Roundtable Discussions
ROUNDTABLE DISCUSSION 1
Local Studies in Dialogue: Bridging Local Perspectives, Foregrounding Indigenous Knowledge
Ruth M. Tindaan, Ph.D., University of the Philippines Baguio
Dr. Ruth M. Tindaan is an Associate Professor of English at the Department of Language, Literature and the Arts (DLLA) simultaneously serving as a faculty member of the Ph.D. in Indigenous Studies Program of UP Baguio. She earned her Doctorate in Cultural Studies from Goldsmiths, University of London. Her research interests include: representation of the Indigenous in media and literature; Indigenous Peoples in the diaspora; Indigenous language documentation; and spatial analysis in the urban built environment. She has served as the Chairperson of DLLA and Director of the Cordillera Studies Center.
Hope Sabanpan-Yu, Ph.D., University of San Carlos
Dr. Hope Sabanpan-Yu currently serves as the Director of the Cebuano Studies Center of the University of San Carlos, a position she has held since 2011. She earned her Ph.D. from the University of the Philippines Diliman. A prolific and multi-awarded writer, she has authored several publications and poetry collections, translated various novels and short stories, as well as edited two anthologies. Dr. Sabanpan-Yu has long been an advocate for the promotion and preservation of Cebuano culture and heritage, holding multiple memberships in international, national, and local organizations.
Sorhaila L. Latip-Yusoph, Ph.D., Mindanao State University-Marawi
Professor Sorhaila L. Latip-Yusoph currently serves as the Director of the Mindanao State University (MSU)–Meranaw Cultural Heritage Center. She earned her Doctorate in Language Studies from MSU-Marawi. A multi-media practitioner, educator, and researcher, Professor Latip-Yusoph specializes in Meranaw language and culture; peace media, and communication; gender and development; and public speaking and digital literacy, among others
MODERATOR:
Ma. Crisanta N. Flores, Ph.D., University of the Philippines Diliman
Dr. Ma. Crisanta Nelmida-Flores is a Faculty Member of the Philippine Studies Programs in the University of the Philippines Diliman. She teaches Philippine Studies courses for undergraduate students under the Philippine Studies Program of the Department of Filipino and Philippine Literature at the College of Arts and Letters. She is also an Affiliate Faculty of the TriCollege PhD Philippine Studies Program. Her areas of specialization include ethnic studies, local history, and vernacular literature.
ROUNDTABLE DISCUSSION 2
A Global Dialogue on Philippine Studies: Reflections, Challenges, and Future Directions
Maria Bernadette L. Abrera, Ph.D., University of the Philippines Diliman
Professor Maria Bernadette L. Abrera is a Retired Professor of History at the University of the Philippines Diliman. A longstanding pillar of the Tri-College PhD Philippine Studies Program, she previously served as the Dean of the College of Social Sciences and Philosophy and Chair of the Department of History at UP Diliman. Her research focus is on cultural history and the indigenous knowledge system, having written on the indigenous belief system, the status of women in pre-colonial Philippines and traditional boat building technology.
Patricia Halagao, Ph.D., University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa
Dr. Patricia Espiritu Halagao, professor and chair of Department of Curriculum Studies, is Co-Director of Center for Philippine Studies at University of Hawaiʻi, Mānoa. She advances Filipino K-12 education through academic, policy, and community work, co-developing programs like Pinoy Teach, Smithsonian’s Filipino American Story and Sistan Alhambra Filipino American Education Institute. A Trustee of the Filipino American National Historical Society, she co-edits its journal. She received UH Medal for Excellence in Teaching and Filipina Women’s Network Award. On the Hawai’i Board of Education, she spearheaded the Seal of Biliteracy and Multilingual Education policies. As advisor to the Filipino Curriculum Project, she helped launch the nation’s first statewide Filipino social studies course in Hawaiʻi schools.
Lorenzo Perillo, Ph.D., University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa
Dr. Lorenzo Perillo is currently Co-Director of the Center for Philippine Studies and Associate Professor in the Department of Theatre and Dance at the University of Hawaiʻi. He has taught at the University of California Berkeley, UCLA, University of Illinois Chicago, and Cornell University. Dr. Perilloʻs first book is Choreographing in Color: Filipinos, Hip-hop, and the Cultural Politics of Euphemism (Oxford University Press 2020). It draws from interviews with over 80 key artists and cultural organizers in the Philippines and diaspora to examine Black cultural expression in relation to Filipino racialization.
Björn Dressel, Ph.D., Australian National University
Dr. Björn Dressel is an Associate Professor and Director of the ANU Philippines Institute at the Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University (ANU). His research focuses on comparative constitutionalism, judicial politics, and governance in Asia. He has published in journals like Governance and International Political Science Review. His books include Courts and Politics in Southeast Asia (CUP, 2024) and The Judicialization of Politics in Asia (Routledge, 2012). He has also co-edited Politics and Constitutions in Southeast Asia (2016) and Informality and Courts (EUP, 2024).
Roger Friedlein, Ph.D., Ruhr Universität Bochum
Roger Friedlein is the Head of the Philippine Studies Programme at Ruhr Universitat Bochum, Germany. A chair professor specializing in Romance philology, he completed his doctorate at Freie Universität Berlin, exploring literary dialogue in the works of medieval Catalan philosopher Ramon Llull. His habilitation focused on knowledge and poetry in 16th-century epic poetry from France, Spain, and Portugal. His research spans medieval, Renaissance, and 19th-century Hispanic literature, including studies on the colonial Philippines. Recent publications include Els catalans i Llatinoamèrica (Barcelona: Montserrat, 2017), A epopeia em questão (Rio de Janeiro: Makunaima, 2019), and El yo en la epopeya (Madrid: Iberoamericana, 2020). Professor Friedlein is currently working on a book examining Spanish travel literature and early chronicles on the Philippines.
Yuchen Ma, Ph.D., Peking University
Representing Philippine Studies at Peking University, Dr. Yuchen Ma is a postdoctoral fellow at School of Foreign Languages, Peking University, where he obtained his Ph.D., M.A. and Bachelor degree respectively in 2023, 2017 and 2014. He was an undergraduate student of Philippine Studies Program of Peking University and was an exchange student to Ateneo de Manila University in 2013. His main research interests include Philippine mass media, religion and contemporary Southeast Asia society.
MODERATOR:
Maria Dulce F. Natividad, Ph.D., University of the Philippines Diliman
Maria Dulce F. Natividad is Associate Professor at the Asian Center, University of the Philippines Diliman. A medical anthropologist, she has written on the intersections of reproductive politics, gender, religion, and state policy. She previously taught in the Women’s and Gender Studies Department at Wellesley College, Massachusetts and received her PhD in Sociomedical Sciences (Anthropology) and Master of Public Health from Columbia University, New York City.