Webinar Series 2021 Panels

Panel 1: Research, Training, and Partnerships: Breaking Disciplinary Boundaries

August 2 / August 3, 2021 (Philippines)

Economic and social transformations that accompanied the Early Modern period in 14th-19th century Southeast Asia took place in a dynamic natural environment that reflected and shaped its inhabitants. Most scholarship on Early Modern (EM) Southeast Asia attributes European expansion as a catalyst, and the limited environmental research undertaken offers coarse-grained sequences for the region during a substantial climatic upheaval. The PSU-PEMSEA (Program for Early Modern Southeast Asia) research program complements such earlier work through its bottom-up approach to studying local responses to ecological change before, during and after European contact. This research program promises to bring Partido to global discussions on environmental change during the Early Modern Period, particularly on reconstructing past environments and studying human-environment dynamics. This panel outlines the direction of PSU-PEMSEA collaborations and introduces the panels constituting the webinar series.

Panelists

Moderator

Clement Camposano | University of the Philippines-Visayas

Panel 2: Southeast Asia Climate in the last Millennium

August 9 / August 10, 2021 (Philippines)

It has been established that there were major climatic fluctuations between 1400 and 1820 CE, particularly the Little Ice Age and the preceding Medieval Warm Period. In other parts of the world, studies on the LIA and its effect on human behavior have been robust, but mostly top-down, emphasizing the role of climate in the patterns of cultural change observed in the archaeological record. Similarly, in Southeast Asia, not only is there a very limited investigation of the relationship between climate change and shifts in cultural patterns, almost all studies favor emphasis on environmental pressures over the suite of human responses. In this panel, we hope to survey what is currently known in terms of climatic fluctuations in the region during the EMP and the last 1,000 years. The panel also discusses how we study paleoclimates and explains the idea of proxies (dendrochronology, pollen, speleothems, and others (e.g. marine sediments). Panel members will also provide an overview of what we already know as well as things that we do not know and want to know.

Panelists

Carlos Primo David | National Institutes of Geological Science, University of the Philippines
Mick Griffiths | William Paterson University
Riovie Ramos | William Paterson University

Moderator

Kathleen Johnson | University of California, Irvine

Panel 3: PSU Research Highlights: Bicol Communities and Ecologies

August 16 / August 17, 2021 (Philippines)

The diverse ecologies of the Partido district make it an excellent case study to highlight the links between biodiversity and landscape knowledge. This panel will discuss ongoing Partido State University research projects that have the potential to bridge environmental and local knowledge systems. Panelist will provide descriptions of the diverse ecologies of the Partido District, highlighting the need for an integrative and multidisciplinary approach in understanding human-environment relationships. The panel also discusses what is known about Isarog’s biodiversity index, develop research strategies, and apply the strategies in the field.

Panelists

Ricky Laureta | Partido State University
Maria Christina Gumba | Partido State University
Marjorie Atole | Partido State University

Moderator

Da-wei Kuan | National Chengchi University

Panel 4: Environmental Change and Urbanization in the Early Modern Period

August 24 / August 25, 2021 (Philippines)

If environmental and historical studies into the EMP in Southeast Asia are few and far between, such work is even scarcer in archaeology, even if a significant number of SE Asian archaeologists are actively investigating the rise and fall of classic empires (and or emergence of states) in the region. Archaeology, as a discipline, is in a position to provide a link between paleoenvironmental studies and historiography, as archaeologists frequently borrow ideas from the two disciplines. The discipline, however, focuses on long-term patterns of change based on fine-grained, site-specific datasets that complement paleoenvironmental and historical studies. In this panel, we highlight the role of archaeology in understanding human responses to environmental unpredictability. For instance, archaeologists have documented solutions employed by humans to address the unpredictability of environmental problems as well as problems that cannot be fixed.

