Society of Asian North American Christian Studies (SANACS)

Call for Papers

“Religion and Globalization in Asia: Prospects, Patterns, and Problems for the Coming Decade”
International Conference
University of San Francisco
San Francisco, CA (USA)
13-14 March 2009

Few scholars or policy makers twenty years ago could have imagined that the first decades of the 21st century would be a time of explosive and wide-spread religiosity. As modernity progressed and societies became more secular and democratic, religion was supposed to loosen its hold on the ways men and women envisioned their place in the world. On the contrary, the dynamics of globalization—such as communication technologies, immigration and migration, capital flows, transnationalism, and identity politics—have contributed to social conditions in which religious belief and practice not only survive but prosper and proliferate.

A growing body of scholarship and reportage has documented this phenomenon in the western hemisphere, but are these patterns applicable to Asia as well? With an estimated 300 million religious adherents in China (home also to the world’s fastest growing Christian population), the world’s largest and most diverse concentration of Muslims in Indonesia, and the rise of a more assertive and nationalistic Hinduism among India’s 1.3 billion people, the role of religion in globalizing processes in Asia requires sustained analysis and elucidation rather than a mention in passing.

The objective of this conference is to muster the intellectual resources and research of experts in a variety of fields to better understand the prospects, patterns, and problems of religion and globalization in Asian societies in the near future. As noted in the recent edited volume Religions/Globalizations, how can we better understand the dialectical tension of codependence and codeterminism between religion and globalization? With a focus on the populations of South and East Asia–densely concentrated, increasingly well-informed and technologically-sophisticated–the conference participants and its keynote speakers will reference and address the following questions and themes:

Prospects
- How can religious pluralism and tolerance be promoted and practiced?
- What social, economic, and political scenarios contribute to peaceful religious proliferation in Asia? - Can global trends and dynamics increase the range of choices for individuals to determine their own religious and cultural identities?

Patterns
- Are there identifiable characteristics for situations where religion is (or could become) a strategic political resource in Asian nations?
- How can we better understanding the codependent and codeterminative dynamics and patterns of religion and globalization?
- Does religious conservatism always compromise the more positive characteristics of globalization that are egalitarian, diverse, hybrid, and cosmopolitan?

Problems
- Are there substantial differences in how we regard religious fundamentalism in Asia and in western nations, especially concerning the belligerent kind that resorts to violence?
- Does the globalizing character of religion impede human rights in Asia?
- Are there regional conflicts that, aided by globalizing forces and religious ideologies, might grow into large-scale wars?

Conference Structure
Friday, the conference will start with a keynote lecture, then break for paper sessions. After lunch, a second paper session will follow, with a concluding lecture preceding a general reception.
Saturday will start with paper sessions, then conclude with a final lecture before lunch and adjournment.

Outcomes
The end result of the conference will be a strategically edited volume that will appeal to courses in history, religious studies, political science, sociology, anthropology, and cultural studies. We will also develop a website that summarizes the conference proceedings, details the key contributors and their work, and provides links to organizations and institutions that promote the study of globalization.

Keynote speakers
Mark Juergensmeyer (UC Santa Barbara)
Sassia Sasken (Columbia)
Nayan Chanda (Yale)

If you wish to present a paper, please submit a 200 word abstract and brief CV to John Nelson no later than August 30, 2008.

Each presenter will be awarded an honorarium of $350 to help defray travel and conference expenses.

Open registration for the conference will begin August 15 and end November 30, 2008. The total number of conference participants is limited to 120.

Contact:

John Nelson, Conference Chair
Department of Theology and Religious Studies
University of San Francisco
2130 Fulton St.
San Francisco, CA 94117
Phone: +1 (415) 422-5093
Fax: +1 (415) 422-5356
Email: nelsonj@usfca.edu
Web: http://www.pacificrim.usfca.edu/religionandglobalization.html

NeMLA 2009 Convention: The Voice of Southeast Asian Diaspora (2/26-3/1,  2009, Boston, MA)

This panel invites papers discussing the literature written by and about  Southeast Asian diaspora, including Vietnamese, Cambodians, Laotians,  Hmongs, Thais, and Burmese. We will be discussing how these diasporic  groups inscribe their North American experiences and sociopolitical  issues. Any disciplines and approaches are welcome: literary studies,  cultural studies, anthropology, history, sociology, psychology, and the  like.

Please send an abstract of 500 words and a brief bio in doc. or pdf.  format to Brian Guan-rong Chen at grc0930@yahoo.com.

