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

Three New Issues of Asian Studies Now Available Online

Three recent issues of Asian Studies can now be downloaded for free at www.asj.upd.edu.ph

The special issue of Asian Studies, Backrooms, Battlefields, and Backhoes: The Mindanao Conundrum, comes nearly a year after the signing of the Bangsamoro Framework Agreement and amidst the ongoing negotiations between the Philippine government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front.

Published as Volume 48:1-2 (2012), the issue explores the various social, political, and historical issues that underpin “the Mindanao conundrum,” from treaties, peace agreements and economic development to clan violence, shadow economies, and Lumad self-determination. Not only does it cover Mindanao from different perspectives, it also points to the pressing need to address complex problems in the ongoing negotiations and beyond.
Three of the articles in this issue were presented at the UP Academic Congress in February 2010, while the rest were subsequently solicited. Download the PDF of the issue here. You may purchase a hard copy forPhP 400.) 


The Writings of Cesar Adib Majul Islam and Philippine Society: The Writings of Cesar Adib Majul commemorates one of the most brilliant minds in Philippine intellectual history. Released as Volume 46:1-2 (2010), this double issue reprints ten of Dr. Majul’s articles published in previous issues of Asian Studies over the past five decades. It contains five articles on Islam and Muslims in the Philippines, and another five on Filipino nationalism and the Philippine Reform Movement.

In his introduction, Julkipli Wadi, Dean of the Institute of Islamic Studies at the University of the Philippines, writes that the republication of Majul’s articles comes “auspiciously” after the signing of a Framework Agreement between the Philippine Government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front. They offer a rich “historical canvas that can help determine the context and possible trajectories of the Framework’s vision of peace.” Download the PDF here. You may purchase a hard copy for PhP 300.


asian-studies-41-2-2005-coverPhilipppine History and Society in Retrospect reprints some of the landmark and pathbreaking research on Philippine history. Ricardo Jose, who wrote the introduction, says that these papers, written during the late 1960s and 1970s, "set set fresh standards on research methodologies and opened up new areas in the study of Philippine history and society....."

Unparalleled and still classic references in their fields, these papers inspired a generation of scholars. It is hoped that veteran academics can look back at these work and the historical context(s) in which they were written, perhaps with the benefit of hindsight; and that younger scholars can use these articles as a guide, if not inspiration, for their own research on Philippine history and society."

This retrospective issue, published as Volume 41:2 (2005), features the work of David Sturtevant, David Sweet, Benedict Kerkvliet, Jeremy Beckett, Michael Onorato, and William Henry Scott. Download the PDF here. You may purchase a hard copy for PhP 300. 


Costs exclude shipping rates. To order, please contact the editorial staff at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or visit our subscriptions page and kindly be guided by the instructions.

You may also drop by at Room 205, Hall of Wisdom, GT-Toyota Asian Cultural Center to place your order and have it picked up within a few days. For further inquiries, please contact the editorial staffat This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Visit the Asian Studies website at www.asj.upd.edu.ph.