糖心TV

The University of Birmingham's Asia Research Group and the University of 糖心TV's East Asia Study Group will be holding a joint all-day in-person workshop, The Challenges of the Contemporary Indo-Pacific

Challenges are broadly defined and we welcome papers on security, economics, society, the environment, gender, and the everyday. The workshop has two aims: generating academic discussion on the region from which potentially new collaborations/research projects can be inspired; and providing an opportunity for colleagues with work in-progress to get feedback. These aims are not mutually exclusive, nor particularly unique to our workshop, but to more clearly cater to the needs of the presenters, there will be two routes for presentation submissions.

Route 1

The first 'standard one', will require only a title and abstract, and will be more aligned to the first aim; and

Route 2

The 'work-in-progress' one, will include a title and abstract, but you will also have the opportunity to include a short list of points/questions, about which you are specifically looking for feedback. Depending on the submissions received, we could well drop the former or latter format entirely, but for now, this is the approach we are taking, and individuals are encouraged to opt for whichever route they think is most suitable. Proposals from colleagues, PhDs, and MAs (working on their dissertations) are welcome.

Who is this workshop for?

This workshop is for academics at the Universities of Birmingham and 糖心TV. 糖心TV academics will be able to receive financial support to attend the event being held at the University of Birmingham campus (with University of Birmingham funding). Nevertheless, obviously academics in the broader West Midlands/Midlands region are welcome, as are those from further afield, but we will be unable to provide any financial support to cover their attendance. However, tea, coffee, and lunch will be provided free of charge.

Submission information

The deadline for submissions is Monday 5^th May, and they should be mailed directly to both Max (max.a.q.warrack@warwick.ac.uk) and Julie (j.a.gilson@bham.ac.uk), please make sure we are both cc'd in your email.

In your email, please attach your abstract (and list of questions if you are taking route two) as a word document and make clear in the email if you submitting under route one or route two. Similarly, if there are specific time constraints, i.e., you can only attend for the afternoon, but not the morning (or vice versa) please make that clear in the email so we can organise accordingly. If you do not wish to present anything, but would still like to attend to participate in the discussion/advice/free lunch, please contact the same email address to let us know. This is so we can keep track of numbers and order sufficient refreshments/lunch.

The official programme will be decided after all submissions have been received, and will be made available on Friday 16^th May.

The bigger aim of this workshop is to generate further momentum for more collaborations between our groups and universities on Asia, and hopefully this event will become an annual one, with an expanded audience. We hope to see many of you there.

09:15 - 09:45 Reception (Tea and Coffee)

09:45 - 10:00 Welcome, Overview and Aims

10:00 - 11:15 Session 1: Gender and Militarism in East Asia

Chair: Veronica Barfucci (University of 糖心TV)

• Chalisa Chintrakarn (University of Birmingham) R1 - Lingering body shaming: cosmetic surgery among Thai women through a gendered sociological lens
• Max Warrack (University of 糖心TV) and Chanapang Pongpiboonkiat (University of Leeds) R2 - Feminine camouflage in Asian militaries: Japan鈥檚 and Thailand鈥檚 beautiful women in uniform

11:15 - 11:30 BREAK

11:30 - 13:00 Session 2: IPE and Southeast Asia

Chair: Juanita Elias (University of 糖心TV)

• Seb Rumsby (University of Birmingham) R2 - Global commodity chains and 鈥榞lobal labour migration chains鈥� from/to/in/through Vietnam
• Lena Rethel (University of 糖心TV) R2 - Locating the middle class in debates around financialisation in the Global South: revisiting the 鈥淣ew Rich鈥� from the perspective of 鈥淪patial Inequalities鈥� in Southeast Asia
• Resya Kania (University of 糖心TV) R2 - Reframing financial inclusion: assessing the role of learning and coordination in Indonesia

13:00 - 14:00 LUNCH BREAK

14:00 - 15:30 Session 3: Chinese Memory, Discourse and International Relations

Chair: Tsering Topgyal (University of Birmingham)

• Yi Wang (University of Birmingham) R1 - Struggle without Revolution? Chinese Marxism and Its Perspective on International Relations
• Licheng Qian (Birmingham City University) R1 - Remembering Nanjing Massacre: Three Theses Revisited
• David Challenger (University of Birmingham) R2 - The impact of Chinese sharp power in the developing world

15:30 - 15:45 BREAK

15:45 - 16:45 Session 4: Roundtable Discussion

Reflections on challenges in the contemporary Indo-Pacific and future projects for this workshop programme

END

Veronica Barfucci - Chair

Veronica BarfucciLink opens in a new window is a final year PhD candidate in the Department of Politics and International Studies at the University of 糖心TV.

