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

Networks of Knowledge on Asia | An Online Roundtable

The UP Asian Center held a roundtable via Zoom, “New Directions in Asian Studies Webinar Series: Networks of Knowledge on Asia” on 26 November 2021, 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m., Philippine Standard Time.

About the Series and the Webinar

This webinar series aims to understand the current trends in the field of Asian and Philippine studies. It strives to identify shared methodological and thematic concerns across regions and disciplines to advance future academic collaborations among scholars of Asia. As a platform for emerging and senior scholars to share their research trajectories and findings, it also envisions to stimulate exchanges and conversations that transcend conventional disciplinary and regional boundaries.
The first installment of this series, “Networks of Knowledge on Asia” brings together eight representatives from the various international networks—including EUROSEAS and the Association for Asian Studies—that promote the study of Asia. These networks not only organize regional and international meetings and conferences but also participate in setting the agenda and directions for Asian studies. 
As such, this webinar seeks to understand the broader landscape of Asian studies in different parts of the world and its involvement with various institutions and epistemic traditions. It also aims to foreground the changing dynamics of area studies and its continuing importance in the broader public sphere

Selected Talking Points

    • How would you characterize your organization’s/network’s engagement with Asia and Asian studies? 
    • What economic and political factors do you think could decisively shape how we study and understand Asia? 
    • What do you think are the most important issues that Asian studies scholars should pursue and why? 
    • What are the challenges faced by both regional and international organizations, and how should we respond to these challenges?

List of Speakers

    • Jerónimo Delgado Caicedo, PhD
               Secretary General, The Latin American Association of Asian and African Studies (ALADAA)
    • Angelin Chang, PhD
               Chair, Research Committee on Asian and Pacific Studies, International Political Science Association
    • Hilary Finchum-Sung, PhD
                Executive Director, Association for Asian Studies (AAS)
    • Hsin Huang Michael Hsiao, PhD
               Chair, Consortium for Southeast Asian Studies in Southeast Asia (SEASIA)
    • Philippe Peycam, PhD
                Director, International Institute for Asian Studies (IIAS)
    • Lia Rodriguez de la Vega, PhD
                Advisory Committee, The Latin American Association of Asian and African Studies (ALADAA)
    • Swaran Singh, PhD
                President, Association of Asia Scholars
    • Silvia Vignato, PhD
                President, European Association for Southeast Asian Studies

Asian Center’s 66th Anniversary

This roundtable is one of several activities for the Asian Center's 66th anniversary. The theme for this year's celeration—"Continuity and Change: The Asian Center at 66." View full list of activities.
For inquiries, please email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
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.