Asian studies scholars converge on University of the Pacific
Scholars from more than 65 universities around the world will gather at University of the Pacific June 5 through 7 for the 2015 Asian Studies on the Pacific West Coast Conference.
The conference is affiliated with the 8,000-member national Association for Asian Studies, the premier organization for teachers, students and researchers interested in Asia. The three-day event is open to the public.
Scholars will cover topics including Chinese foreign policy, Japanese poetry and contemporary Korean society. Presentations will range from “The Impact of Chinese Social Media on Book Market: Challenges and Opportunities” to “World War II Origins of the U.S. Military Bases in the West Pacific.”
“The theme of this year’s conference is transnational Asia—the idea that cultures and communities of people exist in multiple nations around the world,” said Greg Rohlf, professor of history at University of the Pacific and this year’s conference organizer. “The University’s selection as the 2015 host of the conference highlights the importance of Asian studies at Pacific as well as the Stockton area’s transnational Asian communities.”
The ASPAC Conference is hosted annually by West Coast institutions, which have included Gonzaga University, Monterey Institute and Western Washington University.
Other conference highlights
- Reception with greeting from Rena Fraden, dean of the College of the Pacific, Vereschagin Alumni House
- Excursion to the Wat Dharmararam Cambodian Monastery and Temple in Stockton
- Cambodian-American film screening, Janet Leigh Theater
- Conference keynote address from Laurel Kendall, vice president of the Association for Asian Studies. Kendall will speak on "What ‘Global Asia’ meant to Anthropology c. 1900." Kendall is curator of Asian Ethnographic Collections and chair of the Division of Anthropology at the American Museum of Natural History in New York, as well as a fellow at the Weatherhead East Asian Institute at Columbia University. The keynote will take place in the President’s Room in Anderson Hall
- “Transnational Connections to Special Collections” exhibit in the University Library lobby
To purchase tickets or view the full conference program, visit the conference website. Tickets are $35 for community members. Onsite registration is available.
About University of the Pacific
Established in 1851 as the first university in California, University of the Pacific prepares students for professional and personal success through rigorous academics, small classes, and a supportive and engaging culture. Widely recognized as one of the most beautiful private university campuses in the West, the Stockton campus offers more than 80 undergraduate majors in arts and sciences, music, business, education, engineering and computer science, and pharmacy and health sciences. The university's distinctive Northern California footprint also includes the acclaimed Arthur A. Dugoni School of Dentistry in San Francisco and the McGeorge School of Law in Sacramento. For more information, visit students.pulse.pacific.edu.