Deadline: September 10, 2008

Please include with your abstract: Name and Affiliation, Email address,  Postal address, Telephone number, A/V requirements (if any; $10 handling  fee)

The complete Call for Papers for the 2009 Convention will be posted in  June: www.nemla.org. Interested participants may submit abstracts to more  than one NeMLA panel; however panelists can only present one paper.  Convention participants may present a paper at a panel or seminar and also  present at a creative session or participate in a roundtable.

Brian Guan-rong Chen
University of Texas at Arlington
English Department
503 W. Third St., Carlisle Hall #203
Arlington, TX 76019
TEL: 817-272-0966
Email: grc0930@yahoo.com

2008 East of California Conference:  A Movement to Look Back To
October 31, 2008 – November 1, 2008
The University of Connecticut, Storrs, Connecticut

ABSTRACTS DUE: Monday, June 30, 2008

Possible topics include, but are not limited to, the following:

•    Transnationalism & Cosmopolitanism
•    Demographic Shifts
•    Border studies
•    Cross-ethnic/racial collaborations and coalitions
•    Multi-disciplinary/inter-disciplinary collaborations and coalitions
•    Scholar-activist work, within and outside the academy
•    Civil Liberties and Civil Rights, before and after 9/11
•    Teaching in the 21st century
•    The state of “Asian America”
•    Asian American methodologies and epistemologies
•    Asian American visual cultures
•    The Asian American archive: what is it and where is it?

Requirements for Submission:

•    Roundtable: 1 page curriculum vitae; 1 page outline for 5-7 minute remarks
•    Panel:  1 page curriculum vitae per participant; 1 page panel abstract (500 words)
•    Individual paper:  1 page curriculum vitae; 1 page panel abstract (250 words)

Please send electronic copies of all materials to both Cathy Schlund-Vials (schlundvials@gmail.com) and Jennifer Ho (hojennifer@earthlink.net) by June 30, 2008.

* * *

In 1993, the East of California Conference was hosted by the recently formed Asian American Studies Institute at the University of Connecticut. Fifteen years later, the EOC conference returns to UConn. As the Asian American Studies Institute celebrates its fifteenth anniversary, the field of Asian American Studies also celebrates a significant moment in 2008. The title for this year’s conference, “A Movement to Look Back To,” signals the fortieth anniversary of the San Francisco State strike, which facilitated the emergence of Ethnic Studies and Asian American Studies on the higher education landscape. The nature and tenor of Asian American Studies has altered dramatically, and the field is increasingly marked by multidisciplinary methodologies and interdisciplinary collaborations between Ethnic Studies programs and departments.
Mindful that Asian American Studies emerged out of an atmosphere of social justice and founded on both theory and practice, the conference organizers encourage individual papers, panel submissions and roundtable proposals that acknowledge the extent to which the field continues to grow and expand, both within and outside the institution of the academy and particularly East of California. Concomitantly, given the variegated nature of Asian American Studies, the conference organizers welcome proposals that actively engage contemporary considerations of Asian American cultural production, identity formation, aesthetics, and politics. The conference will be hosted by the Asian American Studies Institute at the University of Connecticut, Storrs, and will take place October 31 – November 1, 2008.

Registration for APARRI 2008 has begun!

2008.August.7-9
Pacific School of Religion, Berkeley, CA

2008 celebrates the tenth anniversary of the founding of the Asian Pacific American Religions Research Initiative. Our annual conference this year is an opportunity to look back over the achievements in Asian Pacific American religious studies during the past decade and to look forward to the new opportunities and challenges of the next ten years.

Fumitaka Matsuoka, Ph.D., Executive Director of the Institute for Leadership Development and Study of Pacific and Asian North American Religion (PANA Institute) will give the keynote address at Plenary I on Thursday evening Aug/7. The title of his presentation is “Crossing Boundaries: A Dim Sum Approach to the Question of Peoplehood.” (The Thursday evening events are free and open to the public, but registration is required.)

Plenary II on Friday afternoon Aug/8 will address the state of the field of APA religious studies from various disciplinary angles. And Plenary III on Saturday afternoon Aug/9, offered jointly with the Center for Lesbian and Gay Studies in Religion and Ministry at Pacific School of Religion, will address the voices and visibility of queer communities in APA religious studies. Concurrent sessions will showcase research-in-progress, and structured mentoring will be available for students and junior faculty members.

Call for Papers!

Concurrent sessions at APARRI are designed to offer participants occasions for sharing research and works-in-progress in interdisciplinary settings.

