Asian Studies Days 2020

Research and Education during the Pandemic

Doctoral seminar, Thursday, 5th of November. Zoom meeting
Conference Day, Friday, 6th  of November. Zoom webinar

Registration required.

Please register for the conference at https://utu.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_u6bXpnX7Ru6D7RrlnoJNGQ

Organized in cooperation between the Center for East Asian Studies, University of Turku, and the Finnish University Network for Asian Studies.

Restrictions caused by the coronavirus pandemic have disrupted well-established education and research practices in Asia and elsewhere. International research and education projects have moved online, and scholars in Asian studies have been forced to find alternatives to on-site fieldwork. How have students and scholars adapted to the new situation and what kinds of new practices are emerging? Can we find a silver lining in the pandemic, and how to grasp it? What might the new research methods mean for the production of knowledge in the future.

The Asian Studies Days 2020 address these topical issues from different angels. The Days start with reports about the new contexts for education and research in Asian countries. The Science and Education Councilors of the Finnish embassies in Beijing, New Delhi and Singapore discuss the various government-imposed restrictions and how they affect the academic operation environment. What should the international partners of Asian universities know about the new situation?

The second part of the day brings forth different coping strategies that scholars in Asian studies have developed to collect research materials from Asia at a distance. What is online ethnography and what can be done with computational methods? Several scholars from different disciplines join the panel discussion about Asian studies at a distance. The round table discussion aims to encourage and help students and researchers in Asian Studies to find alternative ways of collecting data.

As usual, in connection with the Asian Studies Days the Finnish University Network for Asian Studies will arrange a doctoral seminar. This year, the seminar will arranged online on Thursday, 5th of November.

The Finnish University Network for Asian Studies has organized Asian Studies Days annually since 2010. The event provides a national platform for discussions and networking in Asian studies. It brings together a wide community of people from the academia, business, public administration and civil society with a shared interest in Asia.

Please get acquainted with our list of resources for conducting Asian studies during the Pandemic

Preliminary Programme

Thursday 5th of November

Doctoral seminar at  9am – 2 pm
More information about the seminar here.

Friday 6th of November

Conference Day

9:30 Welcoming words and introduction to the theme of the event
Outi Luova, Director of the Finnish University Network for Asian Studies

9:35 -11:00  Panel discussion: Science and education policies in Asia in the time of pandemic

Chair: Lauri Paltemaa, Professor, Center for East Asian Studies, University of Turku
Q&A moderator: Dr Silja Keva, Center for East Asian Studies, University of Turku

Speakers:
– Mari-Anna Suurmunne, Councellor, Education and Science, Embassy of Finland in Beijing
– Anna Korpi, Councellor, Education and Science, Embassy of Finland in Singapore
– Mika Tirronen, Councellor, Education and Science, Embassy of Finland in New Delhi

11:00 – 12:00 lunch break

12:00-14:00 Round table: Asian Studies at a Distance

Chair: Outi Luova, Director of the Finnish University Network for Asian Studies
Q&A moderator: Dr Silja Keva, Center for East Asian Studies, University of Turku

Opening presentation:
Re-designing and re-imagining “participant observation” in Japan from a methodological perspective
PhD Yoko Demelius, Centre for East Asian Studies, University of Turku

Participants (in alphabetical order):
– Dr Jukka Aukia, Centre for East Asian Studies, University of Turku
– Dr Yoko Demelius, Centre for East Asian Studies, University of Turku
– Assistant Professor Anni Kajanus, Social and Cultural Anthropology, University of Helsinki
– Professor Marina Svensson, Director of the Centre for East and South-East Asian Studies, Lund University
– Professor Xenia Zeiler, South Asian Studies, University of Helsinki