Asia Rising

It’s been four years since the Myanmar government was overthrown in a military coup, with the promise of a swift election never eventuating. Since that time the public sentiment has soured and resistance has grown, and a long civil war is being fought within its borders.

Guest: Hunter Marston (PhD candidate, Coral Bell School of Asia Pacific Affairs, Australian National University and an Adjunct Research Fellow at La Trobe Asia)

Recorded on Friday 24th January, 2025.

Its been more than 70 years since China annexed Tibet, and in that time there has been a noticeable decrease in political representation. There has been an increasing centralisation of power by Han Chinese officials, undercutting Tibetan representation in key political and administrative roles, and it’s a trend that has only accelerated under the leadership of Xi Jinping.

Guests:

Professor James Leibold (Politics at La Trobe University)

Dr Devendra Kumar (Associate Fellow, Centre of Excellence for Himalayan Studies, Shiv Nadar Institution of Eminence)

Recorded 27th November, 2024.

Many countries struggle with gender inequality, but in Japan the problem is pronounced. The gender pay gap is at 22%, and women face a number of related issues, including precarious and subordinate positions in the labour market, and the sexual exploitation in the entertainment industry.

Voices from the Contemporary Japanese Feminist Movement by Emma Dalton and Caroline Norma (Palgrave Macmillan, 2022)

Guest: Dr Caroline Norma (Senior Lecturer, Interpreting and Translating, RMIT)

Host: Dr Emma Dalton (Senior Lecturer, Japanese Studies, La Trobe University)

Recorded on 11th December, 2024.

Tibet and the Tibetan Plateau are well-known as the home of an important religious and philosophical tradition, Tibetan Buddhism. However, we tend to pay less attention to the lived experiences and llfeways of the Indigenous peoples who live with this singular environment and their achievements and challenges. So how does the state education address Indigenous knowledge and that which the people get from the land itself?

Guest: Dr Tashi Dekyid Monet (School of Education and Human Development, University of Virginia)

Host: Assoc Professor Ruth Gamble (Deputy Director, La Trobe Asia)

Recorded on 30th October, 2024.

There are dozens of minority languages spoken in Tibet, but that number is currently collapsing under assimilatory state policies. An increasing number of families in these communities are now passing on Tibetan or Chinese, in the hope of accessing better opportunities in education and employment.

What are the systems at work that restrict and devalue minority languages in Tibet? How can global advocacy networks acknowledge the issue, and what radical changes are needed to address this crisis?

The launch of The Politics of Language Oppression in Tibet by Gerald Roche, published by Cornell University Press.

Panel:

Recorded on 15th November, 2024

Donald Trump has won the 2024 Unites States election. So what will his return to the White House mean for the Asian region?

Guest:

Professor Bec Strating (Director, La Trobe Asia)

Recorded on 11th November, 2024.

What does "Indigeneity" mean in Asia? For many in these communities, an Indigenous identity can represent a way to strengthen community identities, encourage language and cultural flourishing, highlight their ancestral relationships to land and water, and push back against large states’ attempts to minoritise them.

What are the benefits and challenges of using the term in Asia? What does the grassroots enthusiasm for the term “Indigenous” and top-down restraints on its use mean for our understanding of Indigeneity more broadly? And how could recognising Asian Indigenous groups shape diplomacy and aid programs?

Speakers:

Recorded on 30th October, 2024.

After more than 70 years of Chinese rule, much has changed in Tibet, and one notable decline is that of language diversity. There are currently around sixty minority languages spoken in Tibet, in some cases by just a few thousand people, but that number is collapsing under assimilatory state policies.

Book: The Politics of Language Oppression in Tibet by Gerald Roche, published by Cornell University Press.

Guest: Assoc. Professor Gerald Roche (Politics, La Trobe University)

Recorded on 17th October, 2024.

The Ganges River, a lifeline for millions and one of the most significant and sacred rivers in the world, faces a multitude of seemingly intractable environmental challenges.

One of the most innovative ways of both researching and shifting attitudes on the Ganges is through Citizen Science, bringing scientists and communities together to learn more about the world around them.

Guests:

Host:

Recorded on 17th October, 2024.

For centuries the western world has enjoyed an outsized global influence, but is that time coming to an end? In demographic, economic, military and cultural terms, we are hurtling into a far more diverse global future.

Guest:

Dr Samir Putri (Former UK diplomat, visiting lecturer at the Department of War Studies at the Kings College London)

Samir's book: Westlessness: The Great Global Rebalancing

Recorded 10th September, 2024.