“INDONESIAN RANDAI THEATRE AT UHM: INSIGHTS INTO THE ADAPTATION AND REHEARSAL PROCESS”
A Presentation by Kirstin Pauka, professor in the Department of Theatre and Dance at the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa

Professor Pauka and some of her collaborators will share insights into the rehearsal and production process of training and performing Randai theatre from West Sumatra. This is the third Randai production Pauka has directed in the Department of Theatre at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa; UHM is the only place outside of Indonesia where audiences can see Randai theatre. 

This Spring, the UHM’s Department of Theatre and Dance presents the rare theatre form of Randai with its production of “The Genteel Sabai,” a folk dance-drama from the Minangkabau ethnic group in West Sumatra, Indonesia. Randai comes from the Minangkabau ethic group in Sumatra, and features beautiful traditional music and singing, martial arts, dance and acting; and its signature pants-slapping percussion!

Kirstin Pauka is a professor in the Department of Theatre and Dance at the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa. She is uniquely suited to the career of director, performer, scholar and most especially teacher of Asian and cross-cultural theatre.

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ASAN 620: Philippine Social and Intellectual History
CRN 89008, Spring 2012
Taught By: Prof. Resil Mojares, Andrews Chair Visiting Professor, & Prof. Vina Lanzona, History and Asian Studies
When: Thursdays, 3-5:30pm
Location: Moore 204

The Philippines has a unique history. Beginning from the 16th century, it became part of the Spanish empire in the Asia/Pacific, a colonial arrangement that lasted for more than 300 years. Towards the end of the 19th century, a series of revolutionary upheavals led to the establishment and then decline of the new Philippine republic. The end of the Philippine-American War paved the way for 50 years of “tutelary” colonialism under the Americans. The promise of independence, disrupted by the Japanese occupation, was finally achieved in 1946 only to be challenged by political turmoil and groups contesting to define the new nation. The postwar period was marked by rebellions, revolutions, and military dictatorships. All these elements constitute the nationalist narrative that traces the emergence of a unified Philippine nation and identity.

Much of Philippine history and historiography focus on this developmental trajectory and centralizing narrative where political developments are prioritized and its capital Manila always appears at the center. But much of the historical movements in the Philippines occur outside of politics and of Manila. Since the 1980s, Philippine scholars working inside and outside the Philippines have been questioning the emphasis on the military and the political, propagating the social history of the archipelago. Simultaneously, new and established scholars, working in fields such as religion, languages, and literatures, defined the cultural and intellectual history of the Philippines. The rise of social, cultural and intellectual history led to new ways of inquiry, in effect redefining the field of Philippine studies.

This course will look at seminal and new works in Philippine social, cultural and intellectual history. By focusing on writings that challenge the conventional boundaries of the historical discipline, this course interrogates issues such as culture and colonialism, science and education, nationalism, race, class, morality and gender as well as trace the intellectual movements in Philippine studies. Moreover, students in this course will have an opportunity to read and discuss primary sources and illustrative texts produced by Filipinos. Students will gain an understanding of the developments and uses of Philippine social and intellectual history through an understanding of both general and particular historical and historiographical trends, discussion of critical issues in intellectual production, and analysis of texts and books in shaping popular knowledge and the national scholarship on the Philippines. This exploration would hopefully present not a unified vision of Philippine history but one that’s nuanced, complex, always intriguing and constantly changing.

Course Code: CRN 89008
For more information, please contact The Center for Philippine Studies at cpsdir@hawaii.edu.

Resil B. Mojares has a doctorate in literature from the University of the Philippines and is currently Professor Emeritus at the University of San Carlos in Cebu City, Philippines. His interests range through various topics in Philippine social and cultural history, and his books have consistently been honored in the National Book Awards of the Manila Critics Circle and the National Book Development of the Philippines. He has served as visiting fellow at Kyoto University, the National University of Singapore, University of Wisconsin-Madison, and University of California-Los Angeles.

Vina A. Lanzona is an associate professor in the Department of History, and currently the Director of the Center for Philippine Studies, University of Hawaii at Manoa. Her first book Amazons of the Huk Rebellion: Gender, Sex and Revolution in the Philippines (2009) won the Kenneth Baldridge Prize as the Best History Book in Hawaii (2008-2011) and demonstrate her twin passions for studying revolutions and women in political change. Her interests include Philippine social history, revolutions and collective action, women, gender and sexuality and comparative colonialisms.

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Deadline: Wednesday, 1 February 2012
Instructions: Apply via UH STAR system; type “Moscotti” in key word search

To assist full-time, classified graduate students in a degree program at UHM in any department or program in the arts, humanities or social sciences whose area of focus is Southeast Asia. Non-US citizens may apply.

This fellowship may be used for any of the following purposes:

a. To attend a professional meeting at which the graduate student will present a scholarly paper or participate in the meeting as a discussant of a scholarly paper;

b. To provide a travel subsidy for Southeast Asia graduate students so that they can conduct research which will contribute to the preparation of a scholarly paper by the student or for other appropriate research purposes. The travel subsidy may be to locations in the United States or abroad and can be used for library research, etc., or for field research. The prospective recipient must be working on a degree with a focus on Southeast Asia.

Award average: $750-$1,500 | University of Hawaii STAR system

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The 2012-2013 Foreign Language and Area Studies (FLAS) Fellowship for Academic Year and Summer Study is now available on the CSEAS website. Please click the icon to the right to apply for the upcoming year. Also, applicants should note the different deadlines for letters of recommendation and the application submission date. Good luck!

