The UP Asian Center successfully conducted the 5th Biennial Conference of the Consortium for Southeast Asian Studies in Asia (SEASIA). First time held in the Philippines, the conference was held from 18 to 20 July 2024 at the GT-Toyota Asian Center and the UP School of Economics.

The theme of the conference was “De/Centering Southeast Asia.” The concept of “de/centering” refers to the shift in the scholarship’s analytical position away from the dominant center which is historically viewed from the West, towards the periphery – the diverse and complex narratives as told by the Southeast Asians themselves. The 5^th SEASIA Biennial International Conference aimed to encourage a more nuanced understanding of Southeast Asia and provide a platform for its scholars to reclaim their identity. It also sought to promote a more inclusive and equitable dialogue within epistemic communities.

Keynote Speakers and Presentations

Dr. Maria Serena Diokno, the former chairperson of the National Historical Commission of the Philippines (NHCP) graced the event as the guest of honor. Notable theorist and proponent of autonomous social science tradition in Southeast Asia, Dr. Syed Farid Alatas of the National University of Singapore, and National Artist of the Philippines and former Vice President of the International Music Council of UNESCO, Dr. Ramon Pagayon Santos delivered the keynote speeches for the second and third day of the conference respectively.

The three-day conference saw the presentations of 212 individuals divided into 53 panels with more than 400 participants attending at the UP School of Economics. The presenters and participants engaged in academic dialogues and exchanges covering various topics on  Southeast Asia—such as decolonization and autonomous knowledge production, history, culture and society, politics, economy, etc.— through various platforms.

Featured Activities and Exhibitors

The conference also featured book talks and a film festival open to the general public. Two books were launched in separate parallel sessions: Games, Changes, and Fears edited by Aries Arugay and Jean Encinas-Franco, and The Geopolitics of Green Colonialism: Global Justice and Ecosocial Transitions edited by Miriam Lang, Mary Ann Manahan, and Breno Bringel. Contributing authors to the books and invited reactors were included as panel speakers.

Meanwhile, the Film Festival screened five short documentaries selected from the Visual Documentary Project (VDP) based at Kyoto University’s Center for Southeast Asian Studies (CSEAS) and a work of Dr. Ma. Crisanta Flores of the UP Diliman-Department of Filipino and Philippine Literature. Through the presentation of the differing realities in Southeast Asia, the VDP sought to bridge the academe, the filmmaking community, and the public. Issues on overseas workers, social inequalities and injustices, personal journeys, and experiences were covered.

Various reference materials and publications were also exhibited by invited publishers, institutions, and think tanks such as ISEAS Publishing, UP Press, UP Center for Integrative and Development Studies, UP Center for Ethnomusicology, and Vibal Group, Inc.

Special Performances

Special performances by up-and-coming Filipino artists were also included in the conference program. To cap the first day, the UP Asian Center hosted a welcome dinner for all participants with a special show produced by the UP College of Music. An exclusive showing of the documentary film Karatuan: Kudyapiq sa Lumang Maguindanao [Karatuan: Kudyapiq of Old Maguindanao] by Dr. Jose Buenconsejo was also one of the featured activities during the three-day conference.

To celebrate the success of the three-day activity, the UP College of Music produced a gala concert during the last day featuring performances from Maguindanao Kulintangan Ensemble of the UP Tugtugang Musika Asyatika (TUGMA) and Padayon Rondalla. The concert included a special concert staging of excerpts from the comedy, Putri Anak: Isang Bagong Komedya by Verne de la Peña conducted by Mary Katherine Trangco with the special participation of Eliza 伊丽莎, Alex Dagalea, and Jude Matthew Servilla.

Concluding Roundtable

The conference concluded with a roundtable on “De/Centering Southeast Asian Studies and the Search for Relevance” with Dr. Ping Tjin Thum of New Naratif, Dr. Caroline Hau of Kyoto University, and Keynote Speaker Dr. Syed Farid Alatas of NUS as the panel speakers. UP Diliman Chancellor Edgardo Carlo L. Vistan II delivered the closing remarks.

About the Conference

 The 5th SEASIA Biennial International Conference of the Consortium for Southeast Asian Studies in Asia (SEASIA) is organized and hosted by the University of the Philippines Diliman led by the UP Asian Center,  in cooperation with the  Political Economy Program of the UP Center for Integrative and Development Studies (CIDS), the UP Center for International Studies (CIS) and the Department of Political Science, College of Social Sciences and Philosophy (CSSP), UP Diliman. This activity is also co-organized by the SEASIA members.

For questions or concerns, email the conference secretariat This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

MORE PHOTOS FROM THE EVENT

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.