OUR EVENTS
Month
- November 2025
- October 2025
- September 2025
- August 2025
- July 2025
- June 2025
- May 2025
- April 2025
- March 2025
- February 2025
- January 2025
- December 2024
- November 2024
- October 2024
- September 2024
- May 2024
- April 2024
- February 2024
- January 2024
- December 2023
- November 2023
- October 2023
- September 2023
- August 2023
- July 2023
- June 2023
- May 2023
- April 2023
- March 2023
- February 2023
- January 2023
- December 2022
- November 2022
- October 2022
- September 2022
- August 2022
- July 2022
- June 2022
- May 2022
- April 2022
- March 2022
- February 2022
- January 2022
- December 2021
- November 2021
- October 2021
- September 2021
- August 2021
- July 2021
- June 2021
- May 2021
- April 2021
- March 2021
- February 2021
- January 2021
- December 2020
- November 2020
- October 2020
- September 2020
- August 2020
- July 2020
- June 2020
- May 2020
- April 2020
- March 2020
- February 2020
- January 2020
- December 2019
- November 2019
- October 2019
- September 2019
- August 2019
- July 2019
- June 2019
- May 2019
- April 2019
- March 2019
- February 2019
- January 2019
- December 2018
- November 2018
- October 2018
- September 2018
- August 2018
- June 2018
- May 2018
- April 2018
- March 2018
- February 2018
- January 2018
- December 2017
- November 2017
- October 2017
- September 2017
- August 2017
- June 2017
- May 2017
- April 2017
- March 2017
- February 2017
- February 2015

The Art of Knowing in South Asia, Southeast Asia, and the Himalayas
Join the Smithsonian National Museum of Asian Art for an exhibition featuring stone sculptures, gilt bronzes, and painted manuscripts from India, Nepal, Tibet, Bangladesh, Myanmar (Burma), Thailand, Cambodia, and Indonesia, this exhibition illuminates the critical role of visual culture in conveying Buddhist and Hindu teachings from the ninth to the twentieth centuries.

Bernardo Pacquing’s “Causal Loops” Exhibition at Silverlens Gallery
Join Silverlens New York for an exhibition of works by Bernardo Pacquing, who continues to explore the transformative nature of everyday materials, particularly the complex quality of concrete when manipulated on canvas. It is a substance traditionally used in building structures, denoting a monolith resisting environmental stresses.

A Community Book Read with Adam Bobbette
Join Graduate Education and Training in Southeast Asia (GETSEA) for a virtual discussion with Adam Bobbette, author of The Pulse of the Earth: Political Geology in Java, winner of the 2025 Benda Prize. All participants should read the Preface and Chapter 1: “Political Geology as Method.” Those interested in reading more should also consider Chapter 3: “Intercalated: The Political and Spiritual Geographies of Plate Tectonics.”

States against Nations: Meritocracy, Patronage, and the Challenges of Bureaucratic Selection
Join NYSEAN and Nicholas Kuipers, Assistant Professor of Politics at Princeton University, as he discusses his recently published book. Drawing on large-scale surveys, experiments, and archival documents, States Against Nations provides a thought-provoking perspective on the challenges of bureaucratic recruitment and unearths an overlooked tension between state- and nation-building.

“Our Journeys” Story Slam with Vietnamese Boat People
Join Vietnamese Boat People (VBP) and Think!Chinatown Studio for a Story Slam in which Vietnamese Americans share their journey of migration, identity, love, loss, healing, and discovery. The event is preceded by a reception and an introduction by VBP’s Founder, Tracey Nguyễn Mang.

Relational and Organizational Dynamics of Highly Vulnerable Families with Children Experiencing Psychological Difficulties: An Exploratory Study
Join the Center for Khmer Studies (CKS) for a talk by Alicia Landbeck, an associate researcher at the University of Burgundy-Europe on the dynamics of highly vulnerable families with children experiencing psychological difficulties in Cambodia. Sophal Ear, Associate Professor at the Thunderbird School of Global Management at Arizona State University and CKS Board Member, will moderate the discussion.

Futuristic Folk Music: Imagination 101 and Dreams
Join the Center for Southeast Asian Studies at UCLA for a talk by Dr. Chinary Ung, Cambodian-American composer and emeritus faculty of music composition at University of California, San Diego. Dr. Ung will discuss his creative work and how tradition and futuristic experimentation can coexist musically.