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Call for Papers – 14th Annual Southeast Asian Studies Graduate Conference
Kahin Center for Advanced Research on Southeast Asia at Cornell University
Location: Ithaca, New York
Program dates: 2-4 March 2012
Deadline: 10 December 2011

The Cornell Southeast Asia Program invites submission for its 14th Annual Southeast Asian Studies Graduate Conference. This annual event will be held at the Kahin Center for Advanced Research on Southeast Asia at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York on March 2-4, 2012.

We welcome submissions from graduate students at any stage engaged in original research related to Southeast Asia. Papers related to a wide variety of subjects are encouraged. We hope to attract a wide-range of submissions focused on themes that are currently of greatest interest to graduate students. The Cornell Southeast Asia Program’s Graduate Committee will review the abstracts, select presenters, and organize sessions by theme. In order to aid this process of thematic organization, we ask that you please include at least two keywords summarizing your presentation. Selected authors will present their work as part of a panel at the conference and paper abstracts will be included in the Conference Program.

Please submit abstracts to the following email address: ( seapgradconference@gmail.com). All abstracts should be limited to 250 words (using 1” margins on all sides, Times New Roman, and 12 pt font size) and send in MS Word format. Please name your abstract using your first initial and last name (for example, jsmith.doc for John Smith’s abstract). The subject of the message should specify “Abstract” and the body should include the following information:

* Author’s name(s), affiliation(s) and a primary email address
* Title of paper
* Paper topic or keywords

Submission Deadline: December 10th, 2011

Notification of Acceptance: Mid/Late December 2011

Confirmation of Attendance: January 5th, 2012

A very limited number of modest travel subventions may be available for those traveling longer distances. We encourage applicants to seek funding from their home institutions first. Please indicate in your message whether you expect to receive travel funding from your home institution and if you would like to be considered for a travel subvention from the Cornell Southeast Asia Program.

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The Center for Southeast Asian Studies at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa supports
The Royal Thai Embassy, The Royal Cambodian Embassy, The International Red Cross, & Other Groups Collecting Donations for Flood Victims in Thailand & Cambodia

The flood crisis over the past two months is Thailand’s worst in 50 years and has continued to affect one- third of the country’s provinces, with more than 400 people dead and damaged millions of homes.

People in the U.S. who wish to help flood victims in Thailand can donate through the Royal Thai Embassy in Washington, D.C. by sending a money order (payable to Royal Thai Embassy) to Consular Affairs Section, Royal Thai Embassy, 1024 Wisconsin Avenue, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20007. A donation box has also been set up in front of the Consular Affairs Section of the Embassy.

The Embassy has updated information on donation on their Facebook page (Royal Thai Embassy, Washington, D.C.) and Twitter (@ThaiEmbDC). Additional questions about the donation request can be addressed to First Secretary Nipatsorn Kampa at 202-285-1547.

- International Red Cross: Both the Cambodian Red Cross and Thai Red Cross are accepting donations for relief efforts though their respective websites.

- Royal Thai Embassy: Donations to flood victims in Thailand are being accepted through the embassy. Send checks or money orders (payable to Royal Thai Embassy) to Consular Affairs Section, Royal Thai Embassy, 1024 Wisconsin Ave., N.W., Washington, DC 20007. See the embassy’s Facebook page (Royal Thai Embassy, Washington, D.C.) for donation updates or call the embassy’s First Secretary Nipatsorn Kampa at 202-285-1547.

- Save the Children: International aid organization is accepting donations for flood relief in Thailand through its Thailand Floods Children in Emergency Fund. See the Save the Children website.

- Royal Embassy of Cambodia: Contact the embassy at 4530 16th St., N.W., Washington, DC 20011; phone 202-726-7742.

- World Vision Cambodia: International aid group is distributing rice to affected communities where rice fields and other food sources have been compromised by flooding. See the Save the Children Cambodia website.

http://www.cseashawaii.org/wordpress/2011/10/photography-thailand-flood/

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FALL 2011 PHILIPPINE STUDIES COLLOQUIUM SERIES

The San Remigio, Cebu Excavations: Notes from the University of Guam 2011 Archaeological Field School

Co-sponsored with the Department of Anthropology
Location: Honolulu, HI USA
November 2, 2:00pm – 3:30pm
Manoa Campus, Moore Hall 319 (Tokioka Room)

Summary
The archaeology of the island of Cebu in the Philippines has recently received increased attention from local and international scholars. The support provided by the local government and the presence of a robust heritage and historical programs in Cebu-based universities has made research in the island-province conducive to collaboration among local and international archaeologists. An example of this collaboration is the recently concluded University of Guam Archaeological Field School in San Remigio, Cebu, a collaborative training and research project between the University of Guam, the National Museum of the Philippines, the University of San Carlos (Cebu City), and the University of the Philippines- Archaeological Studies Program (Quezon City). The field project excavated an ‘Iron Age’ burial site in San Remigio, Cebu, located on the northwestern tip of the island. Excavations provided ecological, landscape, and cultural data on the ‘Iron Age’ of the island- province. More importantly, the project provided the first secure Cebu Iron Age radiocarbon dates. I will present the preliminary findings from the 2011 field season of the San Remigio, Cebu archaeological project.

Speaker Bio:

Stephen Acabado received his BA in Anthropology from the University of the Philippines, Diliman and his MA and PhD in Anthropology from the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa. He is currently an Assistant Professor of Anthropology in the College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences, University of Guam. His research interests include Southeast Asian archaeology, landscape archaeology, and heritage management.

Event Sponsor
The Department of Anthropology and the Center for Philippine Studies, Mānoa Campus

More Information
Clem Montero, 956-6086, cps@hawaii.edu

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