Harvard University Asia Center

*** Upcoming Event ***

Tuesday, September 17th, 4-6 p.m. ET

CGIS South Concourse, 1730 Cambridge St., Cambridge

About the Event: The Harvard Asia Center’s Southeast Asia Initiative invites all Harvard faculty, students, affiliates, and staff with an interest in Southeast Asia to an informal reception to make connections, build community, and learn about how the Asia Center can support their work.

Interested in a language this semester? Try taking Vietnamese this fall. With 4 classes, there's a class that is right for you. Students can sign up until September 10th

Embark on an exciting Thai language journey! Students can enroll in a Thai Tutorial if they enroll before September 10th.

Interested in a user friendly language with small class sizes and exciting materials? Join an Indonesian Language Class this fall! Harvard Students have until September 10th to sign up to learn one of the most widely spoken languages in the world.

Travel to the Philippines Through Filipino Language Classes! From worksheets to world tasks, the Filipino classes this Fall 2024 are designed to equip learners and increase their communicative competency in Filipino, and it's not too late to enroll for this Fall as a Harvard student.

*** Upcoming Event ***

Wednesday, September 25th at 4:30pm ET, S010, Tsai Auditorium, CGIS South., 1730 Cambridge St., Cambridge
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About the Lecture:
Humanity today faces a dangerous world of complexities and disruptions — deadly pandemics, a climate crisis, cyber insecurity, and protracted armed conflicts. These interconnected crises pose unprecedented threats to our existence, planet, and future amid eroded trust in political institutions, rising social divisions, ethnonationalism, and geopolitical rivalry. In conflict-ridden communities, civilians suffer atrocities as international humanitarian and human rights laws are cast aside in the absence of a robust mechanism of enforcement. At a time when productive dialogue for global solutions is critical, multilateral governance has been severely weakened, undermining our ability to address these global challenges effectively.

The gravity of our historical moment demands serious rethinking to address these threats and to rebuild multilateral governance for the twenty-first century. This lecture hopes to contribute to this rethinking by drawing on Heyzer's UN experiences, highlighting struggles and opportunities to restore and rebuild the power of transnational alliances and communities of shared values, purpose, and interest

Praise for Experimentalist Constitutions! Ken Kollman of the University of Michigan wrote a review in Publius: The Journal of Federalism.

One of our books, Transpatial Modernity by Xiaolu Ma, has received another endorsement! Find out more through the link in our bio.

Praise for Transpatial Modernity by Xiaolu Ma! Congrats to Xiaolu Ma on her success.

Harvard University Asia Center is pleased to announce Michael Puett, Walter C. Klein Professor of Chinese History and Anthropology, as the new Faculty Director, beginning September 1, 2024. Read more here: https://asiacenter.harvard.edu/announcements/michael-puett-appointed-director-harvard-university-asia-center

**International Workshop on Climate-Resilient Development in Southeast Asia**

Friday& Saturday, July 26-27
Tsai Auditorium, 1730 Cambridge St, Cambridge

ABOUT THE WORKSHOP
Many studies warn that climate change is a serious threat to human societies and is projected to cause growing damage and loss in the near future, even if currently planned mitigation goals are met. The critical issue is how to maintain and enhance “climate resilience” - the capacity of socio-ecosystems to survive and thrive in changing climates. Southeast Asia, with its multiple emerging economies, facing increasing threats of global warming. At the same time, many countries of the region are developing social and economic systems to better cope with climate impacts. Despite these efforts, scientific research on the evolving capacities of social resilience to climate change is still underdeveloped. We invite participation in an “International Workshop on Climate-Resilient Development in Southeast Asia” to explore with colleagues from Southeast Asia whether, where, and how climate resilient development can be enhanced both in general and in their region.

Our author Huan Jin will talk about her recent book published by Harvard Asia Center.

Details are:
Time: May 16 Thursday, 4:00-6:00pm (local time)
Place: Chinese University of Hong Kong

***Upcoming Event***

Wednesday May 1st 12pm-1:30pm

S153 1730 Cambridge St

A light lunch will be provided

About the Talk:The 21st century witnesses the ascendency of Asia, with ASEAN at its core, representing a structural shift in the global center of gravity. With great powers asserting influence and conflicts persisting in the region, ASEAN faces the imperative to navigate wisely to uphold its relevance. Therefore, studying the role of ASEAN, as a regional organization, in conflict management has become of crucial importance. In this talk, the speaker will delve into ASEAN’s crafted approaches, challenging the prevailing perception of ASEAN as merely passive, using a compelling case study. The speaker will then dissect the challenges encountered by the bloc in responding to contemporary security situations, drawing valuable lessons for policymakers and scholars alike.

***EVENT TODAY***

Daoism conference today April 25th from 9am-3:30 and tomorrow April 26th from 9:30-12:30 in 1730 Cambridge St, S030!

** EVENT TODAY**

Today at 6pm in S020,1730 Cambridge St., Cambridge.

Come learn about the impacts of China’s Colonial Boarding Schools in Tibet from Dr. Gyal Lo.

