The West Asia Research Cluster (WARC) at 91亚色 is accepting abstracts for its Inaugural West Asia Symposium to be held at 91亚色听in Toronto on 15鈥�16 February 2027.

The symposium is an opportunity for graduate students and emerging scholars to present and showcase their research, discuss ideas, receive feedback and network with faculty and peers across Canada.听We invite and encourage abstracts from all disciplines that are related to the West Asian region, its diasporic communities and connections beyond on topics that include but are not limited to:

• Law, Justice and Accountability
• Violence, Security and Conflict
• Memory, Identity and Culture
• Political Economy and Development
• Resistance, Mobility and Solidarity

The official language of the symposium is English. Presentations will be 15 minutes long. Please note that this is an in-person event and registration is free.

Organized by doctoral students and faculty in the Departments of Politics, Anthropology, Humanities, and the School of Health Policy and Management, the symposium offers a dedicated space for interdisciplinary dialogue and collaboration.

.

The deadline to submit is 07 November 2026 at 11:59 p.m.

Acceptances will be notified by early January.

Reach the organizing committee at: warc.yorku[at]gmail.com.

Thank you and we look forward to your submissions!

The post Call for Submissions | Inaugural West Asia Symposium at 91亚色 appeared first on 91亚色 Centre for Asian Research.

• David Wurfel Award for Philippine Studies (One award, value: $1,500)鈥�open to undergraduates听
• Dr Sangdeok Woo and Mrs. Kwisoon Lim Woo Memorial Graduate Award (One award, value: $12,500)听
• N. Sivalingam Award in Tamil Studies (One award, value: $2,500)听
• Penny & John Van Esterik Award for Graduate Research on Southeast Asia
• Vivienne Poy Hakka Graduate Research Award (One award, value: $5,000)听
• Young-Rahn Woo Memorial Graduate Award (One award, value: $12,500)听

Deadline: Monday, 26 October 2026

More information at this link.

The post Fall awards offered by YCAR appeared first on 91亚色 Centre for Asian Research.

Eligibility | By the start date, applicants must hold a doctorate in a humanities or social sciences discipline, including but not limited to geography, political science, history, sociology, anthropology, public health, environmental studies, art history, performing arts, media studies, urban studies, agrarian studies, and development studies. Preference will be given to applicants who received their doctorate within the five years preceding the fellowship start date.

Fellowship expectations | The fellow is expected to contribute to YCAR鈥檚 intellectual life by participating in seminars, organizing one workshop in consultation with the YCAR Director, and delivering a public lecture. Applicants should identify a YCAR Faculty Associate who would serve as their faculty supervisor during the fellowship and ask that person to submit a letter of support directly to ycarpd[at]yorku.ca.

Employment equity | We welcome applications from all qualified individuals, including those within the University鈥檚 employment equity categories: women, persons with disabilities, members of visible minorities and Indigenous persons, individuals of diverse gender identities and sexual orientations, and all groups protected by the Ontario Human Rights Code. 91亚色 is committed to employment equity, diversity, and a positive and supportive environment.

Salary and work authorization | The salary is $65,000 per annum. Canadian and international applicants are welcome to apply; any offer will be conditional upon the successful candidate obtaining authorization to work in Canada.

Application materials | Applicants should submit the following materials to ycarpd@yorku.ca by Friday, 18 December 2026:

• Cover letter
• Curriculum vitae (CV)
• Description of research plans (maximum two pages)
• Writing sample (maximum 25 double-spaced pages)
• Name and contact information of the proposed YCAR faculty supervisor
• A letter of support from the proposed YCAR faculty supervisor, submitted directly to ycarpd[at]yorku.ca
• Names and contact information for two referees who are familiar with the applicant鈥檚 research. One should normally be the applicant鈥檚 doctoral supervisor. Reference letters will be requested only for shortlisted candidates.

Shortlisted candidates will be interviewed via Zoom in early April 2027.

The post YCAR Postdoctoral Fellowship in Asian Studies (Humanities or Social Sciences) appeared first on 91亚色 Centre for Asian Research.

The South Asia Research Collective at the 91亚色 Centre for Asian Research (YCAR) invites paper proposals for a one-day workshop on critical issues shaping South Asia and South Asian diasporas. We seek papers that engage with how questions of politics, marginality, mobility, belonging and citizenship have been represented, experienced and contested in South Asia and its diasporas. The workshop will take place on 19 March 2027.

