GPASC2025 Conference Schedule (revised as of April 23)

GPASC2025

Greater Philadelphia Asian Studies Consortium

Annual Undergraduate Research Conference

Saturday, April 26, 2025

Ursinus College, Olin Hall

SCHEDULE UPDATED AS OF APRIL 23

Coffee and Registration: 8:30am

VR Presentation available in Olin 103 from 8:30-9 and between panels

The location of the VR Presentation during lunchtime and after the keynote will be announced when confirmed

ALL PANELS WILL BE HELD IN OLIN HALL ROOM 108

PANEL A: 9:00-10:00

• Michael Giammasi (Thomas Jefferson University)

• Shofuso & Utsushi: The Japanese House Past, Present, and Future

• Krystal Diaz (University of Delaware)

• Tokyo Ghoul: Contextualizing Social Pollution through Identity

• Sebastian Bonilla (Swarthmore College)

• From Classical Waka to Contemporary Rap: The Poetics of Food Across Language and Cuture

PANEL B: 10:15-11:30 (note time change)

• Kiki Hu (Swarthmore College)

• Framing Harmony: Ethnicity, Gender, and Visual Power in Manchukuo Cinema

• Zhao Gu Gammage (Haverford College)

• Constructing China – MENA Relations in Chinese Cold War Propaganda Posters

• Cameron Cardona (St. Joseph’s University)

• The Devadasi System and Brahmanical Patriarchy

• Ariana Zablah (St. Joseph’s University)

• Evaluating External Factors and Third-Party Actors’ Influence in the Development and Empowerment of Girls in Pakistan

PANEL C: 11:45-1:00 (note time change)

• Lisa Taki Carter (University of Delaware)

• Japan and the Decline of the Liberal International Order

• Astrid Bemis-Driscoll (Haverford College)

• Lessons from COVID-19: How Pandemic Responses Help Us Assess the Future of Surveillance Systems in 21st Century China

• Austin Helmer (St. Joseph’s University

• The Significance of the Aga Khan to the Nizari Shia Muslim Community in India

• James C. Singleton (St. Joseph’s University)

• How Dalit People Mentally Experience Caste 

VR Presentation (available during lunch and at times noted above)

• Jiovani Santiago and Kazi Morshed (Penn State University, Abington College)

• China VR: People, Places, & Spaces  

LUNCHEON & KEYNOTE: 1:00-2:45 (Wismer Center, Upper Dining, Faculty/Staff Dining Room)

• Please sign in at the desk at the entrance of the cafeteria

• Our luncheon will be in the Faculty/Staff Dining Room (to the left as you enter the cafeteria in Wismer Center)

• Please choose your lunch from all the available options

• After lunch, please take your dishes, etc., to the dish station

KEYNOTE PRESENTATION (approx. 1:45 pm)

DR. NORA SUGGS

Exploring the Shakuhachi (Japanese Flute)

Dr. Nora Suggs is a graduate of Rice University and Baylor College of Medicine. She performs, teaches and records on the shakuhachi, and has earned her Jun Shihan  and Shihan certifications, and the Japanese performance name Nohraku, from Dai-Shihan James Nyoraku Schlefer in NYC. She has also studied with Dai-Shihan Kurahashi Yodo II of Kyoto and Dai-Shihan Dr. Riley Lee of Australia. She also plays Western flute and performs both instruments with the group Satori, which she directs, as well as in other configurations. 

AWARDS FOR OUTSTANDING CONFERENCE PRESENTATIONS WILL BE ANNOUNCED AFTER THE KEYNOTE PRESENTATION

WE HAVE JUST LEARNED THAT A LARGE EVENT WILL ALSO BE TAKING PLACE IN OLIN HALL. PLEASE NOTE THAT YOU MAY BE DIRECTED TO PARKING IN LOTS OTHER THAN THE ONE I MENTIONED BELOW. THERE ARE MANY MAPS ON CAMPUS TO HELP DIRECT YOU TO OLIN HALL. 

ACCESS: Ursinus College is located at 601 E. Main St., Collegeville PA 19468

For your reference, the Campus Safety phone number is 610-409-3333

MAPS & DIRECTIONS are available at this link:

https://www.ursinus.edu/about/maps-directions/

A printable map is here: 

https://www.ursinus.edu/about/maps-directions/printable-campus-map/

Olin Hall is #4 on this detail from the printable map.

You may park in Visitor Parking (to the left and above #1, Schellhase Commons), or in the Corson Lot (to the right of #2, Corson Hall). If you have time after the conference, you are welcome to visit the Berman Museum of Art (#3, free admission).