Conference attendees are encouraged to propose individual papers and organized panels on their current research. Concurrent Session Block A on Friday Aug/8 is pre-organized and will echo the main conference theme, while Concurrent Session Blocks B and C on Saturday August/9 are “open call,” and attendees are encouraged to propose presentations on any aspect of Asian Pacific American religion. More information and directions for submitting proposals are available at the main conference Web page at http://pana.psr.edu/aparri-2008

The Call for Papers for the 2008 East of California Conference has been extended to Monday, June 30, 2008. Please do consider sending in an abstract–if you have any questions, feel free to contact one of the EOC co-chairs (contact information listed below in the CFP).

========================

2008 East of California Conference: A Movement to Look Back To
October 31, 2008 – November 1, 2008
The University of Connecticut, Storrs, Connecticut

ABSTRACTS DUE: Monday, June 30, 2008

Possible topics include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Transnationalism & Cosmopolitanism
• Demographic Shifts
• Border studies
• Cross-ethnic/racial collaborations and coalitions
• Multi-disciplinary/inter-disciplinary collaborations and coalitions
• Scholar-activist work, within and outside the academy
• Civil Liberties and Civil Rights, before and after 9/11
• Teaching in the 21st century
• The state of “Asian America”
• Asian American methodologies and epistemologies
• Asian American visual cultures
• The Asian American archive: what is it and where is it?

Requirements for Submission:

• Roundtable: 1 page curriculum vitae; 1 page outline for 5-7 minute remarks
• Panel: 1 page curriculum vitae per participant; 1 page panel abstract (500 words)
• Individual paper: 1 page curriculum vitae; 1 page panel abstract (250 words)

Please send electronic copies of all materials to both Cathy Schlund-Vials (schlundvials@gmail.com) and Jennifer Ho (hojennifer@earthlink.net) by June 30, 2008.

The following helpful statistical information is courtesy of Don T. Nakanishi at the UCLA Asian American Studies Center. Link to: http://www.aasc.ucla.edu/archives/census2008portal.htm

The UCLA Asian American Studies Center, as an official U.S. Census Information Center (as a co-partner with National Coalition for Asian Pacific Community Development), is pleased to provide this 2008 statistical portrait of the Asian American and Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander populations produced by the US Census Bureau for Asian Pacific American Heritage Month, which will take place in May, 2008. The portrait provides current census data, population projections, and internet links that should be useful for research, planning, writing and general educational purposes. Please see the “Editor’s note” at the end of this announcement for more information. The first section provides information on “Asians,” while the second part highlights “Native Hawaiians and Other Pacific Islanders”.

Asians

14.9 million
The estimated number of U.S. residents in July 2006 who said they were Asian alone or Asian in combination with one or more other races. This group comprised about 5 percent of the total population.
Source: Population estimates <http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/releases/archives/population/010048.html >

5 million
The Asian population in California, the state that had the largest Asian population (either alone or in combination with one or more other races) on July 1, 2006, as well as the largest numerical increase from 2005 to 2006 (114,000). New York (1.4 million) and Texas (882,000) followed in population. Texas (43,000) and New York (34,000) followed in numerical increase. In Hawaii, Asians made up the highest proportion of the total population (56 percent), with California (14 percent) and New Jersey and Washington (8 percent each) next.
Source: Population estimates <http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/releases/archives/population/010048.html>

3.2%
Percentage growth of the Asian population (either alone or in combination with one or more other races) between 2005 and 2006, the highest of any race group during that time period. The increase in the Asian population during the period totaled 460,000.
Source: Population estimates <http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/releases/archives/population/010048.html>

3.6 million
Number of Asians of Chinese descent in the U.S. Chinese-Americans are the largest Asian group, followed by Filipinos (2.9 million), Asian Indians (2.7 million), Vietnamese (1.6 million), Koreans (1.5 million) and Japanese (1.2 million). These estimates represent the number of people who are either of a particular Asian group only or are of that group in combination with one or more other Asian groups or races.
Source: 2006 American Community Survey <http://factfinder.census.gov>

Education

49%
The percentage of single-race Asians 25 and older who have a bachelor’s degree or higher level of education. This compares with 27 percent for all Americans 25 and older.
Source: 2006 American Community Survey <http://factfinder.census.gov>

86%
The percentage of single-race Asians 25 and older who have at least a high school diploma. This compares with 84 percent for all Americans 25 and older.
Source: 2006 American Community Survey <http://factfinder.census.gov>

20%
The percentage of single-race Asians 25 and older who have a graduate (e.g., master’s or doctorate) or professional degree. This compares with 10 percent for all Americans 25 and older.
Source: 2006 American Community Survey <http://factfinder.census.gov>

The Asian population comprises many groups who differ in languages spoken and culture, which is reflected in the demographic characteristics of these groups. For instance, 69 percent of Asian Indians 25 and older had a bachelor’s degree or more education, and 36 percent had a graduate or professional degree. The corresponding numbers for Vietnamese-Americans were 26 percent and 7 percent, respectively. (These figures represent the single-race population. The percentage of Vietnamese-Americans who had a bachelor’s degree or higher was not significantly different from 27 percent, the percentage for all Americans.)
Source: 2006 American Community Survey <http://factfinder.census.gov>

