Wherever I am, the world comes after me.
It offers me its busyness. It does not believe that I do not want it.
Now I understand why the old poets of China went so far
and high into the mountains, then crept into the pale mist.
"The Old Poets of China" by Mary Oliver

Pagbati. Padayon: Twelve MAs and Six PhDs Honored in 2021 Recognition Rites



Twelve M.A. students of the UP Asian Center and six from the Tri-College PhD Philippine Studies Program comprised the graduating class of 2021 and were honored in two separate virtual recognition ceremonies. 
For the Asian Center’s Araw ng Pagkilala, the guest of honor was Dr. Vedi Hadiz, Director and Professor of Asian Studies at the Asian Institute, University of Melbourne for the MA Program. Hon. Felipe M. De Leon, Jr., former Chair of the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) and now Head of the NCCA-National Committee on Music for the PhD Philippine Studies Program, addressed the newly minted PhDs. All graduates also delivered short video messages during the ceremonies.

Watch the Recognition Day Ceremonies: UP Asian Center | Tri-College

Master of Arts in Philippine Studies

  • Arcilla, John Paul (Society and Culture)
    Thesis: “Walls within Walls: The Architecture of Intramuros by the End of the Spanish Colonial Regime"
  • Mejorada, Alvin (Society and Culture)
    Thesis: “Moro Heroes in Philippine History Textbooks: The Marginalization of the Historical Narratives of Muslim Filipino Heroes in Social Studies Education”
  • Ubaldo, Abel (Society and Culture)
    Thesis: "Censorship, Obscenity and Power: Regulation of Erotic Films from the Marcos to Estrada Administration, 1972-2001"

Master in Philippine Studies

• Alvarez, Reicele (Foreign Relations)
• Culla, Clarisse Ann (Society and Culture)
* Non-Thesis Track

Master in Asian Studies*

• Abo, Ma. Christina (Southeast Asia)
• Estrada, Darlene (Northeast Asia, China)
• Gorumba, Wilrose (Northeast Asia, Japan)
• Malijan, Rachelle (Northeast Asia, Japan)
• Isabida, Gay Paroisa (Northeast Asia, Japan)
• Villa-Abrille, Monica (Southeast Asia)
• Sumalinog, Aazin (Northeast Asia, China)
* Non-Thesis Track

PhD in Philippine Studies

  • Moreal N. Camba
    Dissertation: “Mga Lente sa Likod ng Lente: Ang Ningning at Liwanag sa Ilang Piling Retrato ng Manila Carnival (1908-1917)”
  • Mary Dorothy D.L Jose
    Dissertation: “Kababaihan, Potograpiya, at Kasaysayan: Isang Pagsusuri sa Imahen ng Kababaihan sa Potograpiyang Kolonyal sa        Harap ng Imperyalismong Amerikano”
  • Philip Michael I. Paje
    Dissertation: “Governing Climate Change Adaptation towards Disaster Resilience in Selected Coastal Communities in the           Philippines (2006-2020)”
  • Mary Jane B. Rodriguez
    Dissertation: “Serepungan: Ang “Katutubo” sa Hugpungan ng mga Diskurso (Isang Pag-aaral sa mga Erumanen ne Menuvu at Teduray-Lambangian)”
  • Maria Socorro L. Romabiles
    Dissertation: “Culture as Transformative Innovation: Paglingap in the Practice of Family Medicine in the Philippines”
  • Maria Patricia B. Silvestre
    Dissertation: “Becoming to Being Filipino: A Social History of Music in Manila 1860-1940 through Journalistic Print”
The UP Asian Center offers M.A. degrees in Asian Studies with four fields of specialization: Northeast Asia, Southeast Asia, South Asia, and West Asia. The Center also has an M.A. program in Philippine Studies that allows students to major in Philippine society and culture, Philippine foreign relations, or Philippine development studies. The Center offers a Ph.D.  program in Philippine Studies in conjunction with the College of Arts and Letters and the College of Social Sciences and Philosophy. For an overview of these graduate programs, click here. The Asian Center also publishes Asian Studies: Journal of Critical Perspectives on Asia, the latest issue of which can be downloaded at the journal's website. For other news and upcoming events at the Asian Center, click here.