2008 Annual Report York Centre for Asian Research An organized research unit of York University April 2008 York Centre for Asian Research Table of Contents 1. Director's Message (p. 3-6) 2. Executive Committee (p. 7) 3. Membership (p. 7-8) a) Faculty Associates b) Research Associates and Visiting Scholars c) Senior Research Associates d) Graduate Associates e) Post-Doctoral Associates 4. Research and Training Programmes and Projects (p. 9-16) 1) BRICs and Beyond: Emerging Powers and World Order 2) Political Change in China: Contemporary Research and Policy Implications 3) Ecologies on the Edge 4) Role of Emerging Economies in Providing Development Assistance to Developing Countries: China 5) Reorganizing Landscape and Livelihood: Household and Community Responses to Protected Area Establishment 6) Privatizing Environmental Governance: A Global Analysis of the Effects and Effectiveness of Environmental Certification for Farmed Salmon and Shrimp 7) Asian Comics and Gaming 8) Challenges of Agrarian Transition in Southeast Asia 9) Excavating a History of Contemporary Chinese Graphic Design 10) Asian Business and Management Programme 11) China Management Training Programme 5. Research Clusters (p. 17 to 26) 1) Canadian Missionaries in Asia 2) Korea Studies Group 3) Philippines Study Group 4) (Re)making Governance 5) South Asian Research Group 6) York China Studies 7) York Political Ecology Workshop 6. Event Highlights (p. 27 to 30) 1) Between Words and Images: Linking Cultural Production in Hong Kong and Canada 2) Vivienne Poy Asian Research Award Launch 3) Socio-Politics of Climate Change: Who Cares if Bangladesh Drowns? 4) Bishop White and Chinese Jews 5) Foodscapes of Southeast Asia 6) Inaugural York Philippine Studies Lecture 7. Calendar of Events (p. 31-36) 8. Graduate Student Research, Training and Awards (p. 37-39) 1) Graduate Diploma in Asian Studies 2) YCAR Graduate Student Awards 9. Associate Awards and Grants (p. 40) 1 York Centre for Asian Research 10. Plans and Priorities for 2008-2009 (p. 41-44) 1) Asian Heritage Month Lecture at York University (3 June 2008) 2) Creative Talents and Visual Cultures from Hong Kong - Tommy Li: His Philosophy on Creative Industries in the Global World and Creative Talents from Hong Kong (Summer 2008) 3) Transformations: Researching Asia - YCAR Graduate Students' Conference (26 & 27 September 2008) 4) Colonial Korea: An International Panel (Autumn 2008) 5) International Conference on Political Change in China (October 2008) 6) New Eurasian Regional Linkages (November/December 2008) 7) Mapping the Urban Turn: Articulations of Nature, Place, and Capital in Third-World Cities (April 2009) 8) Mad Dogs to Motorbikes: Public Space in Hanoi, Vietnam, from the French Colonial Period to the Present (2008-09) 9) Asian Transformations: U50 Events in celebration of York's 50th Anniversary in 2009 (2008-09) 11. Publications (p. 45-60) 1) YCAR Papers Launch 2) Publication Highlights 3) Publications of Associates 12. Statement of Operations for 2007-2008 (p. 61) All photographs by A. Filipowich unless otherwise indicated 2 York Centre for Asian Research Director's Message The year 2007-2008 marks the end of the first six years of the York Centre for Asian Research (YCAR). It has been a period of many achievements in the YCAR research community. Our associated researchers, who now number 95, are our energy and intellectual talent. They come from some 30 disciplines and study one or more of Southeast Asia, South Asia, Asian diaspora or East Asia. This richness is reflected in the tremendous variety of the research activities you will read about in this report. I have been involved in YCAR since its inception. However, perhaps one cannot fully appreciate the breadth and depth of Asia-related YCAR Director Susan J. Henders research at York University, nor the recognition so many of our colleagues have gained as leaders in their research fields, until one sits in the YCAR Director’s chair. My message here will touch on only a few highlights of the accomplishments of the Centre and its members over the past year. Much of what you will read about in this year’s annual report is due to the intellectual and organizational flair, and the energy and dedication of Peter Vandergeest, YCAR Director from its founding in 2002 to December 2007. That Peter agreed to stay on an extra six months until I was able to assume the directorship in January 2008, is typical of his commitment to YCAR and to Asian studies at York. YCAR is immensely grateful for his many contributions. More personally, I thank him for his wise counsel and institutional memory. The successes of the past year also owe much to Alicia Filipowich, Centre Coordinator. Alicia’s skills, judgment, tireless dedication and good humour keep the Centre operating smoothly and the achievements of its researchers in the university and public eye. In 2007-2008, YCAR made important strides in the development of new multidisciplinary thematic and geographic research groups, as frameworks for new and ongoing initiatives. These groups bring together researchers with common interests and draw wider