Income, Poverty and Health Insurance

$64,238
Median household income for single-race Asians in 2006, the highest among all race groups.
Source: Income, Poverty, and Health Insurance Coverage in the United States: 2006 <http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/releases/archives/income_wealth/010583.html>

Median household income differed greatly by Asian group. For Asian Indians, for example, the median income in 2006 was $78,315; for Vietnamese-Americans, it was $52,299. (These figures represent the single-race population.)
Source: 2006 American Community Survey <http://factfinder.census.gov>

10.3%
Poverty rate for single-race Asians in 2006, statistically unchanged from 2005.
Source: Income, Poverty, and Health Insurance Coverage in the United States: 2006 <http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/releases/archives/income_wealth/010583.html>

15.5%
Percentage of single-race Asians without health insurance coverage in 2006, down from 17.2 percent in 2005.
Source: Income, Poverty, and Health Insurance Coverage in the United States: 2006 <http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/releases/archives/income_wealth/010583.html>

Businesses

Source for the statements referenced in this section, unless otherwise indicated: Asian-Owned Firms: 2002 <http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/ releases/archives/business_ownership/006814.html>

1.1 million
Number of businesses owned by Asian-Americans in 2002, up 24 percent from 1997. The rate of increase in the number of Asian-owned businesses was about twice that of the national average for all businesses.

More than $326 billion
Receipts of Asian-American-owned businesses in 2002, up 8 percent from 1997. An estimated 319,468 Asian-owned businesses had paid employees, and their receipts totaled more than $291 billion. There were 49,636 Asian-owned firms with receipts of $1 million or more, accounting for 4.5 percent of the total number of Asian-owned firms and nearly 68 percent of their total receipts.

In 2002, more than three in 10 Asian-owned firms operated in professional, scientific and technical services, as well as other services, such as personal services, and repair and maintenance.

2.2 million
Number of people employed by an Asian-owned business. There were 1,866 Asian-owned firms with 100 or more employees, generating nearly $52 billion in gross receipts (18 percent of the total revenue for Asian-owned employer firms).

46%
Percentage of all Asian-owned firms that was either Chinese owned or Asian Indian owned.

Nearly 6 in 10
Proportion of all Asian-owned firms in the United States in California, New York, Texas and New Jersey.

112,441
The number of Asian-owned firms in New York, which led all cities. Los Angeles (47,764) , Honolulu (22,348), and San Francisco (19,639) followed.

28%
Proportion of Asian-owned businesses that responded to the 2002 Survey of Business Owners that they were home based. This is the lowest proportion among minority respondent groups.
Source: Characteristics of Businesses: 2002 <http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/releases/archives/business_ownership/007537.html>

Languages

2.5 million
The number of people 5 and older who speak Chinese at home. After Spanish, Chinese is the most widely spoken non-English language in the country. Tagalog, Vietnamese and Korean are each spoken at home by more than 1 million people.
Source: 2006 American Community Survey <http://factfinder.census.gov>

Serving Our Nation

292,100
The number of single-race Asian military veterans. About one in three was 65 and older.
Source: 2006 American Community Survey <http://factfinder.census.gov>

Jobs

47%
The proportion of civilian employed single-race Asians 16 and older who work in management, professional and related occupations, such as financial managers, engineers, teachers and registered nurses. Additionally, 23 percent work in sales and office occupations, 16 percent in service occupations and 10 percent in production, transportation and material moving occupations.
Source: 2006 American Community Survey <http://factfinder.census.gov>

Counties

1.4 million
The number of Asians (alone or in combination with one or more other races) in Los Angeles County, Calif., in 2006, which tops the nation’s counties. Santa Clara County, Calif. (home of San Jose) was the runner-up (556,000).
Source: Population estimates <http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/releases/archives/population/010482.html>

17,600
Santa Clara County’s Asian population increase from 2005 to 2006, the largest in the nation. Los Angeles (15,700) followed.
Source: Population estimates <http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/releases/archives/population/010482.html>

59%
Percent of the population of Honolulu County, Hawaii, that was Asian in 2006, which led the country. One other county - Kauai, Hawaii - was also majority Asian. San Francisco County, Calif., led the continental United States, with 34 percent of its population Asian.
Source: Population estimates <http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/releases/archives/population/010482.html>

Age Distribution

35.2
Median age, of the single-race Asian population in 2006. The corresponding figure is 36.4 years for the population as a whole.
Source: 2006 American Community Survey <http://factfinder.census.gov>

