politics and Relations

4 February 2023, 8 AM, Philippine Standard Time (3 February 2023, 7 PM, Eastern Daylight Time)
OPENING REMARKS
     FIDEL R. NEMENZO, DSc
     Chancellor
     University of the Philippines Diliman
China’s Post-Covid Economic Prospects
     Thomas G. Rawski, Ph.D.
     Asian Studies Center and Department of Economics,
     University of Pittsburgh
Post-Covid Political Economy of Japan
     Kay Shimizu, Ph.D.
     Asian Studies Center and Graduate School of Public and International Affairs,
     University of Pittsburgh
The BRI and Philippines-China Relations: Stocktaking of Gaps and Potential in Research
     Tina S. Clemente, Ph.D.
     Asian Center
     University of the Philippines Diliman
Value Migration in Global Supply Chains
     Ravi Madhavan, Ph.D.
     Asian Studies Center and Katz Graduate School of Business,
     University of Pittsburgh
REACTION
     Antoinette R. Raquiza, Ph.D.
     Asian Center
     University of the Philippines Diliman
QUESTION AND ANSWER
     Moderator: Jocelyn O. Celero, Ph.D.

GLOBAL ASIA CONFERENCE DAY 2: Health and Migration                                                                       

5 February 2023, 8 AM, Philippine Standard Time (4 February 2023, 7 PM, Eastern Daylight Time)
Asian Medicine, Post-COVID
     Joseph S. Alter, Ph.D.
     Asian Studies Center and Department of Anthropology,
     University of Pittsburgh
Reproductive Politics in Asia
     Maria Dulce F. Natividad, Ph.D.
     Asian Center
     University of the Philippines Diliman
Scoping Study on Health and Social Security Systems Literacy of Filipino Migrant Workers in Japan
     Jocelyn O. Celero, Ph.D. 
          Asian Center
          University of the Philippines Diliman
Labor Migration and Human Trafficking in Hong Kong
     Nicole Constable, Ph.D.
     Asian Studies Center and Department of Anthropology,
     University of Pittsburgh
Philippine Diaspora in the Middle East: Policy Issues and Challenges
     Henelito A. Sevilla, Jr., Ph.D.
     Asian Center
     University of the Philippines Diliman
REACTION
     Joseph S. Alter, Ph.D.
     Asian Studies Center and Department of Anthropology,
     University of Pittsburgh
QUESTION AND ANSWER
     Moderator: James Alexander Cook, Ph.D.
CLOSING REMARKS
     Joseph S. Alter, Ph.D.
          Asian Studies Center and Department of Anthropology,
          University of Pittsburgh
     Henelito A. Sevilla, Jr., Ph.D.
          Asian Center
          University of the Philippines Diliman

THE CONFERENCE AND ITS ORGANIZERS

The Global Asia Conference is co-organized by the UP Asian Center and the Asian Studies Center, University of Pittsburgh.  The Asian Studies Center is a global resource for research and education about Asia, as well as a regional center for building Asian connections. In partnership with over 100 affiliated faculty from across the university, we develop innovative research, foster community engagement, and create rigorous academic programming. Founded in 1969, the Center is widely recognized as one of the most comprehensive programs in Asian studies, with a focus on regional, transnational, and interdisciplinary scholarship. View their full profile. 
For inquiries, please email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or call 8 981 8500 local 3580.
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. 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.