Feeling “Sayang”: On Racialized Emotions and their Minor Articulations in Colonial Singapore
Join the Council on Southeast Asia Studies at Yale University for a talk by Jack Jin Gary Lee, Assistant Professor of Sociology at The New School for Social Research and Eugene Lang College of Liberal Arts at The New School. Dr. Lee will discuss the 1938 case of a magistrate who was suspected by colonial officials in Singapore and London of having homosexual relations with colonial subjects.

Because of You: A History of Kilawin Kolektibo
Join the Thirdworld Newsreel and the Documentary Forum at City College of New York for a screening and discussion of the documentary film Because of You: A History of Kilawin Kolektibo by Desireena Almoradie and Barbara Malaran. The screening will be followed by a talkback with the co-directors and fellow past participants of Kilawin Kolektibo.

The Philippines’ Engagement with Middle Powers: Outcomes, Issues & Challenges
Join the Philippine Studies Program at ISEAS - Yusof Ishak Institute for a webinar that critically examines how the Philippines has enhanced strategic relations with middle powers under the administration of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. since 2022. Panelists include: Mico A Galang, Xylee Calagui-Paculba, Deryk Baladjay, Matteo Piasentini, Alynna Carlos, and Lisa Palma.

Sleepless Dreams: Fictional Narrative as a Form of Resistance in Thailand
Join the Southeast Asia Program at Cornell University for a talk by Anocha Suwichakornpong, Associate Professor of Film from Columbia University, who will discuss how fictional narrative filmmaking can serve as a form of resistance under authoritarian regimes, with a focus on her own practice as a filmmaker and artist working in Thailand.

NYSEAN Conference on Intellectual Freedom in Southeast Asia and the United States
Join NYSEAN and the Southeast Asia Coalition for Academic Freedom (SEACAF) for a conference examining attacks on intellectual and academic freedom in Southeast Asia and the United States. Scholars, journalists, and activists will gather to look at how universities and intellectuals often become the first target of rising authoritarianism, the costs and benefits of collective action, and the strategies for resistance. The conversation will address the impact of funding cuts, strengthened immigration enforcement, and assaults on higher education in the United States as well as the lessons learned from crackdowns in Southeast Asia, South Asia, and Turkey.

Citizens or Subjects?: The Paradox of Citizenship and Subjecthood in a Southeast Asian Kingdom
Join the Center for Southeast Asian Studies for a talk by Mu'izz Abdul Khalid, a Research Associate at the Global Awareness and Impact Alliance, who will discuss the paradoxical status Bruneians face as both citizens and subjects of Brunei, the last absolutist kingdom in Southeast Asia. With their hybrid status, Khalid argues Bruneians are compelled to constantly negotiate their political lives, balancing their status as subjects with subtle acts of citizenship, often in the form of “quiet activism.”

Thai American Oral History Project
Join the Center for Southeast Asian Studies at Northern Illinois University (NIU) for a talk by Kanjana Thepboriruk, Associate Professor at NIU’s Department of World Languages and Cultures, who will discuss her work conducting oral history interviews with Thai Americans.

Agbayani Worship: Mythmaking, Colonial Mentality, and the Problematics of a Filipino Captain America
Join the Asian American / Asian Research Institute at CUNY for a talk by Vina Orden, who will present on her essay in CUNY FORUM Volume 11:1, examining how narratives in popular media can perpetuate or challenge existing power structures and colonial mentalities.

Breaking Through: Emerging Filipino Filmmakers
Join NYSEAN and Sulo: The Philippines Studies Initiative at NYU for a showcase of Filipino student filmmakers at NYU: Cal Galicia, Haley Jade Odum, Jack Lacy, and Lauren Luke. This program highlights and celebrates the work of these emerging storytellers before their films premiere on the festival circuit and beyond.

People of the Book: Translating an Oral Tradition into Written Form in Lumad Mindanao
Join NYSEAN and Sulo: The Philippine Studies Initiative at NYU for a talk by Dr. Oona Paredes, Associate Professor of Southeast Asian Studies at UCLA’s Department of Asian Languages and Cultures, who will discuss how a team of Higaunon people transformed their oral tradition into written form.

Breaking the Cycle
Join NYSEAN for a screening of Breaking the Cycle , a documentary about group of young politicians campaigning against an authoritarian constitution in Thailand. The screening is followed by a discussion with Kunthida Rungruengkiat, a former Member of Parliament and Deputy Leader of the Future Forward Party in Thailand, and a current MPP candidate at the Princeton School of Public Policy and International Affairs.

Domestic Nationalism: Muslim Women, Health and Modernity in Indonesia
Join NYSEAN for a book talk by Chiara Formichi, H. Stanley Krusten Professor of World Religions in the Department of Asian Studies. Domestic Nationalism argues that Muslim women in Java and Sumatra, from the late 1910s to the 1950s, were central to Indonesia’s progress as guardians and promoters of health and piety through gendered activities of care work.