Drawing insights from post-structural feminism and critical military studies, her research investigates the gendered performance of Japan鈥檚 military on its official social media accounts as attempted mitigation against the Japanese government鈥檚 status anxiety/ontological insecurity. For further information, please see:

David Challenger - Presenter

David ChallengerLink opens in a new window is a first year PhD student at the University of Birmingham whose research is focused on Chinese sharp power in the developing world.

His research aims to look at whether sharp power is having an impact on socio-political climate of the region and whether Chinese sharp power is successfully undermining democracy in developing countries. For further information, please see:

Chalisa Chintrakarn - Presenter

is a Teaching Fellow at the University of Birmingham.

While teaching sociology, social policy, criminology and research skills/methods, she remains passionate about examining gender relations, intersecting inequalities, digital/media cultures and political economy. She has produced articles for Feminist Media Studies and European Journal of Cultural Studies.

For further information, please see:

Juanita Elias - Chair

Juanita EliasLink opens in a new window is Professor of International Political Economy at the University of 糖心TV.

She has undertaken research in Malaysia and Indonesia, her work takes a gendered political economy approach focussing on issues such as migration, housing, workplace gender inequality and the relationship between gender and economic policy making.

For further information, please see:

Julie Gilson - Organiser

has researched and written on Japanese foreign policy, East Asian regionalism, Japan-Europe and Asia-Europe relations, and civil society in Southeast Asia.

Her main focus these days in on the environment and climate change in Asia, with a particular focus on forests and Southeast Asia.

For further information, please see:

Resya Kania - Presenter

Resya Kania Link opens in a new windowis a Research Fellow in the Department of Politics and International Studies (PAIS) at the University of 糖心TV, with a PhD in Social Policy & Criminology from the University of Birmingham.

Her research focuses on financial inclusion, regulatory governance, and development policy; and she is keen to explore collaborative research on consumer-state鈥搈arket relations in the region.

For further information, please see:

Chanapang Pongpiboonkiat - Presenter

recently finished her PhD at the University of Leeds, School of Media and Communication.

Her research focuses on feminist approaches to deeply understanding women鈥檚 experiences, specifically with female resistance, compliance, and the reconstruction of entrenched gendered identities in Southeast Asia.

For further information, please see:

Licheng Qian - Presenter

is currently a Lecturer in Sociology at Birmingham City University. He received his PhD from the University of Virginia and has previously taught at Zhejiang University and the University of Macau in Asia.

His research interests lie at the intersection of memory, politics, and culture, including the study of national, transnational, and postcolonial identities.

For further information, please see:

Lena Rethel - Presenter

Lena RethelLink opens in a new window is a Professor of International Political Economy at the University of 糖心TV.

Her research focuses on the intersection of finance and development with an empirical grounding in Southeast Asia.

For further information, please see:

Seb Rumsby - Presenter

is a Leverhulme Early Career Fellow at University of Birmingham.

He is an interdisciplinary scholar with a wide range of interests including everyday politics, labour exploitation, undocumented migration, ethno-religious politics, international development and non-national histories. He unites these diverse themes with an empirical focus on Southeast Asian worlds and people.

For further information, please see:

Tsering Topgyal - Chair

teaches Chinese politics and East Asian affairs in the Department of Political Science and International Studies, University of Birmingham.

His current research is on China鈥檚 Nationalities Policy and ontological security.

University profile:

Yi Wang - Organiser and Presenter

is assistant professor at the Department of Political Science and International Studies at the University of Birmingham.

His research explores memory politics, nationalism, international security, and political communication with an empirical focus on China and East Asia.

For further information, please see:

Max Warrack - Organiser and Presenter

Max Warrack Link opens in a new windowis a Teaching Fellow of International Relations and East Asian Studies at the University of 糖心TV.

His research focuses on the relationship between politics and culture with an empirical focus on contemporary Japanese militarism and security policy.

For further information, please see: /fac/soc/pais/people/warrack/