Lobsang Sangay, a Senior Fellow and Lecturer at Harvard Law School and former Prime Minister of the Tibetan Government in Exile (2011-2021), will be giving a series of lectures this week (April 22 and April 24.) Find out more details here: https://asiacenter.harvard.edu/events/tibet-geopolitical-context-china-india-uk-and-us

***EVENT UPDATE***

Ed Garcia’s final lecture at 5pm will be held in S020! There will also be a reception following the talk. See you soon!

*** Event Today ***

Learn more about the colonization of Batavia and the massacre of 1740 during our lunchtime lecture with Leonard Blussé!

And craving more marathon? Ed Garcia will speak on waging peace requiring a marathon mentality tonight at 5pm

*** Upcoming Event ***
Join us on Tuesday, April 23rd at 6pm ET for a talk by Dr. Gyal Lo on "The Impact of China’s Colonial Boarding Schools in Tibet on Children and Communities."

Location: S020, Belfer Case Study Room, CGIS South, 1730 Cambridge St., Cambridge, MA

Co-sponsored by the Harvard University Asia Center and Fairbank Center for Chinese Studies, Harvard University.

More details: https://asiacenter.harvard.edu/events/impact-chinas-colonial-boarding-schools-tibet-children-and-communities

Two upcoming events tonight! Join us at 12pm for a lunch lecture and 5pm for a fantastic film screening!

"Struggle Against Dictatorship" a lecture featuring Ed Garcia, a framer of the 1987 Philippine constitution is live now here on Facebook and our YouTube!

*** Upcoming Event ***

Join us Tuesday, April 16th at 5pm ET for a film screening of Delikado. Below you will find a short synopsis of the film. The event will take place in S020, CGIS South, 1730 Cambridge St,Cambridge.

About the Film:

Palawan appears to be an idyllic tropical island. Its powder-white beaches and lush forests have made it one of Asia’s hottest new tourist destinations. But for a tiny network of environmental crusaders and vigilantes trying to protect its spectacular natural resources, it is more akin to a battlefield.

** Upcoming Event **
Speaker: Professor Ed Garcia, Filipino Peace Practitioner; Framer of the 1987 Philippine Constitution

**Day 1: Monday, April 15, 5 p.m. ET**
[Struggle Against Dictatorship]
S020, Belfer Case Study Room, CGIS South, 1730 Cambridge St.

**Day 2: Wednesday, April 17, 5 p.m. ET** [Waging Peace Requires a Marathon Mentality]
S020, Belfer Case Study Room, CGIS South, 1730 Cambridge St.

**Day 3: Friday, April 19, 5:00 p.m. ET**
[Reinventing Resistance]
S050, Thomas Chan-Soo Kang Room, CGIS South, 1730 Cambridge St.

For more details on the three-part lecture series and other events organized in conjunction with the lectures, please visit: https://asiacenter.harvard.edu/redefining-three-moments-necessary-trouble-philippines

**About the Key Note Speaker**

Anna Lowenhaupt Tsing is a Professor in the Anthropology Department at the University of California, Santa Cruz. She is the author of “In the Realm of the Diamond Queen: Marginality in an Out-of-the-way Place”(1993), “Friction: An Ethnography of Global Connection”(2004), a study on human dominated landscapes and environmental degradation, and “The Mushroom at the End of the World: On possibility of life in capitalist ruins”(2015).

Sound Interesting? Check out her key note lecture March 29th 9:30am-11:30am for the Harvard-Yale Southeast Asian Studies Graduate Conference 2024!

**Upcoming Event**

March 25th 9am-10:30am ET.
Join online via Zoom. Register here: https://harvard.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_C9CELfQkRsqVExR5u-J_lA #/registration

Abstract: On May 23, 2023, a violent ethnic conflict erupted in Manipur, a Northeast Indian state. The conflict resulted in the displacement of over 70,000 people, the loss of more than 200 lives, and the destruction of 10,000 homes. The panel discussion aims to provide insights into the recent events in Manipur and uncover the root causes of the armed conflict that has persisted in this region for over 70 years. The discussion will also highlight the exceptional efforts of Indigenous women in promoting peace in this troubled area.

**Upcoming Conference**

Join the Asia Center Friday March 29th and Saturday March 30th for the Harvard-Yale Southeast Asia Studies Graduate Student Conference 2024!

**Publications Announcement**

Congratulations to Lawrence Zhang! His book Power for a Price: The Purchase of Official Appointments in Qing China has won honorable mention for the Levenson Prize (pre-1900 category) by the Association for Asian Studies

*Upcoming Event**

Thursday March 28th at 9pm

Presented online via Zoom

About the Talk: During the American colonial era (1898-1946), Philippine society was fundamentally reformed so that ‘advancement’/‘modernization’ could transpire. Included in this transformative process were efforts by the State to redesign the urban fabric. Following the importation, in 1905, of the City Beautiful planning paradigm, towns and cities throughout the Philippine Archipelago were subject to physical restructuring. Notably, from circa 1919, efforts to reshape the form and meaning of the colonial built environment was undertaken by Filipinos. Indeed, the use of the City Beautiful planning model continued all the way into the Commonwealth Era (beginning in 1935), i.e. long after its use had ended in North America. In this online presentation an overview of the City Beautiful planning chronicle in the Philippines is introduced, and explicated. Accordingly, the alliance between the design of the Philippine built fabric, colonial rule, and decolonization will be tendered.