The Future

33.4 million
The projected number of U.S. residents in 2050 who will identify themselves as single-race Asians. They would comprise 8 percent of the total population by that year.
Source: Population projections <http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/releases/archives/population/001720.html>

213%
The projected percentage increase between 2000 and 2050 in the population of people who identify themselves as single-race Asian. This compares with a 49 percent increase in the population as a whole over the same period of time.
Source: Population projections <http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/releases/archives/population/001720.html>

Native Hawaiians and Other Pacific Islanders

1 million
The estimated number of U.S. residents in July 2006 who said they are Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander, either alone or in combination with one or more other races. This group comprised 0.3 percent of the total population.
Source: Population estimates <http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/releases/archives/population/010048.html>

Hawaii had the largest population (275,000) in 2006 of Native Hawaiians and Other Pacific Islanders (either alone or in combination with one or more other races), followed by California (260,000) and Washington (49,000). California had the largest numerical increase (3,400) of people of this group, with Texas (2,000) and Florida (1,500) next. In Hawaii, Native Hawaiians and Other Pacific Islanders comprised the largest proportion (21 percent) of the total population, followed by Utah (1 percent) and Alaska (0.9 percent).
Source: Population estimates <http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/releases/archives/population/010048.html>

1.7%
Percentage growth of the Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander population (either alone or in combination with one or more other races) between 2005 and 2006, the highest of any race group except for Asians.
Source: Population estimates <http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/releases/archives/population/010048.html>

Education

14%
The percentage of single-race Native Hawaiians and Other Pacific Islanders 25 and older who have at least a bachelor’s degree. This compares with 27 percent for the total population.
Source: 2006 American Community Survey <http://factfinder.census.gov>

84%
The percentage of single-race Native Hawaiians and Other Pacific Islanders 25 and older who have at least a high school diploma. This matches the corresponding percentage for the total population.
Source: 2006 American Community Survey <http://factfinder.census.gov>

4%
The percentage of single-race Native Hawaiians and Other Pacific Islanders 25 and older who have obtained a graduate or professional degree. This compares with 10 percent for the total population this age.
Source: 2006 American Community Survey <http://factfinder.census.gov>

Income, Poverty and Health Insurance

$49,361
The median income of households headed by single-race Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander but did not report any other race.
Source: 2006 American Community Survey <http://factfinder.census.gov>

11.4%
The three-year average (2004-2006) poverty rate for those who reported their race as Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islanders.
Source: Income, Poverty, and Health Insurance Coverage in the United States: 2006 unpublished data <http://www.census.gov/hhes/www/cpstc/cps_table_creator.html>

21.7%
The three-year average (2004-2006) percentage without health insurance single-race Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islanders.
Source: Income, Poverty, and Health Insurance Coverage in the United States: 2006 <http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/releases/archives/income_wealth/010583.html>

Businesses

Source for the statements referenced in this section: Native Hawaiian- and Other Pacific Islander-Owned Firms: 2002 <http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/releases/archives/business_ownership/007092.html>

28,948
Number of Native Hawaiian- and Other Pacific Islander-owned businesses in 2002, up 49 percent from 1997. The rate of growth was more than three times the national average. The 3,693 Native Hawaiian- and Other Pacific Islander-owned businesses with a payroll employed more than 29,000 and generated revenues of $3.5 billion.

2,415
Number of Native Hawaiian- and Other Pacific Islander-owned firms in Honolulu, the most of any city in the nation.

$4.3 billion
Receipts for Native Hawaiian- and Other Pacific Islander-owned businesses in 2002, up 3 percent from 1997. There were 727 Native Hawaiian- and Other Pacific Islander-owned firms with receipts of $1 million or more. These firms accounted for 2.5 percent of the total number of Native Hawaiian- and Other Pacific Islander-owned firms and 66.8 percent of their total receipts.

In 2002, nearly 21,000 Native Hawaiian- and Other Pacific Islander-owned firms operated in health care and social assistance; other services (such as personal services, and repair and maintenance); retail trade; administrative and support, and waste management and remediation services; professional, scientific and technical services; and construction.

28
Number of Native Hawaiian- and Other Pacific Islander-owned firms with 100 or more employees. These firms generated $698 million in gross receipts -19.9 percent of the total revenue for Native Hawaiian- and Other Pacific Islander-owned employer firms.

53%
Percentage of all Native Hawaiian- and Other Pacific Islander-owned firms in Hawaii and California. These two states accounted for 62 percent of business revenue.

