UPCIS At 25
The UPCIS on its 25th year
The UPCIS on its 25th year
The entire text: On 10 October 2025, the UP Center for International Studies (UPCIS) formally marked its 25th year of founding.
The UPCIS was established through the UP Board of Regents with a mandate to be “a leading source of knowledge of the countries of the world to enable the Filipino to gain access to this knowledge and meaningfully relate to the outside world.” Since then, the Center has exemplified its interdisciplinary and global aspirations through its academic, extension, and research work.
To date, the Center offers general and elective courses to the University’s undergraduate students. Its Southeast Asian Emporiums 30 or SEA 30 is its most in-demand General Education course which enjoys consistent demand among students. It also offers elective courses on Japan Studies and the recently institutionalized Korea Studies which were conceptualized as interdisciplinary academic courses, much like SEA 30, that would cover various aspects of Japan and Korea and how the Filipino relates to these East Asian countries. The UPCIS Global Studies 197 course or GS 197 has been offering a range of interesting topics that are developed and redeveloped every semester. It includes courses on Japanese Traditional Performance Practices – Noh; Japanese Traditional Performance Practices – Bunraku; Global Gastronomy: Exploring the Universe of Food; A Bite of China: An Introduction to Chinese Culture and Society; Where Continents Connect: Mediterranean Cultures and Societies; Palestinian Justice, Settler-colonialism and State Violence Across the Globe; and even Cultures of Disaster: COVID-19. The GS 197 course was initiated to address the expanding interest of students on world issues as well as to serve as a “course incubator.”
To date, the Center offers general and elective courses to the University’s undergraduate students. Its Southeast Asian Emporiums 30 or SEA 30 is its most in-demand General Education course which enjoys consistent demand among students. It also offers elective courses on Japan Studies and the recently institutionalized Korea Studies which were conceptualized as interdisciplinary academic courses, much like SEA 30, that would cover various aspects of Japan and Korea and how the Filipino relates to these East Asian countries. The UPCIS Global Studies 197 course or GS 197 has been offering a range of interesting topics that are developed and redeveloped every semester. It includes courses on Japanese Traditional Performance Practices – Noh; Japanese Traditional Performance Practices – Bunraku; Global Gastronomy: Exploring the Universe of Food; A Bite of China: An Introduction to Chinese Culture and Society; Where Continents Connect: Mediterranean Cultures and Societies; Palestinian Justice, Settler-colonialism and State Violence Across the Globe; and even Cultures of Disaster: COVID-19. The GS 197 course was initiated to address the expanding interest of students on world issues as well as to serve as a “course incubator.”
The Center has also enjoyed fruitful collaborations with international university partners particularly with its Japanese counterparts, Yokohama National University, Ferris University, and Japan Women’s University. These collaborations produced multiple international student, faculty, and staff exchanges between the Philippines and Japan since 2011 particularly programmed under the Center’s active East and Southeast Asian Studies Division. More university partnerships are currently being pursued by the Center in Asia, Europe, and Latin America that will further contribute to its academics, research, and extension plans.
To date, the Center offers general and elective courses to the University’s undergraduate students. Its Southeast Asian Emporiums 30 or SEA 30 is its most in-demand General Education course which enjoys consistent demand among students. It also offers elective courses on Japan Studies and the recently institutionalized Korea Studies which were conceptualized as interdisciplinary academic courses, much like SEA 30, that would cover various aspects of Japan and Korea and how the Filipino relates to these East Asian countries. The UPCIS Global Studies 197 course or GS 197 has been offering a range of interesting topics that are developed and redeveloped every semester. It includes courses on Japanese Traditional Performance Practices – Noh; Japanese Traditional Performance Practices – Bunraku; Global Gastronomy: Exploring the Universe of Food; A Bite of China: An Introduction to Chinese Culture and Society; Where Continents Connect: Mediterranean Cultures and Societies; Palestinian Justice, Settler-colonialism and State Violence Across the Globe; and even Cultures of Disaster: COVID-19. The GS 197 course was initiated to address the expanding interest of students on world issues as well as to serve as a “course incubator.”
