The 2023 activities of the Philippine Studies Group at the York Centre for Asian Research, York University are supported through funding from the Philippine Consulate General in Toronto.

PSG Research Celebration

Friday, 01 December 2023

Please save the date to join us for a celebration of research on the Philippines and the Diaspora on 01 December 2023. Further details will be posted soon. 


Globalizing Filipino Songs, Bodies, and Sounds: Homeplace beyond Homeland

Wednesday, 26 October 2023 | 14:00 to 16:00 EDT

Homeplace is an important marker of Filipino identity in such contexts of population and geographic mobility as theorized by Cuba and Hummon (1993). Given Filipino geographical mobility, the depiction of homeplace in the diaspora almost always references geographic materiality. With the recognition that diaspora both references and informs a material homeland, Professor Ricardo D. Trimillos (University of Hawai’I at Manoa) will present selected musical manifestations of homeplace. 


Human Rights in the Philippines: Challenges and the Fight for a Democratic Future

Monday, 02 October 2023 | 12:00 to 14:00 EDT

Neri Colmenares, 62, is a veteran human rights lawyer and activist who was detained for four years when the Philippines was under Martial Law. In 2018, he filed the second petition accusing President Duterte of murder and crimes against humanity before the International Criminal Court on behalf of eight victims of the “war on drugs”. He was also a co-petitioner in one of the 37 constitutional challenges to the Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020. Colmenares served as Bayan-Muna representative in the lower house from 2007 to 2016. As Bayan-Muna representative, he championed senior citizens’ welfare, a genuine agrarian reform program for farmers, higher wages for laborers and protection of human rights.

Register at this link.


Outer-Space Filipino Worker

Tuesday, 26 September 2023 | 14:30 to 16:00 EDT

Artist Talk with Leeroy New, a multidisciplinary artist whose practice manifests in large-scale immersive environments, costuming, collaborative performances and video works driven by concepts of world building, myth-making, and social change

Register at this link.


Revisiting the Basics

Monday, 15 May 2023 | 10:00 to 11:30 EDT

Marshall McLuhan Fellow Karmina Constantino, a veteran TV journalist in the Philippines and an anchor with the ABS-CBN News Channel, discusses the role of the journalist in critical public discourse & in seeking accountability in a post-truth era in the Philippines

Register at www.tinyurl.com/KConstantino.


Event poster for the event with Urban Ecologies on the Edge: Making Manila's Resource Frontier

Urban Ecologies on the Edge: Making Manila’s Resource Frontier

Tuesday, 21 March 2023 | 15:00 to 17:00 EST
Room 280N, Second Floor, York Lanes, York University

In this presentation, Dr Saguin (UP Diliman) will examine urbanization as a frontier-making process through the example of Metro Manila in the Philippines and its adjacent resource frontier, Laguna Lake.

Details: https://ycar.apps01.yorku.ca/event/urban-ecologies-edge-making-manilas-resource-frontier-saguin-2023/


Annual Dance Showcase, “Cardinal Points”

15-17 February 2023 | 19:30 EST
Sandra Faire and Ivan Fecan Theatre

The Philippine Studies Group is pleased to support the visit of two of the lead dancers from Bayanihan, the National Dance Company of the Philippines.

Details: https://ycar.apps01.yorku.ca/cardinal-points-bayanihan-2023/


Dance Workshop with Bayanihan: the National Dance Company of the Philippines

Monday, 13 February 2023 | 18:00 to 21:00 EST
Kalayaan Cultural Community Centre, 5225 Orbitor Drive, Unit 3, Mississauga

A rare opportunity to learn Philippine folk dance from Leo Lorilla and Pamela Corales, core performing artists of the world-renowned Bayanihan Dance Company.

Details: https://ycar.apps01.yorku.ca/bayanihan-workshop-2023/