UB’s Asian Studies Program and Asia Research Institute will co-host the 2024 New York Conference on Asian Studies (NYCAS) Sept. 27-28 at the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences on the Downtown Campus.

A regional conference of the Association for Asian Studies, NYCAS offers an annual opportunity for scholars across New York State and beyond to present and discuss their research and learn about recent developments in the field of Asian studies.

This year’s conference theme is Life in the Asian Century; participants are invited to reflect on the transformations, opportunities and challenges of the “Asian Century” now that we are nearly one-quarter of the way into it.

Highlights of this year’s conference include keynote addresses by Kaiser Kuo, co-founder and host of the Sinica podcast, former director of international communications at Baidu (China’s leading search engine) and co-founder and lead guitarist of the Chinese heavy metal band Tang Dynasty, and Hyaeweol Choi, Stanley Family and Korea Foundation Chair professor in Korean Studies at the University of Iowa and president of the Association for Asian Studies.

The conference will feature 35 panel and roundtable sessions, with participants representing a wide range of disciplines, including history, literature, economics, political science, gender studies and music; their work focuses on the countries and regions of East, Southeast and South Asia. UB is well-represented, with panel and roundtable presentations by 12 faculty members and 11 graduate and undergraduate students.

Other conference activities include a teacher workshop on “The History of Medicine in Asia” led by Yan Liu, UB associate professor of history, and a performance by the Indian fusion band Family Funktion and the Sitar Jams at 42 North Brewing’s 42N at The Flats, 674 Main St., next to Shea’s.

The conference is free for UB students, faculty and staff. Advanced registration is required. 

A detailed schedule is available on the conference’s website.