How do we construct, deconstruct, and maintain Southeast Asia? Who is doing this labor and why? The sinews by which we entangle Southeast Asia take many forms: from the epic to the quotidian and every shade in between and beyond; as connective strands; as resonating sounds; as adjoining bridges; as shared images; as documenting videos; as so much more. This year's Cornell Southeast Asia Program Graduate Student Conference theme, (De)Constructing Southeast Asia, thinks about the dynamic ways we come to, work with, and move from the region as a constructed space. With these considerations, (De)Constructing Southeast Asia is an inquiry which brings these strands together, tugs at them, or perhaps pulls them apart. We encourage submissions which seek to think through how Southeast Asia is formed and Southeast Asia forms geographies and ecologies.

The Graduate Student Conference will be held in a hybrid format 11–13 March, 2022 at the George McT. Kahin Center for Advanced Research on Southeast Asia, located on Cornell University’s campus in Ithaca, New York and online over Zoom. COVID restrictions will be applied as per university policy and are subject to change.

Keynote Address:

(Re)Producing Knowledge: Gamelan and Southeast Asian Music within and without Academe

Senior Lecturer, Christopher J. Miller, Department of Music

Panel 1: The Stuff of History

Nicole Yow Wei, "Melaka is Minangkabau: Oral Historical Poetics in the Hikayat Anggun Cik Tunggaland the Making of an Early Malay Regionalism"Eunike G. Setiadarma, "Feeling Strange, Feeling Home: An Annotation of Indonesian History" Indah Wahyu Puji Utami, "Conflicts and negotiations: The representation of the National Revolution in Indonesian history textbooks"Panel 2: Southeast Asian America

Bradley DeMatteo & Sokunthary Svay, "An American Samleing: Music and Multivocality in the Poetry of Sokunthary Svay"Cai Barias, "Transnational Asian America: Vietnamese International Student Ac-tivism and the Asian American Movement (1968-1975)"Sokunthary Svay, "Playing Kaa (កា): Memory Work, Music, and Song-Speaking"Panel 3: Contesting Power

Chanatip Tatiyakaroonwong, " 'Surveillance-Disinformation’ Assemblage and The Politics of Tech-Driven Counterinsurgency in Thailand's Southern Border Conflict"Matthew Venker, "Legal Engagements: Buddhist Law and the Construction of Chinese-Burmese Families in Colonial Burma"Chao Ren, "Yankees on the Irrawaddy: Race, Migration, and Plural Society in a Burmese Oilfield, 1921-27"Panel 4: Politics and Identity

Kelvin Ng, "Itineraries of Self-Respect: Urban Sociality and Tamil Reform in Interwar Malaya, 1929–1940"Jonalyn C. Paz, "Colonial Beasts and Where to Find Them: Constructs of Sex Tourism in Olongapo, Zambales Philippines"Chu May Paing, "Gali-hto-thaw Images: Dangerous Laughter as Viral Spread in Contemporary Myanmar"Film Screening

Grace Simbulan, "A is for Agustin"Panel 5: Futures of Study

Bunkueanun “Francis” Paothong, "Despot on the Spotlight: Analyzing Thailand’s Actions Against its Pro-democracy Demonstrators"Dexter Lin, "Catholic Identification as a Mode of Protection for Asian Indios across Time and Space in the Early Modern Spanish Empire"Minh-Tiến Nguyễn, "“Đây là Viet Rap?”: Contesting Americanization and internal colonialism in Vietnamese rap"Panel 6: Colonial Makes

Harry Burke, "Emiria Sunassa: Archipelagic Painter"Linh Mueller, "From “Civilizing Mission” to “Heroic Railway”: Railroad Colonialism and Infrastructural Meaning-Making in Vietnam"Jefferson R. Mendez, "Deconstructing the Colony: Filipinization of Urban Spaces and Manila’s Role in the 19th Century Global History"Panel 7: Embodiment

Andrew Hollister, "Movement and the Body: Exploring Cambodian Young Adult Experience in Kavich Neang’s Short Films"Amira Noeuv, "Girl with the Sak Yon Tattoo"Nam Nguyen, "Cannibalism, Madness, (Tw)incest, and Death: Mobilizing theVietnamese Diasporic Body in Linda Lê’s Works"Anyone seeking accommodations of any kind, including COVID safety procedures, should reach out to us at seapgatty@cornell.edu.

A pdf conference packet is available here, with more information on speakers and panels and Zoom links to attend virtually. This information is also available on the conference website.