Linking Histories of Citizenship and Forced Displacement: Armed Conflict, Expropriation, and Bureaucratic Violence in Myanmar
Join the Asian American Resource Center, the Center for Burma Studies, and the Center for Southeast Asian Studies at Northern Illinois University for a talk by Elizabeth Rhoads, Senior Lecturer at the Centre for East and South-East Asian Studies at Lund University, Sweden. Professor Rhoads will discuss the influence of conflict and displacement on statelessness and barriers to acquiring and holding citizenship in Myanmar.

Impact of the Trump Tariffs on Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam
Join the ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute for a talk on how Trump’s tariffs have impacted Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam with Dr. Milan Thomas, Country Economist at the Cambodia Resident Mission of the Asian Development Bank (ADB); Soulinthone Leuangkhamsing, Principal Economics Officer at the Lao PDR Resident Mission of ADB, and Dr. Dao Ngoc Tien, Vice President of Vietnam’s Foreign Trade University. They will discuss how the tariffs might impact these countries in the short and long run, and how these negative impacts could be mitigated.

New Burma Strategic Dialogue: Diaspora and International Engagement in Myanmar’s Future
Join NYSEAN, the Southeast Asia Program at Cornell University, and the U.S. Immigration & Resettlement Directive for a Forum on Burmese Democracy, where leading voices will share their perspectives on the crisis. Sean Turnell, Tom Andrews, Miemie Winn Byrd, and Kim Aris will examine Myanmar’s current trajectory, the challenges to democratic recovery, and the role of international engagement and diaspora communities.

Rejects: Food Cosmetic Standards and the Geopolitics of Waste
Join the Department of Anthropology and the Center for Southeast Asian Studies at University of Michigan (U-M) for a talk by Dr. Alyssa Paredes, Assistant Professor of Anthropology at U-M. In this lecture, Dr. Paredes illustrates how food cosmetic standards in destination markets lead “Big Agriculture” plantations to produce significant food waste.

Sonic Governance and the Art of Medical Listening in Pandemic Vietnam
Join the Center for Southeast Asian Studies at University of Wisconsin-Madison for a talk by Christina Schwenkel, Professor of Anthropology at UC Riverside. Looking back on the early months of the pandemic in Vietnam, the talk argues for greater attention to the sensory dimensions of public health security, particularly as experienced through sonic rupture.

He Who is Made Lord: Empire, Class and Race in Postwar Singapore
Join the Center for Southeast Asian Studies at University of Hawai‘i (UH) at Mānoa for a talk by Dr. Muhammad Suhail Mohamed Yazid, Fellow at the Harvard University Asia Center, as he discusses his latest book He Who is Made Lord. Dr. Barbara Watson Andaya, Emerita Professor of Asian Studies at UH-Mānoa, will moderate the discussion.

Our History Brings Us Here: A Reading and Conversation with Rhoni Blankenhorn, Luisa Igloria, and Michelle Peñaloza
Join the Asian American Writers’ Workshop for readings and a conversation between Luisa Igloria, Michelle Peñaloza, and Rhoni Blankenhorn, moderated by R. A. Villanueva. This event celebrates the following books: Luisa’s Caulbearer, Michelle’s All The Words I Can Remember Are Poems, and Rhoni’s Rooms for the Dead and the Not Yet.

Karen Identity in Transition: A History of Karen Baptists in British Burma and America
Join the Center for Southeast Asian Studies and the Center for Burma Studies at Northern Illinois University for a talk by Hitomi Fujimura, Humanities Lecturer at Ehime University in Japan, who will discuss the history of Karen Baptists in British Burma and the United States.

Opera Jawa: Film Screening and Performance
Join the Asia Society Museum for a film screening of Opera Jawa by Garin Nugroho, followed by a wine reception and a special music performance by renowned composer Peni Candra Rini with acclaimed musicians Shahzad Ismaily, Andy McGraw, and I Gusti Putu Sudarta.

Halo-Halo Ecologies: The Emergent Environments Behind Filipino Food
Join the Center for Southeast Asian Studies at UH-Mānoa for the virtual book launch of Halo-Halo Ecologies, an anthology that gathers a transnational community of food enthusiasts, engaged scholars, and social and environmental activists to reimagine Philippine Studies and Food Studies. Speakers include Dr. Alyssa Paredes, Dr. Marvin Montefrio, Felice Prudente Sta. Maria, Chef Giney Villar, and Paolo Ven B. Paculan.