attention to the strengths of York’s Asian studies scholars. The pages inside feature the activities of research clusters in Philippines and South Asian Studies. A Korean Studies research group and one for our China specialists are now underway. Under this umbrella, Wendy S. Wong continued her SSHRC-supported project on Chinese design with the major curated exhibition "Chinese Design. Everyday," supported by several other external funders. On the thematic side, researchers associated with the new Canadian Missionaries in Asia cluster held several events. The new (Re)making Governance cluster brings together a diverse group of scholars researching regulatory processes, broadly defined. This cluster includes three new externally-supported projects: a SSHRC-funded study of household and community responses to the establishment of protected areas in Northern Thailand (Robin Roth, Faculty Associate); a SSHRC-funded project on privatizing environmental governance with respect to environmental certification of farmed salmon and shrimp in Southeast Asia and other regions (Peter Vandergeest, Faculty Associate, and Derek Hall, Research Associate); and an International Development Research Centre 3 York Centre for Asian Research (IDRC)-funded study of China’s role as an emerging international development aid donor (Gregory T. Chin, Faculty Associate, and B. Michael Frolic, Senior Faculty Associate). Research groups also help foster collaborative projects. An example is the new Ecologies on the Edge research programme initiated by some members of YCAR’s York Political Ecology Workshop (YPEW) with colleagues from the York Centre for International and Security Studies (YCISS) and the Institute for Research and Innovation in Sustainability (IRIS) at York University. The programme is examining vulnerable ecologies using Asia expertise from YCAR and with other York and international specialists. In 2007-2008, a number of YCAR Faculty and Graduate Associates connected with YPEW continued to participate in the Challenges of Agrarian Transition in Southeast Asia (SSHRC-MCRI), based at the University of Montreal. Philip F. Kelly and Peter Vandergeest are co-investigators in this major collaborative project, for which York is a partner institution. In its ongoing effort to increase the profile and disseminate the work of York Asian studies researchers, the Centre launched the YCAR Papers Series in 2007. This online series, coordinated by Faculty Associate Robin Roth, aims to establish YCAR as an institution to which the scholarly community will look for top notch, innovative research on Asia and Asian diaspora. Our weekly Asian studies research newsletter, the Update, edited by Alicia Filipowich, now reaches 278 individuals directly and many others indirectly when it is re-circulated on other listservs. Through the Update, YCAR is becoming a clearing house for news of importance to Asian studies researchers not only at York, but across Canada and internationally. As the heart of our efforts to support the training of graduate student researchers, and now in its third year, the Graduate Diploma in Asian Studies (GDAS) continued to draw students from across the university. In 2007-2008, 15 students were registered in the programme, eight took the core course, and two completed the diploma requirements. A special thank you to Shubhra Gururani and Wendy Wong, Faculty Associates, who served as Diploma Coordinators, to Faculty Associates who served on student committees, to Lisa Drummond (Faculty Associate) for teaching the Diploma core course, and to Shobna Nijhawan (Faculty Associate) and Patrick Alcedo who assisted with language testing. Feedback from our Graduate Associates was invaluable as we put into practice this innovative and rigorous programme. The expense of completing the Graduate Diploma’s field work and Asian language competency requirements remains a serious challenge for our students. In our continuing efforts to support them, YCAR established the Vivienne Poy Asian Research Award in 2007. The award was made possible when Senator, the Honourable Vivienne Poy generously agreed that the proceeds from her book, Profit, Victory and Sharpness—The Lees of Hong Kong, co-published by YCAR, could be used to support student research. In 2007-2008, YCAR also chose the first recipients of two scholarships established a year ago: the David Wurfel Award for research on the Philippines and the YCAR Language Awards, which assist students with the costs of studying an Asian language. Many others deserve recognition and thanks. We are once again deeply indebted to the office of the Vice-President for Research and Innovation, York University, the Asian Business and Management Programme and the China Management Training Programme for their financial and other support for YCAR. A special thank you to Bernie Frolic (Senior Research Associate and 4 York Centre for Asian Research Director of the Asian Business and Management Programme) for his countless efforts on behalf of YCAR and Asian studies at York and to Wendy S. Wong, who, as YCAR Associate Director, took on many important tasks.