Serving Our Nation

27,700
The number of single-race Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander military veterans. About one in six was 65 and older.
Source: 2006 American Community Survey <http://factfinder.census.gov>

Jobs

20%
The proportion of civilian employed single-race Native Hawaiians and Other Pacific Islanders 16 and older who work in management, professional and related occupations, such as financial managers, engineers, teachers and registered nurses. Meanwhile, 28 percent work in sales and office occupations, 23 percent in service occupations and 16 percent in production, transportation and material moving occupations.
Source: 2006 American Community Survey <http://factfinder.census.gov>

Counties

177,000
Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander population (alone or in combination with one or more other races) in Honolulu County, Hawaii, in 2006, which led the nation. Los Angeles County, Calif., (59,000) was second. Hawaii County, Hawaii, and Clark County, Nev. (home of Las Vegas) had the largest numerical increases in this race since July 2005, around 900. Hawaii County had the highest percentage of people of this race: 29 percent.
Source: Population estimates <http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/ releases/archives/population/010482.html>

Age Distribution

29.9
The median age of the single-race Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander population in 2006. The median age was 36.4 for the population as a whole.
Source: 2006 American Community Survey <http://factfinder.census.gov>

Editor’s note: The preceding data were collected from a variety of sources and may be subject to sampling variability and other sources of error. Facts for Features are customarily released about two months before an observance in order to accommodate magazine production timelines. Questions or comments should be directed to the Census Bureau’s Public Information Office: telephone: 301-763-3030; fax: 301-763-3762; or e-mail: <pio@census.gov>.
–
Don T. Nakanishi, Ph.D.
Director and Professor
UCLA Asian American Studies Center
3230 Campbell Hall
Los Angeles, CA 90095-1546
phone:310.825.2974
fax:310.206.9844
e-mail:dtn@ucla.edu
web site for Center: http://www.aasc.ucla.edu/

H-NET BOOK REVIEW
Published by H-Pentecostalism@h-net.msu.edu (December, 2007)

May Ling Tan-Chow. Pentecostal Theology for the Twenty-first Century: Engaging with Multi-Faith Singapore. Ashgate New Critical Thinking in Religion, Theology, and Biblical Studies Series. Aldershot: Ashgate, 2007. xix + 203 pp. Bibliography, indexes. $99.95 (cloth), ISBN 978-0-7546-5718-7.

Reviewed for H-Pentecostalism by Simon Chan, Trinity Theological College,  Singapore

LoveSingapore–Stone Soup?

Pentecostal Theology for the Twenty-first Century is a rare book, probably the only one that provides a critical analysis of a transdenominational Pentecostal charismatic movement in Singapore. LoveSingapore is linked to the Global Consultation on World Evangelization, which in 1989 launched a global network called AD2000 and Beyond. Started in 1993 at the initiative of former Fuller missiologist Peter Wagner, LoveSingapore is the local expression of this network. What makes LoveSingapore significant is that nothing of its scale has been seen before in Singapore. It involves up to 120 churches and attracts a number of leaders of megachurches as well as key denominational leaders, including the former Anglican bishop of Singapore Moses Tay. Headed by Lawrence Khong, the pastor of the more than ten thousand-member Faith Community Baptist Church, the movement at its height organized “prayer walks” that attracted tens of thousands of Christians.

May Ling Tan-Chow’s book, which began as a Cambridge University PhD dissertation, seeks to develop a Pentecostal theology using the “critical resources” of scripture and Pentecostal history. Using Singapore as a case study, the author believes that Pentecostal theology can adequately address a multi-faith context. Tan-Chow divides the book into two parts. Part 1 (chapters 1-3) is descriptive. Chapter 1 explores the sociopolitical landscape of Singapore–a small state marked by engineering efficiency. Its government plays a critical, if not interventionist, role in practically every aspect of life, setting out clear long-term goals and visions to ensure the country’s continued economic prosperity. The state has “absolute hegemony” and does not permit any rival authority, although it projects a “benevolent paternalism” (p. 7). Chapter 2 locates the church within this context and shows how the political culture has shaped the church. In the following chapter, Tan-Chow examines the historical resource by revisiting three “Pentecost events,” namely Acts, Azusa Street, and LoveSingapore. Each has its glorious and dark side. In Acts, conflicts and exclusion vitiated the ecumenism of Jewish and Gentile unity. The transcending of the racial barrier at Azusa in 1906 was quickly replaced by the raising of the racial divide epitomized in the formation of the all-white Pentecostal Fellowship of North America in 1924. LoveSingapore, too, is seen as potentially “a peaceful harbinger of pluralism” and “human flourishing” (p. xvi). Tan-Chow appreciatively notes its ecumenical outlook, the use of its massive resources to reach out to the needy, and several other positive features. But its grandiose vision (Singapore as “the Antioch of Asia”) and strategies turn out to be almost a mirror image of Singapore’s political culture (p. 15).

