{"id":5430,"date":"2025-09-01T16:14:43","date_gmt":"2025-09-01T08:14:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ccs.crs.cuhk.edu.hk\/main\/?p=5430"},"modified":"2025-09-02T15:52:49","modified_gmt":"2025-09-02T07:52:49","slug":"international-forum-decolonization-or-de-westernization-in-the-asian-humanities","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ccs.crs.cuhk.edu.hk\/main\/international-forum-decolonization-or-de-westernization-in-the-asian-humanities\/","title":{"rendered":"International Forum “Decolonization or De-westernization in the Asian Humanities?”"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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\u00a0<\/p>\n

Time: <\/strong>Oct 8 (Wed), 2025, 2:30 pm<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Venue: <\/strong>YC Liang Hall (LHC) G06<\/p>\n

Those who register will be sent a link to the Zoom session before the event.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Registration: https:\/\/cloud.itsc.cuhk.edu.hk\/mycuform\/view.php?id=3618369<\/a><\/p>\n

Speakers:\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Prof. Melani Budianta (Universitas Indonesia)<\/strong><\/p>\n

Seventy years after the Bandung conference, which offered solidarity amongst Asia-Africa nations fighting against Western colonialization, the world today is under the grip of global capitalism. What are the possibilities and limits of Asian Humanities in reclaiming a critical space to offer a more humane world through transborder solidarity? The presentation will discuss an experiment of Global South commoning in Documenta-15, Kassel, Germany (2022) which introduces the concept of lumbung <\/em>as collective governance, work and sharing. Another case is the Critical Island Studies initiative, which foreground islandic and archipelagic perspective against continental thrust. The paper argues that such collaboration amongst Asian humanities could potentially carve \u201cthird spaces\u201d within the neoliberal hegemony. Given existing challenges, however, the spread and sustainability of such spaces need the critical intervention of the humanities into the dominant local and global framework. It requires a continuous cross generation and transdisciplinary work and multi-layered strategies.<\/p>\n

Short bio:
<\/strong>
Melani Budianta is an intellectual\/activist working on cultural commoning in rural\/urban kampungs. Previously Professor of Literature and Cultural Studies at the Universitas Indonesia, she is now member of the Cultural Commission, Indonesian Academy of Sciences.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Prof. Phrae Chittiphalangsri (Chulalongkorn University)<\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Decolonizing the Fa\u00e7ades: re-investigating cultural exteriority, translational modernity and colonial self-identification from a Thai perspective<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

This paper explores the notion of exteriority <\/em>as a foundational condition of discursive representation\u2014defined not by an inner essence or unified authorial intent, but by what Foucault (1984) calls \u201cexternal conditions of existence.\u201d In Orientalism <\/em>(1978), Edward Said articulates a paradox in which the West seeks to \u2018inwardly grasping\u2019 the Orient through acts of \u201ctranslation\u201d that simultaneously maintain its external positionality. This tension between internal subjectification and external discursivization marks a critical locus of colonial power, where hierarchies are constructed and contested.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Focusing on Siam\u2014modern-day Thailand\u2014a nation that escaped formal colonization, this study examines how colonial influence shaped its negotiations of identity through what I call\u00a0translational modernity<\/em>. Rather than direct subjugation, Siam engaged with colonial power through the strategic construction of cultural exteriority<\/em>: performing civility and modernity as a fa\u00e7ade to deflect Western accusations of barbarism and thus avoid colonization. Drawing on key moments in modern Thai literature, this paper argues that Thailand\u2019s decolonial imperative is rooted not in the recovery of a lost interiority, but in the dismantling of the colonial fa\u00e7ades it once constructed. In this sense, decolonization becomes an act of decolonizing the fa\u00e7ades<\/em>.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Short Bio:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Phrae Chittiphalangsri is Associate Professor of Translation Studies at CCTI, Chulalongkorn University, Thailand. She is IATIS\u2019 Co- Vice President and serves on New Voices in Translation Studies\u2019 editorial board. Her most recent work is Of Peninsulas and Archipelagos: the Landscape of Translation in Southeast Asia<\/em>\u00a0(2024), co-edited with Vicente Rafael.<\/p>\n

