Elinor May K. Cruz, 2016 Gawad Chanselor sa Natatanging Research, Extension, and Professional Staff

The Third World Studies Center (TWSC)  is extremely proud of one of its university research associates, Elinor May K. Cruz, for being a recipient of the 2016 Gawad Chanselor sa Natatanging Research, Extension, and Professional Staff. In his nomination for May to the said award, TWSC Director, Dr. Ricardo T. Jose wrote:

Pioneering accurately describes much of May’s research work throughout her young academic career, tackling sensitive issues such as cybersex and toxic cosmetics regulation, marketing, and use without compromising standards of ethical scholarship. May can also be credited with spearheading efforts to ensure the continued viability of the Center’s in-house journal, Kasarinlan: Philippine Journal of Third World Studies, as an internationally respected publication, while at the same time providing a venue for early career researchers to publish their research outputs. Furthermore, May’s work in TWSC has helped keep the Center in touch with a global community of scholars. All this she accomplished with the diligence and dedication that, in our university community, one finds only in those whose career advancement can be attributed, by and large, to merit.

. . . . .

May’s achievements go above and beyond what is expected of a university research associate in our university. The consistent “Outstanding” performance rating that she has received for every semester since 2013 does not capture in full her dedication and professionalism that elevated the quality of academic work here at the TWSC and, in turn, in the university. These she has achieved through untiring engagement with the ethical, theoretical, and methodological intricacies of the social sciences as she has also applied her keen mind to systematize executions of research programs and to heighten the effectiveness of our Center’s international network and training and advocacy activities.

When May started at the TWSC, research colleagues immediately noticed her knack for asking probing questions, always wanting to know how things are done in the Center, on how she can make it better, or to surface unexamined assumptions being made to inform research initiatives. This mix of curiosity and candor, diligence and dedication, and a firm grasp for the innovative give us all the reasons to proudly nominate Elinor May K. Cruz for the 2016 Gawad Tsanselor sa Natatanging REPS.

May received her award last 20 May 2016 at the Institute of Biology Auditorium, College of Sciences, UP Diliman:

  

A Public Lecture on Organized Labor in Indonesia by Dr. Max Lane

Indonesia Today: The Return Of Organized Labor In Contemporary Politics

The UP Asian Center will host a public lecture, “Indonesia Today: The Return of Organized Labor in Contemporary Politics" by Dr. Max Lane on Monday, 25 April 2016, 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m., Seminar Room, Hall of Wisdom, GT-Toyota Asian Cultural Center, Asian Center, University of the Philippines Diliman. The lecture is free and open to the public; seating is available on a first-come, first-served basis, but participants are encouraged to sign up to expedite the registration process on the day of the forum. 

About the Lecture

The 1965 counter-revolution in Indonesia (against the unfinished national revolution) necessitated the establishment of an almost totalitarian authoritarianism under General Suharto. During the 33 years of near totalitarian rule, political agency was confined to factions and cliques within the Indonesian capitalist class and its institutions. Political agency from outside this class—from the working class and peasantry—was not simply either subordinated or co-opted, it was physically abolished. For 33 years, a de facto re-education programme was implemented, eliminating not only the previous ideologies of these classes—social democracy, radical popular nationalism and socialism—but also even the traditions associated with their history. Since the fall of Suharto in 1998, however, there has been a gradual re-entry of organised labor into the political terrain, accelerating after 2010, with large-scale national mobilisation for improvements in conditions taking place in 2011, 2012, and 2013. There is more open discussion of labor's direct participation in politics. As this continues, polarisation between the union bureaucracy elite and the more critical, militant and independent-minded union activists has begun. This new polarisation is of enormous importance as to what happens next in Indonesian national politics.

About the Speaker

Max Lane, Ph.D. is Visiting Senior Fellow at the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies (ISEAS) in Singapore. The English translator of six of Pramoedya Ananta Toer’s works, including the Arok of Java and This Earth of Mankind and the other novels of the “Buru Quartet.” He has published several books on Indonesia, including Openness, Political Discontent and Succession in Indonesia: Political Developments in Indonesia, 1989-90 (Griffith University 1991); Unfinished Nation: Indonesia before and after Suharto (Verso 2009); and Decentralization and Its Discontents: An Essay on Class, Political Agency and National Perspective in Indonesian Politics (ISEAS 2014). He is also author of The Urban Mass Movement in the Philippines, 1983-87 (Australian National University and ISEAS 1990). In 2016, he will publish his first book of poetry and prose. An activist, Max Lane also previously served as officer in the Australian embassy in Jakarta, Indonesia.