South Asia has long been a particularly productive site to examine the promises, contradictions and challenges of decolonization and democratic politics. The triumphalist narrative of flourishing democracies in some parts of the region along with grim assessments of failures in others obscure the multilayered and complex processes that underpin social and political realities in the region. In recent years, South Asia has witnessed escalating authoritarianism, rising sectarian and communal violence, the suppression of dissent and the erosion of political freedoms alongside grassroots protests, populist uprisings and democratic movements. These developments raise ever more urgent questions on how state and non-state actors have historically shaped and continue to impact South Asia鈥檚 political landscape.

The workshop is deliberately broad to encourage contributions that speak to diverse disciplinary perspectives, methodological approaches, historical periods and geographical contexts to foster conversations across multiple sites of inquiry. We particularly invite papers that foreground perspectives from marginalized and subaltern groups that allow us to critically interrogate old and new colonial projects, transforming ideological currents, the workings of the state and the constitution of social power. Submissions from advanced graduate students who are working on their dissertations are especially welcome.

Possible themes include, but are not limited to:

• Work, labour rights and livelihoods across South Asia and its diaspora
• Migration and mobility
• Rise of authoritarianism and sectarian violence
• Climate crises and dystopias
• Health and well-being
• Media, technology and digital cultures
• Social movements, protests and collective action
• Subjectivities and lived experiences of marginalization
• Urbanization and urban dispossession
• Production of knowledge on South Asia
• South Asian faith traditions
• Vernacular archives and texts
• South Asian literary cultures

Deadline extended | Please submit a 250-word abstract along with a short CV to sarc[at]yorku.ca by 01 December 2026.

Acceptances will be notified by 15 January 2027.

Please note that funding is not available for travel or accommodation.

Questions can be directed to: sarc[at]yorku.ca.

The post Democracy in Question: Power, Dissent and Political Life in South Asia appeared first on 91亚色 Centre for Asian Research.

YCAR and its Asian Business and Management Program are pleased to announce the winners of its Spring 2026 adjudication of the China Insight Fund.

Melanie Cao (Schulich School of Business), Research Project category
Digital currency and e-payment system in China and its Implications for Canada
This study considers the听 digital currency and e-payment system in China since both aspects are much more advanced than Canadian counterparts and to explore the importance of Chinese digital currency and e-payments in enhancing the efficiency of the financial system as well as economic productivity. China developed its e-payment systems and digital currency in the past twenty years. Up to now, its mobile payment penetration is over 80%, with more than 1 billion users regularly using mobile payment platforms like Alipay and WeChat Pay. Over听90% of urban consumers use mobile payments for everyday transactions and in rural areas, adoption rates are growing rapidly. Canada is behind China in the development of digital currency and e-payment systems, despite Canada is recognized for its robust financial infrastructure, regulatory framework, and innovation in financial technology (fintech). This research is a continuation of my recent work on cryptocurrencies.听

Chunlei Liu (Education), Graduate Student Field Work category
From Classrooms to Careers: Employment Experiences of Asian International Students in Professional Graduate Programs in Ontario
This research examines how Chinese international graduate students in professional programs in Ontario navigate the transition from higher education to employment in Canada. Positioned within the broader group of Asian international students, this study focuses on Chinese international graduates due to their significant presence in Canada鈥檚 international student population and their relevance to Canada鈥揅hina educational and labour market linkages.

Jean Michel Montsion (Global and Social Studies) and Elic Chan (University of British Columbia), Research Project category
The Milk Tea Circuit: Exploring Chinese Foodscapes in Canadian Cities
This project will investigate the evolution and commercialization of milk tea in three locations in Canada: Vancouver, Toronto and Charlottetown. We will document the milk tea circuit in these communities to better understand the interplays between transnational and local factors, including density, and to observe how identity construction signalling occurs under different contexts.

Justin Podur (Faculty of Environmental and Urban Studies), Research Project category
Decolonization and the Environmental Question: Fieldwork on China鈥檚 Ecological Civilization
My fieldwork in China is part of a larger project arguing that Indigenous concepts of environmental management are fundamental to the resolution of the environmental crisis and that the suppression of Indigenous civilizations through colonialism is the root cause of all environmental problems.听China has developed the concept of Ecological Civilization, with flagship projects like the Three-North Shelterbelt forest restoration and the scale and rollout of renewable energy technology, especially solar energy infrastructure. In practice, this rollout is inseparable from China's development, industry, and international relations.听Through this project, the practice and theory of ecological civilization will be analyzed and incorporated into a global conception for how different civilizations seek to achieve sustainability in their management of the environment.