Prof. Guo Ting (The Chinese University of Hong Kong)<\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Beyond De-Westernization: A Double Decolonial Approach<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

This paper critically appraises the imposing legacy and persisting tendency to primarily focus on de-westernization in prevalent decolonial discourses. Instead, I call into attention an often-neglected issue, namely internal, non-Western forms of colonialism and coloniality and its tacit collaboration with Western and global forces in Asia\u2019s historical, social, and political complexities. Such internal colonialism and coloniality can appropriate movements such as anti-Asian hate, postcolonial rhetoric, and ethnonationalistic sentiments, utilizing languages of victimhood in the US\/Western-dominated international order while conveniently masking their own violence and hegemony. This paper calls for the importance of a double-decolonial epistemology to revisit the intellectual and political history that created such neglect of non-western colonialism and coloniality and highlight events, peoples, and voices that are often neglected in the West but also suppressed in Asia, transforming western-centric critiques in decolonial discussions.<\/p>\n

Short Bio:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Ting Guo (she\/her) specialises in religion, politics, and gender in transnational Asia. She is the author of Religion, Secularism, and Love as a Political Discourse in Modern China<\/em>\u00a0(2025) and co-editor of special issue Religion and Social Movements in Hong Kong in the Journal of Asian Studies.<\/p>\n

Moderator:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Prof. Elmo GONZAGA (The Chinese University of Hong Kong)<\/strong><\/p>\n

The talk will be conducted in English.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Organized by the MA in Intercultural Studies Programme, CUHK<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Enquiry: issacli@cuhk.edu.hk<\/a> \/ helenachung@cuhk.edu.hk<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t
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<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Time: <\/strong>Oct 8 (Wed), 2025, 2:30 pm<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Venue: <\/strong>YC Liang Hall (LHC) G06<\/p>\n

Speakers:\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Prof. Melani Budianta (Universitas Indonesia)<\/strong><\/p>\n

Seventy years after the Bandung conference, which offered solidarity amongst Asia-Africa nations fighting against Western colonialization, the world today is under the grip of global capitalism. What are the possibilities and limits of Asian Humanities in reclaiming a critical space to offer a more humane world through transborder solidarity? The presentation will discuss an experiment of Global South commoning in Documenta-15, Kassel, Germany (2022) which introduces the concept of lumbung <\/em>as collective governance, work and sharing. Another case is the Critical Island Studies initiative, which foreground islandic and archipelagic perspective against continental thrust. The paper argues that such collaboration amongst Asian humanities could potentially carve \u201cthird spaces\u201d within the neoliberal hegemony. Given existing challenges, however, the spread and sustainability of such spaces need the critical intervention of the humanities into the dominant local and global framework. It requires a continuous cross generation and transdisciplinary work and multi-layered strategies.<\/p>\n

Short bio:
<\/strong>
Melani Budianta is an intellectual\/activist working on cultural commoning in rural\/urban kampungs. Previously Professor of Literature and Cultural Studies at the Universitas Indonesia, she is now member of the Cultural Commission, Indonesian Academy of Sciences.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Prof. Phrae Chittiphalangsri (Chulalongkorn University)<\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Decolonizing the Fa\u00e7ades: re-investigating cultural exteriority, translational modernity and colonial self-identification from a Thai perspective<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

