Events

Jointly organized by Tembusu College, and Asia Research Institute, National University of Singapore, with funding support from Fullbright Singapore, Indiana University, and National Museum of Ethnology, Japan.

Our lives, history, connections to nature, and our politics are profoundly rooted in food cultures, and lately food has been a key theme connecting scholars across disciplinary boundaries. As food safety, security, and sovereignty have become public concerns and mobilized many social movements in the last three decades, scholars and institutes have begun shaping the new field of interdisciplinary Food Studies in Europe and North America. These associations, degree programs, and research centers have not been matched by institutional developments in the rest of the world, including East and Southeast Asia.

There are many individual scholars and research groups engaged in important research on food in East & Southeast Asia, and food-content courses are taught by faculty in a number of disciplines. Southeast and East Asia have rich and dynamic food cultures which reflect their colonial and post-colonial trajectories. This begs the question of why Food Studies has not yet achieved very much visibility in this part of the world. What are the specific obstacles that must be overcome for food studies to bear fruit in Asia? Can we develop strategies for building Food Studies that reflects the diverse and unique historical development of education and research of East and Southeast Asia?

The overall objective of this workshop is to develop an interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary network for the establishment of food studies in Asia and beyond. Junior and senior scholars from Singapore, Malaysia, Japan, and the United States will share their own experiences and discuss their existing networks and connections. Discussions will also consider the prospects for funding, including the kinds of alliances that could push Food Studies towards recognition and legitimization in the near future.

PROGRAM

15 March 2017

12:30               WELCOME LUNCH & INTRODUCTION
Gregory Clancey | Asia Research Institute, and Tembusu College, National University of Singapore
Richard Wilk | Tembusu College, National University of Singapore, and Department of Anthropology, Indiana University, USA

14:00               MAPPING NETWORKS 1 (SINGAPORE)
Liz Chee Pui Yee | Asia Research Institute, and Tembusu College, National University of Singapore
Marvin Montefrio | Social Sciences, Yale-NUS College, Singapore
Tudor Vladescu | Culinary Institute of America, Singapore
Saidul Islam | Division of Sociology, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore

14:30               MAPPING NETWORKS 2 (MALAYSIA AND USA)
Gaik Cheng Khoo | Faculty of Arts, The University of Nottingham Malaysia
Eric Olmedo | Institute of Ethnic Studies, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia
Mark Haggerty | Tembusu College, National University of Singapore, and Honors College, University of Maine, USA
Richard Wilk | Tembusu College, National University of Singapore, and Department of Anthropology, Indiana University, USA
Stephanie Welcomer | Maine Business School, University of Maine, USA

15:00               MAPPING NETWORKS 3 (JAPAN)
Jun Akamine | Graduate School of Social Sciences, Hitotsubashi University, Japan
Atsushi Nobayashi | National Museum of Ethnology, Japan
Shingo Hamada | Faculty of Liberal Arts, Osaka Shoin Women’s University, Japan

15:30               COFFEE BREAK

16:00               ROUNDTABLE – OVERCOMING OBSTACLES IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF ASIAN FOOD STUDIES

18:00               DINNER (only for workshop participants)

16 March 2017

12:30               LUNCH

13:30               DEVELOPING ASIAN FOOD STUDIES IN HIGHER LEARNING AND OUTREACH

15:00               STRATEGY AND TACTICS FOR FUNDING
– Funding for Food Studies in Asia
– Pros and Cons of Private Funding

15:30               COFFEE BREAK

16:00               ACTION IN THE NEAR TERM AND ACTION IN THE LONG TERM
The 7th Asian Food Study Conference in Seoul, South Korea, 2018?

18:00               GUEST LECTURE
Jun Akamine | Graduate School of Social Sciences, Hitotsubashi University, Japan

19:00               TAPAS RECEPTION WITH DISCUSSION (only for workshop participants and fellows and students of Tembusu College)

REGISTRATION

Admission is free, but registration is required. Kindly register early as seats are available on a first come, first served basis. Please email Minghua at minghua.tay@nus.edu.sg to indicate your interest to attend the workshop.

WORKSHOP ORGANIZERS

Dr Liz Chee Pui Yee
Asia Research Institute and Tembusu College-NUS, Singapore
E | arichee@nus.edu.sg

Prof Richard Wilk
Tembusu College, National University of Singapore, and Department of Anthropology, Indiana University, USA

Dr Shingo Hamada
Faculty of Liberal Arts, Osaka Shoin Women’s University, Japan