The UP Asian Center and the Asian Studies Center recently conducted a joint conference, “New Asian Connectivities” last 12-13 December 2023 at the UP Asian Center, University of the Philippines Diliman.

New Asian Connectivities interweaved the linkages between contemporary and traditional elements that affect how Asia influences global platforms, and how they have been impacted by new concerns and issues. The conference emphasized the connections between political economy, foreign relations, and socio-cultural interrogations and flows.

The conference was composed of four panels: Panel 1 is Beliefs, Identity Discourses, and Literature; Panel 2 is Governance, Narratives, and Political Economy; Panel 3 is Cooperation, Regionalism, and International Order; and Panel 4 is Geoeconomics and Geopolitics.

Dr. Joseph Alter (University of Pittsburgh) opened the first panel by discussing Swami Sivananda’s spiritual journey from Malaya to Himalaya and connected it with the new articulation of Asian connectivity and the mythos of Orientalism. Dr. Matthew Santamaria (UP Asian Center) probed two sangbay-igal songs of the Sama Bajau and associated it with the sense of self. Dr. Gabriela Lee (UP Diliman and University of Pittsburgh) examined three titles of Southeast Asian authors and explored the possibility of contemporary Southeast Asian fantasy literature as an imaginative space for young reader in Asia.

For the second panel, Dr. Maria Dulce Natividad (UP Asian Center) looked into the narratives of the activists from the Philippines and Vietnam in advancing sexual and reproductive rights in their respective contexts. Dr. Nicole Constable (University of Pittsburgh) reexamined Indonesian aspal passports of migrant workers, in relation to global anti-corruption and good governance policies. Dr. Tina Clemente (UP Asian Center) and Dr. Nona May Pepito (Singapore Management University) scrutinized how the local and global dynamics in the Philippine banana and mining sectors affect the tenor of foreign relations between the Philippines and China.

The third panel started off with Dr. Henelito Sevilla Jr. (UP Asian Center) as he studied how China’s economic engagement in the Persian Gulf influences Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates’ trade and commercial policies and how it influences regional order. Dr. Gemma Morada (University of Pittsburgh) investigated the workings of East Asian regionalism, focusing on China and Japan’s efforts in promoting regional cooperation and integration. Dr. Alexander Michael Palma (UP Asian Center) investigated how infrastructure development in Asia is achieving synergy through development assistance.

For the final panel, Dr. Thomas Rawski (University of Pittsburgh) presented the difficulties in the growth of China while Dr. Ravi Madhavan (University of Pittsburgh) discussed “China De-risking” and “Altasia” and linked it with the barriers in the investments of global corporations to China. Dr. Kaoru Shimizu (University of Pittsburgh) highlighted the geopolitical tensions between the US and China in the electric vehicles industry. Finally, Dr. Reena Marwah (Delhi University) focused on India’s imperative to strengthen its power in the Indo-Pacific region.

Cultural performances from Kontra-GaPi, Bunga Arts Link, and Blue Igal also graced the two-day conference. Kontra-GaPi also had a quick overview of the different instruments that they used, allowing the participants to try and play with them. Thereafter, the UP Asian Center also toured the delegates from the University of Pittsburgh to the Asian Center Museum.

Moreover, as the conference’ output, a special issue featuring the research papers of the conference participants will be published by the University of Pittsburgh. Before the program ended, the participants finalized the plan of action for the implementation of the special issue.

The conference was formally opened by Dr. Henelito Sevilla Jr., Dean of the UP Asian Center, and Dr. Joseph Alter, Director of the Asian Studies Center, University of the Pittsburgh. New Asian Connectivities was formally closed by the Assistant Vice President for Academic Affairs of the University of the Philippines, Dr. Ma. Theresa T. Payongayong.

The event is part of a series of collaborations between UP Asian Center and Asian Studies Center, University of Pittsburgh that includes the virtual conference “Global Asia: Issues, Challenges, and Opportunities” in February 2023 and the webinar “China’s Economy in Long-Term Perspective” in November 2023.

MORE PHOTOS FROM THE EVENT

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The Asian Center, University of the Philippines Diliman offers M.A. degrees in Asian Studies with four fields of specialization: Northeast Asia, Southeast Asia, South Asia, and West Asia. The UP Asian 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. It also 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. As an area studies institution, 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.