Part 2 is constructive. Chapter 4 provides a devastating critique of the LoveSingapore movement. Tan-Chow notes that its effective contextualization of the gospel adopts policies and methods that closely parallel those of the Singapore government. For example, its pursuit of unity and reconciliation is similar to what the government hopes to accomplish for the nation. And, like the government, LoveSingapore pursues unity and reconciliation with the goal of achieving a practical end: the salvation of Singapore that was prophesied to occur in a “Grand Harvest” in 2001. Both the government and the movement are “instrumentalised” (pp. 80, 82). Reconciliation becomes “the strategic practice” to effect unity which is aimed at Christianizing the nation (p. 80). In the words of Khong, “we do not seek unity for unity’s sake. Attaining 100% involvement means little without progress toward our vision of a nation won for the Lord” (p. 80). Tan-Chow has some strong words for this, but they are entirely appropriate: “The destiny of the nation is a God-problem. Taking it out of God’s hands is a real temptation in the efficiency-minded society of Singapore, a theological idolatry” (p. 81). Tan-Chow notes the theological shallowness of LoveSingapore’s “strategic practices,” including “identificational repentance,” where a representative of an aggressor nation, a Japanese, says sorry to a representative of the victims; prayer as a tool to destroy spiritual strongholds; and “acts of kindness,” which are a barely disguised “form of market ‘exploitation’ and materialism” (pp. 86-88, 93). These practices function as a means of control and power hegemony–something similar to what is found in Singapore politics.

One wonders, at the end of chapter 4, whether there is anything left of the LoveSingapore movement for a Pentecostal theology. Tan-Chow, surprisingly, thinks that there is and offers her reasons. First, LoveSingapore has bequeathed to the churches important “deep symbols,” such as love, unity, shalom, the kingdom of God, and the empowerment of the Holy Spirit, which could be retrieved for a solid Pentecostal theology even if these symbols have become “atrophied” (p. 99). But given the critique that exposes the vacuity of these symbols, one must ask if they could still be regarded as “deep symbols.” Second, Tan-Chow believes that the two “critical resources” of scripture and history could reshape “empirical Pentecostalism” and realize “LoveSingapore’s potential for good” (p. 119, 99). Scripture provides an integrated pneumatology while early Pentecostal history reveals many positive elements (chapter 5 cf. chapter 3). In chapter 6, Tan-Chow offers her own theological proposal for a constructive Pentecostal theology using these resources. The key concept is “pneumatological eschatology,” which involves remembering and embodying the constructive elements of early Pentecostal history and the Spirit’s work of orienting the church to “new” things, including the religious “other” (pp. 125-126). The concluding chapter offers practical suggestions on the “ethic of negotiation,” which operates on the principle of embracing the “other” without compromising one’s own integrity (p. 157). This last proposal will probably stretch Pentecostals to their utmost limits. Pentecostals would be hard put to recall any historical precedents on negotiating with the religious other. The whole Pentecostal tradition has been quite unanimous that the gift of the Spirit is for Christianizing the world rather than dialoging with it.

Although Tan-Chow’s theological construction holds great promise, I am not as optimistic that it would help LoveSingapore effect the necessary transformations, given the fact that its basic operating assumptions are not deeply rooted in scripture or the Christian tradition but in pragmatism. Furthermore, LoveSingapore is very much conditioned by the prevailing culture. LoveSingapore has as much potential for embracive inclusion as stones have the potential of becoming the proverbial “stone soup”–if all the other ingredients for good soup are added. Tan-Chow has provided excellent ingredients, but, then, why bother making stone soup?

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The Asian Pacific American Religions Research Initiative is pleased to announce the beginning of registration for:

APARRI 2008
(Re)Defining Religious Studies:  The Next Decade of APARRI
2008.August.7-9
Pacific School of Religion, Berkeley, CA
More information and registration at:  www.pana.psr.edu

2008 celebrates the tenth anniversary of the founding of the Asian Pacific American Religions Research Initiative. Our annual conference this year is an opportunity to look back over the achievements in Asian Pacific American religious studies during the past decade and to look forward to the new opportunities and challenges of the next ten years.

Fumitaka Matsuoka, Ph.D., Executive Director of the Institute for Leadership Development and Study of Pacific and Asian North American Religion (PANA Institute) will give the keynote address at Plenary I on Thursday evening Aug/7. The title of his presentation is “Crossing Boundaries: A Dim Sum Approach to the Question of Peoplehood.” (The Thursday evening events are free and open to the public, but registration is required.)