Setan Jawa: Silent Film Screening with Live Music Soundtrack
Join the Asia Society Museum for a multi-sensorial celebration of the silent film Setan Jawa by filmmaker Garin Nugroho. The silent film will be accompanied by a live score composed and performed by Peni Candra Rini, with Andy McGraw, Shahzad Ismaily, Gusti Sudarta, and Scott Clark. A conversation and Q&A with the filmmaker follows the program.

Songs Beyond Borders: Thailand and Transnational Musical Connections
Join NYSEAN and NYU MAIR for a talk by Jeffrey Wasserstrom and Benjamin Tausig about the way that music features in their new books and how they engage with songs in their various writings. Benjamin will give a brief introduction to his latest book, Bangkok After Dark. Jeffrey will then discuss a chapter in his new book, The Milk Tea Alliance.
Margaret Scott, NYSEAN co-founder, will moderate the discussion.

The Journey Connecting Heritage: Celebrating Vietnamese Culture through Arts and the Áo Dài
Join the Global Vietnam Studies at the Weatherhead East Asian Institute at Columbia University for a celebration of Vietnamese culture through its arts, crafts, and national dress, the áo dài. There will be a conversation with Vietnam’s leading fashion designer Minh Hanh and artisans, a live performance featuring Minh Hanh’s contemporary designs, and an arts and crafts exhibit.

Deconstructing Revolution: Bersiap - Sutan Sjahrir v. Tan Malaka
Join Deconstructing Indonesia, a student-led group, for a discussion of the National Revolution of Indonesia with a focus on the clashing writings of two giants of the revolution: Sutan Sjahrir and Tan Malaka.

Exploring Chemical Ubiquity: Agrochemical Production Networks and Regulatory Landscapes in Malaysia and Southeast Asia
Join the Southeast Asia Program (SEAP) at Cornell University for a talk by Caitlyn Sears, SEAP Postdoctoral Associate and NYSEAN member, who will discuss how recent production and regulation dynamics in Malaysia exemplify transformations in global chemical geographies.

Southeast Asia Facing the U.S. Tariff Turbulence
Join the Center for Southeast Asian Studies at University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa for a panel on Southeast Asia’s responses to the economic, political, and social impacts of U.S. tariff policies. Speakers include Dr. Jayant Menon, Senior Fellow at ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute; Herawati, Researcher in the ASEAN Studies Program at The Habibie Center, and Dr. Tong Bui, Distinguished Chair in the Department of Information Technology Management at UH-Mānoa. Dr. Micah Fisher will moderate the discussion.

The Role of Media, Disinformation and Political Propaganda in Indonesia’s 2024 Presidential Election and Singapore’s 2025 General Election
Join ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute’s Media, Technology, and Society Program (MTS) for a talk by Dr. Carol Soon, Associate Professor of Communications and New Media in the National University of Singapore, and Dr. Maria Monica Wihardja, Visiting Fellow and Co-Coordinator of the MTS Program.. They will discuss the role of different types of media, AI- and non-AI-generated disinformation and election propaganda on voter perceptions and behaviours in Indonesia’s 2024 Presidential Election and Singapore’s 2025 General Election.

Understanding the Thailand-Cambodia Conflict: How Border Disputes Drive Domestic Political Crises and Vice Versa
Join the Thailand Studies Program at ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute for a talk by Dr. Puangthong R. Pawakapan, Professor of International Relations at Chulalongkorn University, and Supalak Ganjanakhundee, advisor to the Military Affairs Committee of Thailand’s House of Representatives. They will discuss potential solutions for addressing the Thailand-Cambodia conflict.

Reimagining Sustainability
Join the Sustainability in the Urban Environment graduate program at the City College of New York for the book launch of Reimagining Sustainability, a collection of writings on environment, climate justice, and sustainable development by the late Isagani Serrano, a thought leader on these issues as they related to social movements.

Privilege and Protection: Why Businesspeople Enter Politics in Indonesia
Join NYSEAN and NYU MAIR for a talk by Dr. Eve Warburton, research fellow at the Department of Political and Social Change at Australian National University (ANU) and Director of the ANU Indonesia Project. Dr. Warburton will discuss her new paper co-written with Dr. Andi Ali Armunanto on the motivations of businesspeople to enter politics in Indonesia.
![[Canceled] Fear of Asian Tech: Chips, Platforms, and Social Networks](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/657a0c3cd9317f7b22ebbb67/1758133273243-URADFGGPMIYJ6H2QHHS6/event_136188_original-4.png)
[Canceled] Fear of Asian Tech: Chips, Platforms, and Social Networks
Join the Center for Southeast Asian Studies at the University of Michigan for a panel that explores Asia’s role in building today’s high technology and the impact of Asian tech on contemporary Asian American communities. Panelists include Christopher Fan, Associate Professor of English at UC Irvine; Janice Lobo Sapigao, Filipina American poet, writer, and independent scholar; and Tony Shyu, an award-winning filmmaker, founder of Neu Wave AI Films, and CEO of Himalaya Entertainment.