Established in 2019 and launched as the Canada-China Initiatives Fund, the CIF has been envisioned to refocus on, stimulate and support research activity as well as foster engagement between China and the world. In the context of this funding opportunity, the term "China鈥� is inclusive of all Chinese-speaking economies.

The next application deadline for Monday, 26 October 2026. Learn more at this link.

The post CIF funds research that ranges from Chinese foodscapes in Canada to China鈥檚 Ecological Civilization appeared first on 91亚色 Centre for Asian Research.

Insight Grant awardees

• Patrick Alcedo (Dance) | From Field to Stage: Choreographing for Theatre Philippine Folk Dance Practices through Ethnographic Research ($163,951)
• Lalaie Ameeriar (Anthropology) | We Inherit Each Other: Racialized Care Work and Reproductive Labour during and after COVID-19 ($109,580)
• Shital H. Desai (Design) | Prompting Rule-based Activities to Support Relational Communication Closeness in Dementia Care ($417,127)
• Ena Dua (Gender, Sexuality and Women鈥檚 Studies) | (D)EDI At Crossroads: Between Mainstreaming and Elimination ($411,890)
• Hong Kal (Visual Art & Art History) | Grievable Images: Visualizing State Violence and Resistance in South Korea Since 1948 ($115,556)
• Nazilla Khanlou (Nursing) | Inclusive Social Care for Racialized Families of Children and Youth with Developmental Disabilities: Addressing Intersectional Trauma ($390,389)
• Guida Man (Sociology) | Aging in a Foreign Land: Filial Piety and Elder Abuse Risks among Chinese Immigrants in Canada, Co-investigator ($166,450)
• Yuka Nakamura (Kinesiology & Health Science) | Community and Connection: Understanding the Growth and Social Impact of Ethnic, Cultural and Religious Sport Organizations in Toronto ($172,229)

. Read the YFile story at this link.

Insight Development Grant awardees

• Russell Belk (Schulich School of Business) | Beyond Prediction: Integrating Interpolation and Conceptual Blending to Better Understand Human Meaning-Making, Co-Investigator ($75,210)
• Vikrant Dadawala (English) | Ghosts into Ancestors: Literature, Religion, Mass Migration ($62,857)
• Abi Eshra (English) | Women in Exile: Memoirs and the Politics of Agency in Canada ($66,211)
• Hong Kal (Visual Art & Art History) with YCAR Research Associates Tomoe Otsuki and Huiyao Sun, Co-Investigators | The Girl Moves: Memory, Redress, and Diasporic Engagement with the Japanese Military "Comfort Women" Statue in Canada ($84,342)
• Vanessa Lamb (Social Science) | Cryptocurrency's "hidden" social-natures: Following the money used by social-environmental justice movements in Southeast Asia ($66,777)
• Casey Mecija (Communication Studies ) | Sonic Reckoning: The Social and Affective Role of Music in 2SLGBTQ+ Youths鈥� Lives ($45,907)

Read the YFile story at this link.

Partnership Development Grant awardees

• Yee Ling Elene Lam (School of Social Work) | Behind the Badge: Collaborative Research on Anti-Trafficking Policing and Its Impacts in Canada, Co-Investigator ($198,100)
• Ethel Tungohan (Politics) | Intersections of Policy, Racism, and Precarity in Canada鈥檚 Evolving Home Care Worker Programs, Co-Investigator ($199,985)

. Read the YFile story at this link.

Connection Grant awardee

• Ethel Tungohan (Politics) | Asian Canadian Studies as a Collective Project: Looking Back, Looking Forward, Looking Beyond, Co-Investigator ($25,000)

. Read the YFile story at this link.

The post Congratulations to YCAR Associates who received SSHRC funding appeared first on 91亚色 Centre for Asian Research.

The Association of Asia Research Centres in Canada (AARCC) / Association des Centres de Recherche sur l'Asie au Canada (ACRAC) was established following its inaugural meeting on 11 March 2026. AARCC will serve as a Canada-wide coordinating platform鈥攁 "network of networks"鈥攂ringing together Asia research centres and related initiatives from across the country. The association aims to strengthen collaboration, improve information-sharing, and enhance engagement with policymakers, academic partners, and stakeholders in Canada and across Asia. 