View his CV and list of other publications here.

The public lecture is organized by the UP Asian Center and the Third World Studies Center, University of the Philippines Diliman.  

Latest Issue of Kasarinlan Available Online for Free

Kasarinlan: Philippine Journal of Third World Studies is an internationally refereed journal published twice a year. It provides a forum for critical and interdisciplinary perspectives on the Philippines and the Third World with special reference to political economy. Since 2009, Kasarinlan has been accredited by the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) as a Category A-2 (very good to excellent) research journal (Memorandum Order 9, Series of 2010; Memorandum Order No. 26, Series of 2013). As per CHED Memorandum Order No. 05, Series of 2012, the accreditation means that "for faculty members evaluated in compliance to publication requirements per CHED Memorandum Orders, publication in the journal is credited as an international level publication."

To access the issue's contents for free, please see this link http://journals.upd.edu.ph/index.php/kasarinlan/issue/view/533/showToc

CALL FOR PAPERS: The 5th International Conference of the Japanese Studies Association in Southeast Asia

CALL FOR PAPERS

The 5th International Conference of the 
Japanese Studies Association in Southeast Asia

Graduate Student Workshop

DATES: 13-14 December 2016

VENUE: Cebu City, Cebu, Philippines

Conference

DATES: 15-16 December 2016

VENUE: Cebu City, Cebu, Philippines

ASEAN and Japanese Studies: Futures and Critical Approaches

The Japanese Studies Association in Southeast Asia (JSA-ASEAN) is a network among Japanese Studies scholars from Southeast Asia. It was set up in 2005 to serve as a catalyst in promoting Japanese studies in this region. It is the only organization with the aim of bringing together major Japanese studies specialists from various Southeast Asian countries with their counterparts from Japan and other countries. It is hoped that with the combined resources of Japanese studies specialists in Southeast Asia, JSA-ASEAN would grow to become an important platform for the promotion of region-wide Japanese studies.

In order to stimulate interest and promote networks among scholars in Southeast Asia, JSA-ASEAN organizes a biennial conference as the major platform for a trans-disciplinary international exchange. The inaugural conference was hosted by Department of Japanese Studies, National University of Singapore in October 2006. The second JSA-ASEAN conference was held in Hanoi in October 2009, organized by Vietnamese Academy of Social Sciences. The third JSA-ASEAN conference was held in Kuala Lumpur by University of Malaya in 2012. The fourth JSA-ASEAN conference was held in Bangkok by the Institute of East Asian Studies, Thammasat University in 2014.

ABOUT THE 2016 JSA-ASEAN Conference

The year 2015 saw a series of events that would redirect and transform Japanese society: the apparent failure of Abenomics, the recurrent issue of Japan’s war responsibility at the 70th Anniversary of the end of World War II, public debates and actions against the Peace and Security Preservation Legislation, controversies about the preparation for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics, the gradual reinstatement of nuclear power generation, and the forceful implementation of the new Social Security and Tax Number System. The government’s campaign of Cool Japan seems to have lost its lure amidst the competition with the powerful cultural promotion of South Korea and China in the international market of economic as well as cultural commodities. Crucial cuts to humanities and social sciences at universities will possibly engender the expansive and in-depth impact on the future generation of Japan. At this crossroads, the conference invites scholars of Japanese Studies, from the region and beyond, to examine the past and the present of Japan, and explore the possibilities of its future. 

The conference organizers invite individual papers, panels, posters and short films/videos relating to the conference theme. The sub-themes may include:

A. Peace and security

B. Social classes and subcultures

C. Gender

D. International relations

E. Political economy

F. Migration

G. Disaster

H. Community activism and networking

I. Language and literature

New and aspiring proposals in other areas are also welcome. 

GUIDELINES FOR ABSTRACT SUBMISSION

1. Abstracts should be not more than 500 words in English or Japanese. Possible sub-themes into which the abstract falls may also be indicated.
2. Please include author's name(s), institutional affiliation, and complete contact information (email-address, telephone number and mailing address).
3. The deadline for submissions is 15 July 2016. Please send abstracts by email to jspadmu@gmail.com.
4. Graduate Students who are interested in participating in the Graduate Student Workshop on 13-14 December 2016 must write their intention in the submission. 
5. All submissions will be refereed. 

