RDG Conference Report of Eloisa May P. Hernandez

Write up about the Conference

The 7th European Southeast Asian (Euroseas) was held at the School and Political Science of the Technical University of Lisboa in Lisbon, Portugal on July 20 to 5, 2013. It was a well-attended  conference with scholars from countries in Europe, the United States, and Asia. It brought together hundreds of specialist of Southeast Asia from all over the world. Noticeable is the relatively small contingent of Filipino scholars from the Philippines, though this is supplemented with the participation of Filipino scholars who study and/or work in Europe and the United States.

The panels were held from July 3 to 5 in parallel sessions. Mostly consisting topics on the social sciences (economics, politics, philosophy, etc), there is a need to increase panels on the arts and culture. Most of the panels were well attended.

The conference dinner was held on July 4 to encourage out-of-conference socializing and networking among the participants. There was also a conference trip to Sintra, a UNESCO World Heritage site, to expose the conference participants to the culture around the Lisbon.

All in all, the conference was a success in terms of number of participants, quality of panels and papers presented, and network established.

Feedback on paper presented

There was a lively discussion after my paper presentation. The questions revolve around the use of the digital technology in Southeast Asia, who is using it (the elites or the “masa”), how to each an audience, how to create alternative modes of distribution and exhibit. There were also questions about the aesthetics of digital cinema.

Future directions of research presented

Because of the panel and paper presented in Euroseas 2013 the proponent was invited to contribute an essay to the Südostasien magazine volume on “Movies and Film in Southeast Asia” published by German “Asienhaus” foundation.

Potential foreign collaborators

  • Südostasien magazine by German “Asienhaus” foundation
  • Natalie Boehler (Institute of Cinema Studies, University of Zurich)
  • Jane Feguson (Anthropology Department, University of Sydney)
  • Cherubim Quizon, Ph.D. (Seton Hall University, New Jersey, USA)
  • Vivienne Angeles (La Salle University Philadelphia, USA)
  • Mina Roces, University of New South Wales, Sydney Australia
  • Nobue Zuzuki, Chiba University, Japan
  • Peter J. Braeunlien, Ph.D. (DORISEA, University of Goettingen, Germany)

Other important contacts and insights

Insight: There is a need to strengthen the University of the Philippines and Philippine participation on EUROSEAS conferences. The recently concluded conference only has a handful of participants from UP and the Philippines. Our scholars will benefit from the interaction and exposure to EUROSEAS conferences. There is also need to strengthen the involvement of scholars in the arts, culture, and humanities. The EUROSEAS conference has more social science panels and only handful on the arts.

Short write-up of one’s participation (to be used to feature/publicize the grantee’s participation in the conference)

Dr. Eloisa May P. Hernandez, Associate Professor at the Department of Art Studies, served as panel convenor at the 7th  European Southeast Asian (EUROSEAS) held at the School of Social and Political Science of the Technical University of Lisboa in Lisbon Portugal, July 2 to 5, 2013. Her panel on “The Changing Landscape of Cinema in Southeast Asia: From Celluloid to Digital Cinema” was well attended. She presented a paper on “The Beginnings of Digital Cinema in Southeast Asia (Introducing Digital Cinema in Southeast Asia)” in the aforementioned panel. This paper is based on her research published recently in an anthology “Glimpse of Freedom: Independent Cinema in Southeast Asia” by Cornell University Southeast Asia Publications Program, New York.