Plenary II on Friday afternoon Aug/8 will address the state of the field of APA religious studies from various disciplinary angles. And Plenary III on Saturday afternoon Aug/9, offered jointly with the Center for Lesbian and Gay Studies in Religion and Ministry at Pacific School of Religion, will address the voices and visibility of queer communities in APA religious studies. Concurrent sessions will showcase research-in-progress, and structured mentoring will be available for students and junior faculty members.

Call for Papers

Concurrent sessions at APARRI are designed to offer participants occasions for sharing research and works-in-progress in interdisciplinary settings.  Conference attendees are encouraged to propose individual papers and organized panels on their current research.  Concurrent Session Block A on Friday Aug/8 is pre-organized and will echo the main conference theme, while Concurrent Session Blocks B and C on Saturday August/9 are “open call,” and attendees are encouraged to propose presentations on any aspect of Asian Pacific American religion. More information and directions for submitting proposals are available at the main conference Web page at www.pana.psr.edu .

Christopher Chua
Program Director
PANA Institute, Pacific School of Religion
1798 Scenic Avenue
Berkeley, CA  94709
cchua@psr.edu
510/849-8210

UCLA ASIAN AMERICAN STUDIES DEPARTMENT
OPEN POSITIONS: Part-time Lecturers (Non-Senate)

The Department of Asian American Studies at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), invites applications forpart-time Lecturer positions (Non-Senate) with primary responsibility in teaching interdisciplinary courses in Asian American Studies for the 2008-2009 academic year.  Appointments are usually made per course.  Academic appointment dates are Fall (October 1-December 31, 2008); Winter (January 1-March 31, 2009); and Spring (April 1-June 30, 2009).

The Department of Asian American Studies at the University of California, Los Angeles, offers a major, minor, a graduate concentration, and Master of Arts.

We are looking for applicants who can teach the following courses; however, we also welcome applicants who can offer other special topics courses that complement our curriculum:

Asian American History (lower division, general education, offered Winter 2008 only)
Asian American Contemporary Issues (lower division, general education, offered Spring 2008 only)
Asian American Community Research Methods/Applied Research Methods
Asian American Film
Asian American Theater/Drama
Asian American Popular Culture
Asian American Religion
Pacific Islander Studies
South Asian American Film/Popular Culture
Asian American Studies Ethnic Community Specific Courses
Asian American Gender and Sexuality

Requirements
Applicants with a Ph.D. preferred. Applicants who are advanced to candidacy or who have a M.A., M.F.A., or equivalent will be considered.

Application Procedure
Send materials via e-mail attachment to Stacey Hirose, Department Manager, <stacey@asianam.ucla.edu> followed by a hard copy of your application materials:

Cover letter
Curriculum vitae
Teaching evaluation summaries
Names and contact information of three references
List titles of course(s) you are willing to teach
Quarters that you plan to teach the course in
A paragraph description and syllabus of each proposed course

Applications will be accepted until positions are filled.  However, to ensure fullest consideration, all applications materials should be submitted by MONDAY, MAY 19, 2008 FOR FALL 2008 COURSES and MONDAY, JUNE 30, 2008 FOR WINTER AND SPRING 2009 COURSES to Stacey Hirose (stacey@asianam.ucla.edu) or to:

Dr. Thu-huong Nguyen-vo
C/O Stacey Hirose
UCLA Department of Asian American Studies
3336 Rolfe Hall
Los Angeles, CA 90095-7225

The University of California, Los Angeles and the Asian American Studies Department are interested in candidates who are committed to the highest standards of scholarship and professional activities, and to the development of a campus climate that supports equality and diversity. The University of California is an affirmative action/equal opportunity employer.

This position is covered by a collective bargaining agreement.

–

Don T. Nakanishi, Ph.D.
Director and Professor
UCLA Asian American Studies Center
3230 Campbell Hall
PO Box 951546
Los Angeles, CA 90095-1546
phone: (310) 825-2974
fax: (310) 206-9844
e-mail: dtn@ucla.edu
Please visit the Center’s web site: www.sscnet.ucla.edu/aasc
__._,_.___
Admin/questions? Send to AAASCommunity-owner@yahoogroups.com

The Society of Asian North American Christian Studies is receiving submissions for its 2008 annual journal.  We seek:
-    Full-length scholarly articles in the fields of Bible, Theology, Missiology, Praxis, History, and Sociology
-    Book reviews
-    Data to help us assemble directories of ANA Centers and Institutes, ANA seminary faculty, and ANA doctoral students and dissertation notices.
Please contact the managing editor, Dr. Russell Yee, ryeeATisaacwebDOTorg.  Deadline for submissions: June 30. 2008