Panelists

Jade d’Alpoim Guedes | University of California, San Diego
Patrick Roberts | Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History
Grace Tesoro-Barretto | Archaeological Studies Program, University of the Philippines
Roland Fletcher | University of Sydney

Moderator

Peter Lape | University of Washington

Panel 5: Environmental and Economic History

September 6 / September 7, 2021 (Philippines)

Barbara and Leonard Andaya (2015) outlined the major characteristics of Early Modern Southeast Asia, emphasizing how the periodization provided a venue for local realities to enter historiography. The adoption of the concept has shifted the focus of historical investigations away from the colonial lens, prioritizing the responses of local Southeast Asian groups to culture contact. As mentioned in their work, the EMP saw the intensification of global interconnectedness because of the growth of long-distance trade. In this panel, we discuss the dynamics of these contacts, not only with the arrival of the Europeans, but also of regional environmental change that was caused by increased martiime trade during the period. For instance, the demand for deerskin in Shogunate Japan is argued to have contributed to large-scale ecological disintegration in Cambodia. Similarly, the urbanization that occurred soon after European conquest would have placed a huge toll on environments because of resource extraction. As such, this panel will discuss potential sources of information that would provide nuanced understanding of how SEAsian, particularly, Philippine groups responded to various stimuli accorded by cultural entanglements. Particular emphasis will be placed on documentary sources that have the potential to link state responses with environmental signatures.

Panelists

Patrick Henry Manguera | Polytechnic University of the Philippines
Ruel Pagunsan | University of the Philippines-Diliman
Lou Angeli Ocampo | University of the Philippines-Diliman
Kerby Alvarez | University of the Philippines-Diliman

Moderator

Barbara Andaya | University of Hawaii-Manoa

Panel 6: The Future of Southeast Asian Archaeology in the US

September 13 / September 14, 2021 (Philippines)

Southeast Asian archaeology programs are underrepresented in the US higher education system. Although SE Asian groups now comprise one of the largest immigrant groups in the country, only five institutions have a distinctly Southeast Asian archaeology program. In this panel, we bring together early- and mid-career US-based archaeologists to discuss ways to strengthen SE Asian archaeology and to help address issues of access, gender disparity, and representation. The panelists will also talk about how their respective research in SE Asia facilitate the inclusion of SE Asian archaeological observations to archaeological theory and method.

Panelists

Moderators

Peter Lape | University of Washington
Miriam Stark | University of Hawaii

Panel 7: Women in Philippine Archaeology

September 20 / September 21, 2021 (Philippines)

The establishment of archaeology as a professional discipline in the Philippines was heavily male dominated. This issue is so pervasive that even when female representation increased, especially the accessibility of graduate degree in archaeology and related fields, male archaeologist still overshadows the works of women archaeologists. This panel highlights the contribution of female archaeologists in the Philippines, discussing issues of bias, accessibility, and opportunities. The panel will also talk about how gendered perspectives make archaeological practice more meaningful.

Panelists

Moderator

Grace Barretto-Tesoro | University of the Philippines

Panel 8: Decolonizing SE Asian Archaeology

September 27 / September 28, 2021 (Philippines)

Archaeological practice in Southeast Asia has recently shifted to active engagement with local stakeholders. This is due to the realization that involving communities results in meaningful research outcomes. A growing number of investigations are actively seeking the involvement of communities as both contributors and as active and involved research participants. These undertakings humanize our community partners and counter the exclusivity often associated with scholarly authority. An increasing number of scholars approach research as inter-disciplinary, breaking state and ethnic boundaries and engaging communities, emphasizing that we no longer work alone. This panel provides examples of this trend. It is predicated on the concepts of practice and agency and their impacts on cultural heritage and archaeological practice in Southeast Asia. Panel members have worked intensively with descendant communities and will illustrate how archaeological and heritage scholars can empower indigenous and descendant communities through heritage conservation.

Panelists

Piphal Heng | University of Hawaii-Manoa
Udomluck Hoontrakul | Thammasat University
Panggah Ardiyansyah | SOAS University of London
Michael Armand Canilao | Archaeological Studies Program, University of the Philippines

Moderator

Rasmi Shoocondej | Silpakorn University