The 2nd Junior Chinese Studies Conference: Chinese in the Southeast Asian Countries

- Nov. 16, 2015, Monday.

- The Ateneo de Manila University's Ricardo Leong Center for Chinese Studies held its second Junior Chinese Studies Conference in the Ateneo de Manila University. This kind of conference was initiated last year as a chance for student-presenters to be exposed to the world of academic conferences, and for the students to learn from their panel reactors in order to improve or develop their current/future research papers

Conference program and my golden Chinese fan as the background.

- Since this was a junior conference, the participants are all undergraduate (college-level) students. Most of the presenters were students from Ateneo de Manila University who are currently in the AB Chinese Studies program, taking a minor in Chinese Studies, or taking a Chinese/China-related class for the semester. Other schools such as the University of the Philippines, De La Salle University - Manila, University of Santo Tomas, and the University of the Asia and the Pacific also sent paper presenters to support the event. The number of papers this year totaled 45, a bit more than double of last year's conference. All papers submitted were more or less about the contemporary Chinese communities/societies in the Philippines, or about preserving the Chinese heritage in the contemporary age. Most papers were backed up with conceptual frameworks from Chinese philosophies, usually, Confucianism. After all, Confucianism is one of the backbones of Chinese and sinicized societies (i.e. Vietnamese, Korean, Japanese) today.

- I was invited by the Chinese Studies Program (via Prof. Sidney Bata, director of the Ricardo Leong Chinese Studies Program) to be a panel reactor for some panels in the conference. This excited me a lot because I've never been a panel reactor before; I mostly present in academic conferences, and I have also moderated (but not reacted) in one panel in Hong Kong last year (click here to see). In addition to this, this is also the first time that I attended a purely Chinese Studies conference; I've mostly attended Asian-Studies conferences (general Asian Studies, usually multidisciplinary,) and a few on Korean Studies (particularly on "hallyu" or the "Korean Wave.") However, the experience and feeling of taking part in this junior conference was "not new" to me, since all academic conferences on Asian Studies that I've been in are almost always concentrated on China, Japan, Korea, in that particular order. Papers on Southeast Asia (usually on ASEAN affairs) are sometimes noticeable (or papers on the Philippines in case of local conferences,) while papers on Indian Studies, West Asia, and Central Asia are usually rare. I'm usually one of the rare beings to present papers on India, particularly Indian popular culture (i.e. Bollywood.) Hopefully, more academic papers on other Asian geocultural regions will be written and presented, to add diversity to "Asian Studies" conferences everywhere.

- Going back to the junior conference, the event started with a keynote lecture by Dr. Diana Mendoza on the (political) influences of China in Southeast Asia. Dr. Mendoza is a professor in the Political Science Department of the Ateneo de Manila University, and is also the director of the Southeast Asian Studies program of the same university.

Mr. Charles Joseph de Guzman, Chinese Studies instuctor and my friend. 

Dr. Fernando Aldaba, dean of the School of Social Sciences, and his welcoming remarks.

Dr. Diana Mendoza and her keynote lecture.

- Throughout the day, four major panels on different themes were held - philosophies and ideologies; tourism, migration, and social mobility; culture and family life; and emerging trends: technology, social media, and education. I was assigned to be a reactor on three succeeding afternoon panels - one on culture and family life, and two panels on technology, social media, and education.

Tarp.

My friend Kat as a panel reactor in one of the morning panels.

Charles, Kat, and me: 2 China Studies majors, and a misplaced Indian Studies major (wearing a Mongolian top.)

Before having lunch.

Mr. Harold Diokno, history teacher from La Salle Greenhills and a China Studies major as well. 

Paul Yiu and his paper on the mixing of Chinese philosophies and Filipino traits among Fil-Chi adolescents. 

Paul's paper, according to his reactors, was one of the "most developed" in the conference; I thought so too. Paul's also a friend of mind by the way.

- The presenters in my panels had really relevant topics ranging from changing language pedagogy in Chinese schools in the Philippines, exploring the Fil-Chi senior society, to the proposing the change Chinese words connoting gender inequality, and presenting the different uses of the Chinese cleaver. Though the students had a long way to go in terms of presenting and writing proper academic papers, they were still able to present a lot of interesting facts on contemporary Chinese, and diasporic Chinese issues that I may not have known or didn't notice before. This is the reason why I strongly feel that schools and universities should continue to push their students to think more, and to participate (not just as a spectator/observer) in mind-feeding activities like this conference.

With Dr. Yugioksing.

Trying to sound professional but I end up saying my comments with a lighter, comedic tone. Well, that's me.

My first panel. I didn't have more photos of the succeeding panels since my "photographer," Eugene Andojoyan, had to leave.

- After surviving three succeeding panels (and I was able to since they were all fun to listen to,) Prof. Daisy See of the Chinese Studies Program formally closed the conference. The bonus of the day was getting to hitch a ride with the Chiang Kai Shek College school bus on the way home (way better than taking the LRT of course.) The bus was there since a lot of Chinese Education majors from the college department went as observers in the whole-day event. I enjoyed the conference very much, and I hope that I'd get to serve as a panel reactor again in the future junior conferences. I also hope that more junior conferences will be held, not only by the Chinese Studies Program, but also in other fields, to allow more students and potential experts to "go out there and shine." Perhaps, later on, a junior conference on Indian or South Asian Studies can be held, to boost this important-but-"forgotten" field in the Philippines.

Prof. Daisy See.

With Chiang Kai Shek alumni (high school) Paul and Austin, and Ryan in the middle is currently taking his Chinese Education degree in the college department of Chiang Kai Shek College. 

Me.

With yet another China-Studies-major friend, Ivy, who also happened to be with me in my recent Asian Studies conference in New York (click here to read.)