This paper explores the notion of exteriority <\/em>as a foundational condition of discursive representation\u2014defined not by an inner essence or unified authorial intent, but by what Foucault (1984) calls \u201cexternal conditions of existence.\u201d In Orientalism <\/em>(1978), Edward Said articulates a paradox in which the West seeks to \u2018inwardly grasping\u2019 the Orient through acts of \u201ctranslation\u201d that simultaneously maintain its external positionality. This tension between internal subjectification and external discursivization marks a critical locus of colonial power, where hierarchies are constructed and contested.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Focusing on Siam\u2014modern-day Thailand\u2014a nation that escaped formal colonization, this study examines how colonial influence shaped its negotiations of identity through what I call\u00a0translational modernity<\/em>. Rather than direct subjugation, Siam engaged with colonial power through the strategic construction of cultural exteriority<\/em>: performing civility and modernity as a fa\u00e7ade to deflect Western accusations of barbarism and thus avoid colonization. Drawing on key moments in modern Thai literature, this paper argues that Thailand\u2019s decolonial imperative is rooted not in the recovery of a lost interiority, but in the dismantling of the colonial fa\u00e7ades it once constructed. In this sense, decolonization becomes an act of decolonizing the fa\u00e7ades<\/em>.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Short Bio:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Phrae Chittiphalangsri is Associate Professor of Translation Studies at CCTI, Chulalongkorn University, Thailand. She is IATIS\u2019 Co- Vice President and serves on New Voices in Translation Studies\u2019 editorial board. Her most recent work is Of Peninsulas and Archipelagos: the Landscape of Translation in Southeast Asia<\/em>\u00a0(2024), co-edited with Vicente Rafael.<\/p>\n

Prof. Guo Ting (The Chinese University of Hong Kong)<\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Beyond De-Westernization: A Double Decolonial Approach<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

This paper critically appraises the imposing legacy and persisting tendency to primarily focus on de-westernization in prevalent decolonial discourses. Instead, I call into attention an often-neglected issue, namely internal, non-Western forms of colonialism and coloniality and its tacit collaboration with Western and global forces in Asia\u2019s historical, social, and political complexities. Such internal colonialism and coloniality can appropriate movements such as anti-Asian hate, postcolonial rhetoric, and ethnonationalistic sentiments, utilizing languages of victimhood in the US\/Western-dominated international order while conveniently masking their own violence and hegemony. This paper calls for the importance of a double-decolonial epistemology to revisit the intellectual and political history that created such neglect of non-western colonialism and coloniality and highlight events, peoples, and voices that are often neglected in the West but also suppressed in Asia, transforming western-centric critiques in decolonial discussions.<\/p>\n

Short Bio:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Ting Guo (she\/her) specialises in religion, politics, and gender in transnational Asia. She is the author of Religion, Secularism, and Love as a Political Discourse in Modern China<\/em>\u00a0(2025) and co-editor of special issue Religion and Social Movements in Hong Kong in the Journal of Asian Studies.<\/p>\n

Moderator:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Prof. Elmo GONZAGA (The Chinese University of Hong Kong)<\/strong><\/p>\n

The talk will be conducted in English.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Organized by the MA in Intercultural Studies Programme, CUHK<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Enquiry: issacli@cuhk.edu.hk<\/a> \/ helenachung@cuhk.edu.hk<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u00a0 Time: Oct 8 (Wed), 2025, 2:30 pm Venue: YC Liang Hall (LHC) G06 Those who register will be sent a link to the Zoom session before the event. Registration: https:\/\/cloud.itsc.cuhk.edu.hk\/mycuform\/view.php?id=3618369 Speakers:\u00a0 Prof. Melani Budianta (Universitas Indonesia) Seventy years after the Bandung conference, which offered solidarity amongst Asia-Africa nations fighting against Western colonialization, the world […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":5445,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[],"tmauthors":[],"class_list":["post-5430","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-public-lectures"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ccs.crs.cuhk.edu.hk\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5430","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ccs.crs.cuhk.edu.hk\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ccs.crs.cuhk.edu.hk\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ccs.crs.cuhk.edu.hk\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ccs.crs.cuhk.edu.hk\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5430"}],"version-history":[{"count":13,"href":"https:\/\/ccs.crs.cuhk.edu.hk\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5430\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5446,"href":"https:\/\/ccs.crs.cuhk.edu.hk\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5430\/revisions\/5446"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ccs.crs.cuhk.edu.hk\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5445"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ccs.crs.cuhk.edu.hk\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5430"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ccs.crs.cuhk.edu.hk\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5430"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ccs.crs.cuhk.edu.hk\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5430"},{"taxonomy":"tmauthors","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ccs.crs.cuhk.edu.hk\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tmauthors?post=5430"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}