The Last Accord: War, Apocalypse and Peace in Aceh
Join the Asia Society Museum for a screening of the Indonesian documentary film The Last Accord: War, Apocalypse and Peace in Aceh—the remarkable story of how one of Southeast Asia’s longest and deadliest conflicts came to an end. The film will be followed by an exclusive Q and A with the film’s executive producer Dr. Dino Patti Djalal, Founder & Chairman of Foreign Policy Community of Indonesia (FPCI), and former Ambassador of Indonesia to the United States.

Deities of Diet and Design: Hindu Gods and the Aestheticization of Thai-American Restaurant Art
Join the Southeast Asia Program at Cornell University for a talk by Aditya Bhattacharjee, Mellon Postdoctoral Fellow from Asian Studies at Cornell University, who will discuss how new trends in popular Thai religion have influenced the beliefs and business practices of residents in New York state’s primary Thai enclaves.

Immigration Education Workshop
Join the Asian American Education Project for a workshop that explores Asian Immigration to the United States, and the past and present challenges faced by immigrants. The workshop will be facilitated by Laura Ouk, board president of the National Cambodian Heritage Museum and board member for the Cambodian Association of Illinois.

Challenges in Writing the New Cambridge History of Southeast Asia
Join the Council on Southeast Asia Studies at Yale University for a talk by Barbara Watson Andaya, Emerita Professor of Asian Studies at the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa, and Leonard Y. Andaya, Emeritus Professor of History at UH-Mānoa. As co-editors of the third volume of The Cambridge History of Southeast Asia, they will discuss the challenges of placing contemporary concerns of Southeast Asian studies in a historical framework.

Is Deglobalization Inevitable?
Join the Foreign Policy Association and the Committee of 100 for a debate on the inevitability of deglobalization. Nobel Prize-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz, Professor at Columbia University, will open with discussion of the central issues, followed by a debate between two leading experts: Walden Bello, Professor of Sociology at SUNY Binghamton, and Edward Ashbee, Professor at Copenhagen Business School. The discussion will be moderated by Peter Young, Board Member of the Committee of 100 and CEO of Young & Partners.

Making Square Oxen and the Supply Chain of Fresh Meat at the Myanmar
Join the Harvard University Asia Center for a talk by Jiaporn Laochaoroenwong, Assistant Professor of Anthropology and Sociology at Chulalongkorn University, who will discuss the supply chain of square oxen at the Myanmar-Thailand border.

Growing the Digital Economy: Insights from the Mekong-U.S. Partnership Policy Dialogue
Join the Stimson Center for the launch of a report on the 11th Policy Dialogue of the Mekong-US Partnership covering areas such as trade, information and communication, and AI. Speakers include Rachel Coleman, Government Affairs & Public Policy Lead for Platforms & Devices, Google; Mario Masaya, Vice President of Research, Technology and Financial Services at U.S. ASEAN Business Council; and Phonesavanh Sitthideth, Deputy Director General, Lao Academy of Social and Economic Sciences. Courtney Weatherby, Southeast Asia Deputy Director at the Stimson Center, will moderate the discussion.

Multidimensional Deprivation and Emerging Policy Challenges in Indonesia’s Extreme Poverty Alleviation Efforts
Join the ISEAS - Yusof Ishak Institute for a panel on poverty alleviation efforts in Indonesia. Priasto Aji, an economist at the Asian Development Bank (ADB)’s Indonesia Resident Mission, Zahra Amalia Syarifah, Sociology PhD Candidate at University of California - San Diego, and Iqbal Dawam Wibisono, an economist specializing in development, labor, regional and microeconomics research, will discuss updates on poverty incidence, challenges, and distributional trends.

Botany's (Un)making: Vernaculars of Plant Knowing in the Early 20th-Century Davao Gulf
Join the Center for Southeast Asian Studies at University of Michigan for a talk by Dr. Kathleen Cruz Gutierrez, Assistant Professor of History at University of California, Santa Cruz. Dr. Gutierrez will discuss the first decades of U.S. colonization in the Philippines and institutions of botanical research aimed to scale up plantation-style production.