By Ronald Castillo, PhD student, National Chengchi University, Taiwan
Ronald Castillo shares his experiences of ASEAS’s first International PhD Workshop, which took place from 21-22 May 2024 at Universitas Brawijaya, Malang, Indonesia.
Apprentices leave their masters and undertake a journey to perfect their craft and eventually become masters themselves. I was walking across a rocky field in my PhD journey when a former student and now a friend shared the call for papers for the ASEAS 2024 PhD Workshop. Hosted by Universitas Brawijaya and sponsored by the University of Leads, this workshop, facilitated by members of the Association for Southeast Asian Studies, intrigued me through its call. The call for participants did not focus on one particular theme but on Southeast Asia. More so, the workshop was structured to help PhD students, both current and aspiring, to craft or develop their dissertation material. These, plus seeing the pool of advisers, encouraged me to apply.
It was a busy day for my flight to Indonesia. The day was my university’s birthday, and I hosted the annual forum of the Association of Filipino Scholars in Taiwan. That afternoon, the journey took me from National Chengchi University in Taiwan to my home country of Manila for a flight transfer to Jakarta and, from there, to Malang – home of Universitas Brawijaya. The flight crew was already worried for me in Taipei due to the sudden flight management software glitch at Manila’s airport. The constant agitation I am supposed to feel gets quashed by the thought that I need to be in this workshop. I looked out the plane’s window during my first flight, and as the day transitioned to dusk, I saw an impressive horizon.
Due to the flight glitch, I arrived at Universitas Brawijaya a day late, with missing luggage but ready for the day’s sessions. I was fortunate to catch up with presentations from Zhiyi and Hazirah, who discussed topics and areas related to my research. Zhiyi’s research was on urban mobilities and technology applied to transportation. Hazirah used ethnography on palliative care within a necropolitical state. Mine is about gendered digital socialization focusing on Boys Love, which aired on YouTube’s social TV. My session advisers were each present in Zhiyi’s and Hazirah’s sessions. Each session’s structure included the student’s presentation, guidance from each of the two assigned advisers, advice from the two student co-presenters, and feedback from any student attending the session. As I listened throughout, I realized that I crossed a horizon and had come to a home.
Each of the two days featured plenary workshops. The first day was on careers for PhDs, and the second was on publishing. While these plenaries occurred after the lunch break, the advisers maintained the energy through interactive discussions with the participants. There is no time wasted. The parallel sessions observed time limits per presenter or commentator. However, beyond the structure of time, the curated topics were interesting enough that each room always had its slew of attendees, and each participant was in the spirit to learn and share ideas.
Professor Prischa from Universitas Brawijaya skillfully coordinated the various arrival logistics with us participants, accommodating my late arrival due to prior commitments, and ensuring my session would be on the second day to avoid managing any mishaps. I belonged to a parallel session where my fellow presenters and I discussed gendered topics, mainly focusing on LGBTQIA+. I laud the gender sensitivity and inclusivity of ASEAS for opening this particular space for us. We had a rich and lively discussion with a full table of attendees. An important takeaway for me here is that I found my voice. My co-presenters, Kiel and Francis, wrote such written manuscripts with clarity. The advisers, Professors May and Milda, gave a balanced set of compliments and points for improvement, to which the other participants also added their insights. All of these helped me recover my voice and now help me polish my dissertation proposal.
Francis explored rurality and Philippine queer studies, while Kiel delved into historical primary manuscripts on gender and sexual diversity, and I discussed Boys Love media as a space of socializing gendered acceptance. Little did I know that as I took my second flight transfer the day after, I could come by some Boys Love novels sold in Jakarta. My photos add to my collection of Boys Love markets around Southeast Asia.
I hope to defend my proposal by next month, and this journey equipped me with the means to address what I need to polish in my manuscript. Thank you, ASEAS, Universitas Brawijaya, and the University of Leeds, for opening these horizons for us PhD Journeymen. For one, I can say to my dissertation committee that I have participated in a worthwhile event that nourishes my academic growth. Moreover, this 2024 PhD workshop created new networks and linkages with new friends I encountered in this two-day event. I became an ASEAS member for this workshop and will continue my membership over the years. Maraming salamat po!
Photo credits are from my camera and fellow workshop participants Brian Doce and Carla Cuadro.
ASEAS 