Program


Urban Futures in Asia: Aspiration, Speculation, Contention
Harvard University April 24-25, 2015


FRIDAY, APRIL 24

9:00-9:30     BREAKFAST, S030 Doris and Ted Lee Gathering Room

9:30-10:30     OPENING REMARKS, S020 Belfer Case Study Room


Nicholas Harkness, Assistant Professor of Anthropology, Harvard University


Arthur Kleinman, Esther and Sidney Rabb Professor of Anthropology, Professor of Medical Anthropology and Professor of Psychiatry and Victor and William Fung Director of the Asia Center, Harvard University

Carter Eckert, Yoon Se Young Professor of Korean History and Acting Director of the Korea Institute, Harvard University

Ajantha Subramanian, Professor of Anthropology and Director of the Social Anthropology Program, Harvard University


10:30-11:30     KEYNOTE LECTURE, S020 Belfer Case Study Room

The Future of Utopia
Peter van der Veer, Director of the Max Planck Institute for the Study of Religious and Ethnic Diversity and Distinguished University Professor at Utrecht University


11:30-12:30    LUNCH, S030 Doris and Ted Lee Gathering Room

12:30-2:30    PLANNING, PROJECTS, ZONES, S020 Belfer Case Study Room

Urban Aspiration and the Rubble of Displacement: Understanding the Allure of Eviction in Ho Chi Minh City’s Thu Thiem New Urban Zone

Erik Harms, Associate Professor of Anthropology, Yale University

City as Project(ion): Shenzhen as Zone and City

Jonathan Bach, Associate Professor of International Affairs, The New School

Temporality of Facts on the Ground: Building and Regulating Religious Structures in South Asia
Matthew Hull, Associate Professor of Anthropology, University of Michigan

Discussant

Li Zhang, Professor and Chair of Anthropology, University of California Davis


2:30-3:00    REFRESHMENTS, S030 Doris and Ted Lee Gathering Room

3:00-5:00    MATERIALIZING URBAN RELIGION, S020 Belfer Case Study Room

Sonic Aspirations and Atmospheres in Shi‘i Mumbai
Patrick Eisenlohr, Professor for Society and Culture of Modern India, University of Göttingen

Umma in Seoul: The Making of Symbolic Spaces in Islamic Central Masjid of Seoul
Doyoung Song, Professor of Anthropology, Hanyang University

Dividends of American Missionary Capitalism in Korea
Angie Heo, Research Fellow, Max Planck Institute for the Study of Religious and Ethnic Diversity

Discussant
Kenneth Dean, Professor and Head of Chinese Studies, National University of Singapore


5:00-6:00    RECEPTION, CGIS South Concourse


SATURDAY, APRIL 25

9:00-9:30     BREAKFAST, S030 Doris and Ted Lee Gathering Room

9:30-11:30    ECONOMIES OF SPECULATION, S020 Belfer Case Study Room

Speculative Futures: Transience and Calculability among the Urban Precariat in Jakarta, Indonesia
Doreen Lee, Assistant Professor of Anthropology, Northeastern University

Gold and Financialization in Ho Chi Minh City
Allison Truitt, Associate Professor of Anthropology, Tulane University

Precarious Detachment: Youth and Modes of Operating in the Contemporary City
AbdouMaliq Simone, Research Professor, Max Planck Institute for the Study of Religious and Ethnic Diversity

Discussant

Judith Farquhar, Max Palevsky Professor of Anthropology and of Social Sciences, University of Chicago


11:30-12:30    LUNCH, S030 Doris and Ted Lee Gathering Room

12:30-2:30    RELIGION, SECULARISM, AND URBAN IDENTITY, S020 Belfer Case Study Room

Secular Therapy and Religious Healing in Seoul Temples
Florence Galmiche, Assistant Professor of East Asian Studies, Paris Diderot University

Queer Activism and Postsecular Geopolitics in South Korea
Ju Hui Judy Han, Assistant Professor of Human Geography, University of Toronto

Becoming City Buddhists: The Followers of the Jungto Society in South Korea
Hyun Mee Kim, Professor of Anthropology, Yonsei University

Discussant
Laurel Kendall, Division Chair and Curator, Division of Anthropology, Professor, Richard Gilder Graduate School, Museum of Natural History


2:30-3:00    REFRESHMENTS, S030 Doris and Ted Lee Gathering Room

3:00-5:00    URBAN TEMPORALITIES, S020 Belfer Case Study Room

Speculative Past: The Political Economy of Redemption in Northeast China
Yukiko Koga, Assistant Professor of Anthropology, CUNY, Hunter College and Academy Scholar, Harvard Academy for International and Area Studies
 
Sublime Urban Aspiration in a Divided Nation
Jin-heon Jung, Research Fellow, Max Planck Institute for the Study of Religious and Ethnic Diversity

Urban Futures as Mnemonic Technology and Politics
Daniel Goh, Associate Professor of Sociology, National University of Singapore

Discussant    
Michael Herzfeld, Ernest E. Monrad Professor of the Social Sciences, Department of Anthropology, Harvard University


5:00-6:00    DISCUSSANTS ROUNDTABLE, S020 Belfer Case Study Room

Kenneth Dean, Professor and Head of Chinese Studies, National University of Singapore

Judith Farquhar, Max Palevsky Professor of Anthropology and of Social Sciences, University of Chicago

Michael Herzfeld, Ernest E. Monrad Professor of the Social Sciences, Department of Anthropology, Harvard University

Laurel Kendall, Division Chair and Curator, Division of Anthropology, Professor, Richard Gilder Graduate School, Museum of Natural History

Li Zhang, Professor and Chair of Anthropology, University of California Davis

Chair
Peter van der Veer, Director of the Max Planck Institute for the Study of Religious and Ethnic Diversity and Distinguished University Professor at Utrecht University


6:00-7:00    RECEPTION, CGIS South Concourse