ACAS2014

“Borderlands of becoming, belonging and sharing”

May 29 – June 1, 2014 | Osaka International Conference Center, Osaka, Japan

Conference Report

Delegates from over 40 nations attended the Fourth Annual Asian Conference on Cultural Studies (ACCS) and the Fourth Annual Conference on Asian Studies (ACAS) in Osaka, Japan, to once again experience an exciting and enjoyable exchange of culture, academic practice and collaboration.

The conference was opened by Conference Co-Chair Dr Baden Offord, the Professor of Cultural Studies and Human Rights & Co-Director of the Centre for Peace and Social Justice Southern Cross University, Australia, who spoke about the theme for the 2014 conference “Borderlands of becoming, belonging and sharing,” and its significance in this time of transformation within our local, national and global lives as human migration, human mobility intensify.

IAFOR was pleased to have as its Keynote speaker and Conference Co-Chair, Koichi Iwabuchi, the Professor of Media and Cultural Studies and Director of the Monash Asia Institute, at Monash University, Australia. Professor Iwabuchi’s address titled, “On the predicament of the borderland imagination, ” considered the context of East Asia nations and their difficulty in opening a dialogue between such irreconcilable social divide, and whether and how the critical imagination associated with the notion of borderland could gain a creative edge toward it.

IAFOR was also pleased to welcome back 2013 Delegate ACCS to Osaka as Featured Speaker Professor Donald E. Hall, the Herbert J. and Ann L. Siegel Dean at Lehigh University, USA. Professor Hall in his address “Looking Beyond Our Horizons: Interdisciplinary Education as Our Best Hope for the Future,” spoke of the need of academia to defend and advocate interdisciplinary training in the liberal arts and sciences. Professor Hall passionately stressed that only through inter-disciplinarity we can cross boundaries comfortably, even enthusiastically.

The organizing committee at IAFOR was also pleased to welcome Professor Hsiao-Chuan Hsia, our second Featured Speaker, Professor and Director at the Graduate Institute for Social Transformation Studies, at Shih Hsin University, Taipei. Professor Hsia in her address “Gender, Citizenship and Empowerment of Marriage Migrants in East Asia,” spoke of the great challenges to the dominant ideology that marriage migrants and their children face in modern East Asia countries.

IAFOR would like to thank conference chairs, Professor Baden Offord, Reverend Professor Stuart Picken and Professor Koichi Iwabuchi for their continued and committed academic support and guidance. Lastly IAFOR wishes to thank the delegate for their fantastic contribution and enthusiasm when attending the 2014 ACAS and ACC Conference.


ACAS2014 Virtual Presentations