For other inquiries, contact the Conference Secretariat at +63-2-426-6001 loc. 5248/5249 (Karl Ian Cheng Chua or Marian Salvador), or jspadmu@gmail.com.

This conference is organized by:

• Ateneo de Manila University, Japanese Studies Program
• De La Salle University, International Studies Department
• University of the Philippines, Third World Studies Center
• with the support of the Japan Foundation

The JSA-ASEAN Steering Committee

Ateneo de Manila University, Japanese Studies Program

Chulalongkorn University

Doshisha University

National University of Singapore, Department of Japanese Studies

Thammasat University, Institute of East Asian Studies

University of Indonesia

University of Malaya 

University of the Philippines, Third World Studies Center

Vietnamese Academy of Social Sciences

PUBLICATION PLANS

We are planning to have a special issue of an academic journal based on the conference.

FORUM 3 ng 2016 UP TWSC Public Forum Series

Malugod na iniimbitahan ang publiko na dumalo sa ikatlong forum ng 2016 UP TWSC Public Forum Series na pinamagatang, "Anim na Tanong sa Anim na Taon: Ang mga Agham Panlipunan at Pilosopiya at ang Papalitang Rehimeng Aquino."

Tampok sila Prop. Jesus Federico C. Hernandez ng Departamento ng Linggwistiks at Prop. Roberto D. Tangco ng Departamento ng Pilosopiya bilang mga tagapagsalita sa forum na ito. Si Prop. Hernandez ay tatalakay sa kasalukuyang kalagayan ng ilang mga wika sa Pilipinas na nanganganib nang tuluyang maglaho sa kanyang, "Dapithapon ng Salita: Ang mga Nanganganib na Wika sa Pilipinas." Si Prop. Tangco naman ay maglalatag ng mga tanong para sa isang patapos ng administrasyon upang busisiin ang papel ng akademiko sa pagtataya ng mga pamahalaan sa kanyang, "What Can We Ask an Outgoing President Constitutionally Barred from Re-Election?"

Gaganapin ang forum na ito sa ika-16 ng Marso 2016 (Miyerkules), mula 9:30 hanggang 11:30 ng umaga, sa Pulungang Claro M. Recto, Bulwagang Rizal, Kolehiyo ng Arte at Literatura, Unibersidad ng Pilipinas-Diliman.

Mapapanood ang recordings ng forum na ito dito. 

TUNGKOL SA MGA PRESENTASYON

Dapithapon ng Salita: Ang mga Nanganganib na Wika sa Pilipinas

Prop. Jesus Federico C. Hernandez, Departamento ng Linggwistiks, Kolehiyo ng Agham Panlipunan at Pilosopiya, UP Diliman

Tatalakayin sa panayam na ito ang kasalukuyang kalagayan ng ilang mga wika sa Pilipinas na nanganganib nang tuluyang maglaho. Bilang produkto ng kasaysayan at ng pakikipagtungali sa hamon ng kapaligiran, ang bawat wika ay hindi lamang instrumento sa pagpapadaloy ng komunikasyon kundi sisidlan din ng kultura; kung kaya’t masasabing ang pagkamatay ng isang wika ay ang pagkawala ng isang buong sistema ng kaalaman. Batay sa mga nakalap na datos, obserbasyon, at mga kwento mula sa mga isinagawang fieldwork, ibabahagi din ang ilang mga posibleng dahilan o sanhi ng ganitong estado ng ilang wika sa Pilipinas, kasama na dito ang ilang mga pananaw tungkol sa wika, mga patakaran ng pamahalaan, at ang ilang polisiya sa edukasyon.

What Can We Ask an Outgoing President Constitutionally Barred from Re-Election?

Prop. Roberto D. Tangco, Departamento ng Pilosopiya, Kolehiyo ng Agham Panlipunan at Pilosopiya, UP Diliman

Other than the biographer, the historian, the Ombudsman or political enemies there are it seems to me few who would be interested in what an outgoing president has to say about his or her 6 year term.  To begin with one would expect much of it to be defensive or self-serving; and, the received wisdom is that such a person is a lame duck president whose remaining days are of little consequence unless he or she was planning to scrap the elections and forcibly take over the government. But if one were to assume that the outgoing president, in this case Benigno Aquino III, would honestly and sincerely answer one’s questions then there is much to be learned from the exercise which can be packaged by academe for future leaders and government officials.  It will be the assumption made here.


MGA KUHA MULA SA FORUM