#Asia: Here and Now: April 21-22, 2023

This was the Inaugural Conference of the University at Buffalo Asia Research Institute Program.

Although we strongly encourage in-person attendance, we realize some people may want to join us remotely.

Zoom link

Friday, April 21

Location: Buffalo Room (10 Capen Hall), University at Buffalo North Campus

8:30-9:00: Registration and refreshments

9:00-9:15: Welcoming remarks

  • A. Scott Weber, Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs
  • Nojin Kwak, Vice Provost for International Education

9:15-11:00: Crossing Boundaries in Asian Studies

Andrew Walder, Stanford University
Area Studies and Social Science Disciplines: Perennial Themes

Philip Lutgendorf, University of Iowa
Reflections on an ‘Undisciplined’ Career (or) Where Studying a ‘Great Book’ May Take You.”

Sonja M. Kim, Binghamton University
Seeking Space, Living History, Studying Asia/America

Moderator: Walt Hakala, Asian Studies Program/Department of English

11:00-11:15: Break

11:15-12:25: Current Issues in Public Health in Asia

Zuo-Feng Zhang, University of California-Los Angeles
Current Issues in Public Health in Asia

Moderator: Lina Mu, School of Public Health

12:25-1:40: Lunch Break

1:40-3:15: UB Faculty Research Panel 1 on Asia

Jin Young Song, School of Architecture and Planning
From Joinery to Facade: Learning from Asia in Pursuit of a Carbon-Neutral Built Environment

Nadine “Shaanta” Murshid, School of Social Work
Love and Desire Among Transnational Middle-Class Bangladeshis in the US

Tsugumi “Mimi” Okabe, Asian Studies Program
From Otaku to Scholar: "Playing," Teaching and Researching Japanese Pop Culture 

Moderator: Mitsuaki Shimojo, Department of Linguistics

3:15-3:30: Break

3:30-5:00: Education in Asia and the U.S.

Joseph Tobin, University of Georgia

Continuity and Change in Chinese and Japanese Preschools

Ming Ming Chiu, Education University of Hong Kong
Macro- and Micro-Inequalities Harm Learning

Moderator/Discussant: X. Christine Wang, Graduate School of Education

Discussant: Jaekyung Lee, Graduate School of Education

Saturday, April 22

Location: Buffalo Room (10 Capen Hall), University at Buffalo North Campus

8:30-9:00: Registration and refreshments

9:00-10:30: UB Faculty Research Panel on Asia 2

Wooksoo Kim, School of Social Work
Asia in Buffalo: The Dream vs. the Reality for Refugees

Jieun Lee, Department of Political Science
Corporate America and the U.S.- China Trade War 

Yige Dong, Departments of Sociology and Global Gender & Sexuality Studies
The Dilemma of Foxconn Moms: Social Reproduction and the Rise of ‘Gig Manufacturing’ in China

Moderator: Mark Nathan, Asian Studies Program / Department of History

10:45-11:10: Break

11:00-12:30: Being Asian in America: Politics, Education, and the Pandemic

Angie Chung, University at Albany

Koreatown Politics and the Future of "Ethnic" Enclaves

Eujin Park, Stanford University
Contesting “Asian American” through Education

Justin Huang, University of Michigan
The cost of anti-Asian racism during the COVID-19 pandemic

Moderator: Zhiqiang Liu, Department of Economics