An international interdisciplinary conference on studies of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, transsexual, bisexual, and queer (LGBTQ) cultures and communities in Asia will be held in Bangkok, Thailand, from Thursday 7th to Saturday 9th July, 2005. The main aim of the conference is to develop linkages between research about Asian LGBTQ cultures and communities and promoting recognition and respect for sexual and gender diversity in the region. A parallel goal of the conference is to support and defend the academic legitimacy of research and teaching about LGBTQ peoples in Asia.
While having long histories and taking diverse cultural and social forms, LGBTQ peoples across Asia have been widely marginalised if not actively oppressed by homophobic cultural and political regimes. Activism to promote the rights and achieve legal recognition for LGBTQ peoples dates from the 1970s in countries such as Japan, Thailand, and the Philippines. Since the 1980s, HIV/AIDS prevention initiatives have created the cultural and political space for new forms of LGBTQ organisation in many Asian countries that previously ignored or criminalised homosexual and transgender activities. And in the 1990s, LGBTQ studies emerged as a rapidly expanding field of academic research in countries across all the continent's regions, including East Asia, Southeast Asia, and South Asia.
Nevertheless, the political gains of Asian LGBTQ activisms remain limited and tenuous and many Asian countries continue to severely limit the freedom of researchers to investigate LGBTQ topics. In some countries the recent advances in Asian LGBTQ scholarship are now being threatened by conservative academics, government officials, and others. Furthermore, much path-breaking work is being conducted by younger scholars, who often confront institutional resistance to their research and face an uncertain future in unsupportive and at times homophobic academic environments.
The conservative effects of globalisation often compete against the enabling and empowering technologies provided by the IT revolution. While this contestation is creating complex new divides amongst and within populations across Asia, it is also providing important opportunities for LGBTQ communities to strengthen their progressive presence and to extend their work. The Internet provides opportunities for affirmations of life and liberty for all populations and Asian LGBTQ communities are at the forefront of cultural and social movements using the new technologies to create novel forms of community and to forge radical modes of cultural expression. Positive expressions of queer creativity are becoming increasingly visible presences in the cultural landscapes of countries across Asia.
In order to defend the gains of recent decades it is important to take stock of the advances that have been made in LGBTQ research and activism in Asia and to enhance existing networks. It is also important that new strategic linkages between the academy and activists be developed in order to further advance the interests of Asian LGBTQ peoples in the coming years. This conference will provide an opportunity to demonstrate the richness, diversity, and international importance of Asian LGBTQ studies and it will highlight the contribution that academic research can make to promoting GLBTQ rights across Asia. The conference will place particular emphasis on the participation of early-career scholars and postgraduate students from the region.
This conference is being organised jointly by the Office of Human Rights Studies and Social Development at Mahidol University in Bangkok and the AsiaPacifiQueer Network.
(Acharn Ms) Sinith Sitthiraksa, Southeast Asian Studies Program, Thammasat University, Bangkok
Dr Mike Hayes, Office of Human Rights Studies and Social Development, Mahidol University, Bangkok
Dr Peter Jackson, Division of Pacific and Asian Studies, Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies, Australian National University
Ms Marjorie Larney, MA Graduate from Human Rights Studies Program at Mahidol University, Thailand
Dr Mark McLelland, Centre for Critical and Cultural Studies, University of Queensland
Dr Fran Martin, Dept of English with Cultural Studies, University of Melbourne
Ms Prempreeda Pramoj Na Ayutthaya, MA Graduate from Sociology Dept, Chiang Mai University, Thailand
LL.M. Prof. Douglas Sanders, Faculty of Law, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok
Mr Therdsak Romjampa, MA Graduate from Dept. of History, Chulalongkorn University, Thailand
Mr Vitaya Sang-Arun, Director, Cyberfish Media Co., Ltd., Bangkok
Prof. Peter Aggleton, Institute of Education, University of London.
Prof. Dennis Altman, Dept of Politics, La Trobe University, Melbourne
Prof. Barbara Watson Andaya, Professor of Asian Studies & Director, Center for Southeast Asian Studies, University of Hawai'i,
Dr Darren Aoki, Faculty of Oriental Studies, University of Cambridge, UK.
Dr Chandra Shekhar Balachandran, Chairman, Dharani Trust & Chairman, The Indian Institute of Geographical Studies, Bangalore, India.
Dr Bidisha Banerjee, Gender Studies Department, St. Lawrence University, Canton, NY
Prof. Chris Berry, Department of Media and Communications, Goldsmiths College, University of London
Dr. Evelyn Blackwood, Department of Sociology and Anthropology, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana
Dr Tom Boellstorff, Department of Anthropology, University of California, Irvine & Senior Co-chair of the Society of Lesbian and Gay Anthropologists (SOLGA).
Dr. Kenneth Chan, University Scholars Programme, National University of Singapore
Prof. Charnvit Kasetsiri, Southeast Asian Studies Program, Thammasat University
Bangkok
Dr Wei-cheng Raymond Chu, Dept of Foreign Languages and Literatures, National Taiwan University
Prof. Lawrence Cohen, Department of Anthropology, University of California, Berkeley.