The Center’s extension work also records an expansive, vibrant, and productive collaboration with both international and local universities and institutions that produced conferences, symposia, public lectures, round-table discussions, film showings, open fora, and performances involving the Center’s students, faculty, and staff. The Center has also published its growing research outputs notably the Festchrift dedicated to its founding director, former Dean of the College of Social Sciences and Philosophy Dr. Consuelo Joaquin-Paz†. Today, it maintains a yearly forum that aims to showcase the learnings and takeaways of its undergraduate students from their international student exchange experiences in Japan with the Center’s partner universities, namely the Beyond Borders program.
To celebrate the Center’s 25 years, a series of activities was conducted. These included lectures on China and Palestine on January 27, “Yokohama in the Asian Independence Movement” on February 11, “Social Well-Being Among Older Migrants in Non-highly Urbanized Areas of South Korea” on February 17, “When do we Cooperate? Insights from Disaster Recovery” on March 6, “Negotiating Research Ethics in Volatile Contexts” on March 10, performance of “Nihon Buyo: Traditional Japanese Arts” on March 14,“A Quest for Aswang: A Foreigner’s Approach to the Filipino Legendary Monster in Horror Movie” with the serials launch ‘Beyond Borders’ by the 2023 UPCIS-Short Stay Visit Participants on May 6, Korean Dance and Bunraku Recital Performance on July 31, “Capitalism at its Limit: Eco-imperial Tensions contested crisis politics and solidarity perspectives – a view from Europe” on September 5, “Philippine Gastronomy: Understanding and Valorizing our Cuisine” on September 12, and SalinAwit Concert on September 30.
To celebrate the Center’s 25 years, a series of activities was conducted. These included lectures on China and Palestine on January 27, “Yokohama in the Asian Independence Movement” on February 11, “Social Well-Being Among Older Migrants in Non-highly Urbanized Areas of South Korea” on February 17, “When do we Cooperate? Insights from Disaster Recovery” on March 6, “Negotiating Research Ethics in Volatile Contexts” on March 10, performance of “Nihon Buyo: Traditional Japanese Arts” on March 14,
“A Quest for Aswang: A Foreigner’s Approach to the Filipino Legendary Monster in Horror Movie” with the serials launch ‘Beyond Borders’ by the 2023 UPCIS-Short Stay Visit Participants on May 6, Korean Dance and Bunraku Recital Performance on July 31, “Capitalism at its Limit: Eco-imperial Tensions contested crisis politics and solidarity perspectives – a view from Europe” on September 5, “Philippine Gastronomy: Understanding and Valorizing our Cuisine” on September 12, and SalinAwit Concert on September 30.
The CIS’ 25 productive years, its initiated activities and its upcoming programs, would not have been possible without the invaluable support from the UP Office of the Chancellor, its main collaborating UP units and the team-teachers who have been part of its courses, its institutional friends from the Japanese Embassy in Manila, the Japan Foundation in Manila, the Embassy of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, the French and Spanish embassies, and all its colleagues from universities abroad.
Upcoming CIS activities in October include co-organizing fora and activities in solidarity with the Palestinian struggle for liberation. We firmly stand with Pro-Palestine Filipino writers, artists, and publishers in calling for a boycott of the Frankfurt Book Fair.
Finally, an international conference co-organized with the UP Asian Center and the DLSU Southeast Asia Research Center and Hub (SEARCH), “SEJIWA: The Spirit of Bandung at 70” to mark 70 years of the historic Bandung Conference in 1955 will be held this coming November 5-8. There will also be a year-end culminating activities on December 12.
Thank you for supporting the UPCIS. We look forward to seeing you in our future activities!
To celebrate the Center’s 25 years, a series of activities was conducted. These included lectures on China and Palestine on January 27, “Yokohama in the Asian Independence Movement” on February 11, “Social Well-Being Among Older Migrants in Non-highly Urbanized Areas of South Korea” on February 17, “When do we Cooperate? Insights from Disaster Recovery” on March 6, “Negotiating Research Ethics in Volatile Contexts” on March 10, performance of “Nihon Buyo: Traditional Japanese Arts” on March 14, “A Quest for Aswang: A Foreigner’s Approach to the Filipino Legendary Monster in Horror Movie” with the serials launch ‘Beyond Borders’ by the 2023 UPCIS-Short Stay Visit Participants on May 6, Korean Dance and Bunraku Recital Performance on July 31, “Capitalism at its Limit: Eco-imperial Tensions contested crisis politics and solidarity perspectives – a view from Europe” on September 5, “Philippine Gastronomy: Understanding and Valorizing our Cuisine” on September 12, and SalinAwit Concert on September 30.
