Events

Asian families are undergoing unprecedented changes in many ways with marriage and fertility rates declining, diverse family types forming, gender and intergenerational relations changing, and population rapidly ageing. To celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Asia Research Institute (ARI), the Changing Family in Asia cluster brings together its alumni and current staff in an online conference to contribute to dialogues on these issues with cutting-edge research in many countries. The Changing Family in Asia cluster, one of the oldest clusters in ARI established in 2003, will close at the end of 2021. This two-day conference will commemorate the cluster’s achievements and legacy, and reflect on ARI’s contributions to the achievements of the cluster’s alumni. The founding cluster leader, Professor Gavin Jones, will deliver a keynote speech discussing the divorce trends for Muslim and non-Muslim populations in selected Southeast Asian countries, focusing on the narrowing or widening differentials in divorce rates and in the transition period from marriage to divorce.

This will be followed by six panels of cluster alumni presentations on different themes of the changing families in Asian countries. The first session examines the intersection of gender, class, and the family within the context of migration, employment, marriage, religion, and bureaucracy. Speakers in this session will discuss the challenges of COVID-19 faced by migrant workers in Hong Kong and their families in the Philippines, the differences in Chinese women’s path to flash marriage, contrasting those whose marriage was arranged through matchmaking and those in a love marriage, the work and family choices of Singaporean parents, and how religious authorities navigate education and rehabilitation programmes for Muslim Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBTs) in Malaysia.

The second panel focuses on family and care work in Asia. The topics in this session include intergenerational care in Singapore, socialisation of care in South Korea, and the employment of foreign domestic workers in Hong Kong. Family diversity and emerging trends of family forms will be the focus of the third panel. This session will examine educational expansion and marriage change in Thailand; intimate relationships, sexualities and family gender regimes in Taiwan; and the rising trends of singlehood in China’s major cities. In the fourth panel, speakers will discuss parent-child relations—how Chinese parents view education and social upward mobility, their role in their children’s marriage decisions, and the impact of rural depopulation on children’s development in China. The fifth session highlights issues among families in a non-normative setup resulting from inter-ethnic marriage or transnational divorce. This session also includes a discussion on changes in household structure. The sixth session tackles productive ageing, its associated factors, and psychological health among older adults. The concluding session will discuss the impact of COVID-19 on families.

CONFERENCE CONVENORS

Prof Wei-Jun Jean YEUNG
Asia Research Institute, National University of Singapore

Dr Jeofrey Bautista ABALOS 
Asia Research Institute, National University of Singapore

ARI20 ANNIVERSARY ROUNDTABLE SERIES

The ARI20 Anniversary Roundtable Series marks the founding of the Asia Research Institute at the National University of Singapore in 2001. The series celebrates our current scholarship while exploring how these themes and topics continue to inspire new trajectories of research. The ARI20 Anniversary Roundtable Series concludes with the convening of a final roundtable featuring the Institute’s current research cluster leaders, who will discuss ARI’s role in charting future humanities and social science research on Asia. While the virtual roundtable format arises from pandemic-related necessity, it will enable ARI alumni and partners around the world to join the discussion on the Institute’s research directions and prospects.

REGISTRATION HAS CLOSED

Please contact Sharon at arios@nus.edu.sg if you would like to express interest to attend the event.