Global Asia in the Digital Age Graduate Symposium

April 4-5, 2025

Hybrid: Watson Library (West 3 Wing) & Online

Free. Registration required.

Open to the Public.

REGISTRATION 

• In person

• Online

OVERVIEW

This two-day symposium examines the transformative role of digital technologies across various domains, from education to creative expression and activism, through the analytical lens of Global Asia. By framing the digital age within the interconnected and transnational contexts of Asia, this perspective highlights how regional and global dynamics intersect to shape technological adoption and innovation. 

The panels delve into the use of digital tools such as AI, network analysis, and 3D printing in higher education, creative fields, and activism in China, South Korea, Japan, and Vietnam.  

By using Global Asia as a conceptual framework, this interdisciplinary exploration reveals the dual potential of digital tools to inspire innovation and provoke critical questions about their societal impacts. It offers a nuanced understanding of how technology shapes learning, creativity, and activism in a rapidly changing world, while also foregrounding the role of Asia in rapidly changing world due to the advancement of digital technologies. 

[Link to Day 1 Schedule]

Saturday, April 5, 2025  |  9:00 A.M. - 4:30 P.M.

9:00 AM - Registration & morning refreshments 

9:30 AM - Welcome  

Ami Kitada, President, graduate student, East Asian Languages and Cultures, University of Kansas    

9:45 -11:00 AM - Keynote Speech, “Digital, Physical, (Wonder)lands” by Dr. Amanda Kennell, Assistant Professor of East Asian Languages and Cultures at the University of Notre Dame 

In the last fifty years, technological developments have enabled information to travel across the globe at the speed of light and even be transformed into new linguistic and mediatic forms without immediate human oversight.  These developments have altered how humanity perceives the world and other peoples living within it.  To put it another way, the invention and spread of new, digital technologies have affected the conceptual basis of East Asian Studies.  Yet despite the speed with which information moves today, the technologies enabling that speed were first theorized almost two centuries ago.  Their affordances and limitations, dangers and opportunities, have been imagined and discussed at length in not only esoteric academic documents but also popularly consumed texts that have themselves traversed the globe.  In this presentation, Dr. Amanda Kennell traces Alice in Wonderland’s adaptation across the bounds of time, nation, medium, and technology to elucidate the effects of digital technologies in the contemporary media environment.   

11:00-11:10 AM - Break 

11:10-12:30 AM (W3W and Online) - Panel, Navigating Digital Intercultural Interactions  

Panelists: 

• Huan Chen, M.A. student, Film and Media Studies Department, University of Kansas, “Pixels of Power: BiliBili’s Role in Redefining Global Political Symbols in Asia’s Digital Age”  

• Hu Ning, PhD student, Department of Chinese Studies, Universiti Malaya, “Sentiments in Malaysian International Guan Gong Cultural Festival within the Malaysian Chinese Community on YouTube” 

• Yanchun Xu, Visiting scholar, Harvard John F. Kennedy School of Government, Ph.D. candidate, Political Science, Renmin University of China, “The Remodeling and Adjustment of Identity Perception among Chinese and American People by Transnational Digital Platforms” 

12:30-1:30 PM - Lunch Break 

1:30-2:50 PM (W3W and Online) - Panel, Leveraging Digital Technology for Change  

Panelists: 

• Grace Gao, M.A. student, Department of East Asian Languages and Civilizations (University of Pennsylvania), From Steppes to Screens: Reimagining Nomadic Pastoralism in Mongolia’s Digital Age (virtual)

• Miki Shono, M.A. student, East Asian Languages and Cultures Department, University of Kansas, “Anime Pilgrimage Leads to Tourist Well-being: How Digital Media Gives Rise to New Types of Pilgrimage” 

• Wenminzi Wu, M.A. student, East Asian Languages and Cultures Department, University of Kansas, “Bridging the Digital Divide: AI and Inclusive Health Literacy for Marginalized Older Adults in the Chinese Post-COVID-19 Era” 

2:50-3:00 PM – Break 

3:00-4:00 PM - Workshop/Lecture by Cecilia Zhang (Chinese Collections Librarian) 

This workshop introduces the concept of Critical AI Literacy, focusing on the essential skills and standards to apply this literacy when using generative AI tools effectively. Participants will gain insights into critically approaching and evaluating the results provided by AI, with a brief example of database-anchored AI futures to illustrate its potential. The workshop aims to equip attendees with the tools to thoughtfully engage with AI in humanities research, fostering a nuanced understanding of its applications and implications. 

4:00 PM- Closing Remarks 

4:15-4:30 PM – Socializing