The initiative is spearheaded by Victor V. Ramraj at the University of Victoria. .

The post Canadian research centres establish national network to advance Asia-focused research and engagement appeared first on 91亚色 Centre for Asian Research.

This year, the China Insights Fund invites applications from 91亚色 members and YCAR Research Associates that explore the evolving economic, social, institutional and political dynamics connecting Canada and Chinese-speaking economies. Projects may examine trade patterns, sectoral innovation, education and broader societal and policy trends shaping bilateral engagement.

Submissions should aim to provide evidence-based insights that deepen understanding of how economic transitions are shaped not only by policy and markets, but also by human connections and cross-border relationships, and where engagement may grow, evolve or require adaptation in the coming years. The deadline for applications is Monday, 11 May 2026.

.

The post Canada鈥揅hina Economic Engagement in Transition: Trends, Opportunities, and Challenges is theme for 2026 CIF opportunity appeared first on 91亚色 Centre for Asian Research.

Thanks to the generous support of RBC, the Asian Business and Management Program at 91亚色 is offering Career | Fit Professional Experience Programs鈥攆ree for qualified students:

• Intelligent Frontiers: Building the Next Generation of AI Agents for Enterprise | IBM mentor | 11 May 2026
• Modernizing Cross-Border Banking | RBC mentor | 12 May 2026
• Competing with Fintech: How Banks Can Win the Next Generation of Investors | RBC mentor | 22 June 2026
• Strategic Decision-Making in AI-Driven Games | Microsoft mentor | 23 June 2026

Career | Fit programs are short, online experiences designed to bridge theory and practice. Each program features a hands-on project guided by a mentor from a major Fortune 500 organization, giving students practical skills and professional exposure that complement their academic courses.

These opportunities are open to all undergraduate students who identify as Asian and are enrolled at any Canadian university. 

Space is limited 鈥� choose your Career | Fit program and apply today!

For more information: abmp[at]yorku.ca

The post Career | Fit Professional Experience Programs for Asian-identifying undergrad students in Canada appeared first on 91亚色 Centre for Asian Research.

About ABMP
The Asian Business and Management Program (ABMP), a unit of the 91亚色 Centre for Asian Research (YCAR) at 91亚色, delivers customized professional development and management training to officials and professionals from across Asia as well as career experience programs for Asian high school and undergraduate students studying abroad and in their home countries.

Role Overview
The Research Engagement and Communications Assistant supports ABMP鈥檚 research, events, and outreach initiatives. This includes engaging with participants, preparing materials, analyzing feedback, creating content for social media and ABMP publications, and assisting with program logistics.

Key Responsibilities

• Participate in in-person and online research-related events (as requested) to observe, contribute to discussions, and provide insights.
• Engage with participants during workshops to ensure alignment with ABMP鈥檚 knowledge mobilization goals.
• Prepare materials for participants, including guides, reports, and research outputs.
• Draft pre- and post-event surveys; collect and analyze feedback, and summarize findings.
• Track attendance, engagement, and contributions to evaluate research effectiveness.
• Work with mentors and facilitators to identify challenges and propose evidence-based solutions.
• Support initiatives that share research findings with stakeholders and communities.
• Assist in designing educational and promotional materials.
• Contribute to team meetings, brainstorming, and ongoing project development.
• Gather and compile data to inform future research projects.
• Assist with logistical arrangements for participant groups to support smooth program delivery
• Support social media, website, and WeChat content development

Qualifications

• Strong interest in research, engagement, and communications
• Fluency in English and Mandarin (spoken and written)
• Strong organizational, analytical, and writing skills
• Ability to synthesize information and produce clear outputs
• Experience supporting events and engaging diverse participants
• Flexible, reliable, and able to work both independently and in a team

Position Details

• Number of positions: 2
• Employment type: Part-time
• Duration: May 1 鈥� December 31
• Hours: Approximately 10鈥�20 hours per week
• Compensation: $25鈥�$30 per hour (depending on experience)

Application Details
Please submit your听CV and cover letter听to听abmp[at]yorku.ca听by听03 April 2026.

The post Opportunity: Research Engagement and Communications Assistant appeared first on 91亚色 Centre for Asian Research.