Mr. Romit Dasgupta, Discipline of Asian Studies, School of Social and Cultural Studies, University of Western Australia, Perth
Prof. Naifei Ding, English Department, National Central University, Chung-li, Taiwan
Dr Ross Forman, AHRB Centre for Asian and African Literatures, SOAS/UCL, University of London
Mr Richard Fung, Faculty of Art, Ontario College of Art and Design, Canada
Dr J. Neil Garcia, Department of English and Comparative Literature, University of the Philippines, Diliman, Quezon City, The Philippines.
Ms Mary Ellen Gidah, Centre for the Promotion of Knowledge and Language Learning, Universiti Malaysia Sabah
Dr Sharyn Graham, School of Social Sciences, Faculty of Arts, Auckland University of Technology, Auckland, Aotearoa/New Zealand
Dr Mike Hayes, Office of Human Rights Studies and Social Development, Mahidol University, Bangkok
Mr Hiroshi Hasegawa, Director, JaNP+ (Japanese Network of People living with HIV/AIDS).
Dr Russell Hiang-Khng Heng, Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, Singapore.
Prof. Josephine Ho, Coordinator, Center for the Study of Sexualities, National Central University, Taiwan (
http://sex.ncu.edu.tw)
Mr Hitoshi Ishida, Sociology and Sexuality Studies, Chuo University, Japan
Dr Peter Jackson, Division of Pacific and Asian Studies, Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies, Australian National University
Dr Karen Kelsky, Dept. of Anthropology and East Asian Languages and Cultures, University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign
Dr. Olivia Khoo, School of Theatre, Film and Dance, University of New South Wales, Sydney
Mr Saleem Kidwai, Independent Scholar, New Delhi
Ms Noriko Kohashi, Independent Scholar, Japan
Dr Helen Hok-Sze Leung, Department of Women's Studies, Simon Fraser University, Canada
Dr David CL Lim, Asia Research Institute, National University of Singapore
Prof. Liang-ya Liou, Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures, National Taiwan University.
Dr Mark McLelland, Centre for Critical and Cultural Studies, University of Queensland.
Dr Claire Maree, Department of English, Tsuda College, Japan
Dr Fran Martin, Dept of English with Cultural Studies, University of Melbourne
Mr Narupon Duangwises, Princess Sirinthorn Anthropology Centre, Bangkok
Dr. Dede Oetomo, Reader, Post-Graduate Program, University of Surabaya, Indonesia.
Dr Baden Offord, Senior Lecturer in Cultural Studies & History, School of Arts, Southern Cross University, Lismore, Australia
Dr Frank Proschan, Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage, Smithsonian Institution, Washington
Dr L. Ramakrishnan, Country Director, Programs and Research, SAATHII: Solidarity and Action Against the HIV Infection in India, Chennai, India
LL.M. Prof. Douglas Sanders, Faculty of Law, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok
Mr Sant Suwatcharapinun, Faculty of Architecture, Chiang Mai University.
Dr. Wolfram Schaffar, Department for Southeast Asian Studies, University of Bonn, Germany
Dr Akiko Shimizu, Faculty of Economics, Chuo University, Japan
(Acharn Ms) Sinith Sitthiraksa, Southeast Asian Studies Program, Thammasat University, Bangkok
Dr Sriprapha Petcharamesree, Office of Human Rights Studies and Social Development, Mahidol University, Bangkok
Assoc. Prof. Gerard Sullivan, Faculty of Education and Social Work, University of Sydney
Mr Hiroyuki Taniguchi, Institute for Social Science, Chuo University, Japan
Dr Teh Yik Koon, Faculty of Social and Human Development, Universiti Utara Malaysia. Sintok, Kedah, Malaysia.
Mr Chung To, Chairperson, Chi Heng Foundation, China
Prof. John Treat, Chairman, Department of East Asian Languages and Literatures, Yale University.
Prof. Ruth Vanita, Department of Liberal Studies and Women's Studies, University of Montana.
Mr Vitaya Sang-Arun, Director, Cyberfish Media Co., Ltd., Bangkok
Dr James Welker, Department of British and American Studies, Nanzan University, Nagoya, Japan.
Mr Jan Wijngaarden, Chief, HIV/AIDS Coordination Unit, UNESCO Asia-Pacific Regional Bureau for Education, Bangkok.
Dr. Sam J. Winter, Division of Learning, Development and Diversity, Faculty of Education, University of Hong Kong
Mr. Ken Wong, School of Professional and Continuing Education, University of Hong Kong
Mr Huso Yi, Senior Research Associate, Institute for International Research on Youth at Risk, National Development and Research Institutes, Inc. New York, & Deputy Director, Korean Sexual Minority Culture and Rights Center, Seoul, Korea (
http://kscrc.org).
To further the conference objective of encouraging the participation of early-career scholars and postgraduate students, a graduate student's international advisory caucus has been set up. Current members of this caucus include:
