IAFOR > The Asian Conference on Arts & Humanities (ACAH) > ACAH2025 Overview

ACAH2025 Overview

ACAH is organised by IAFOR in association with the IAFOR Research Centre at the Osaka School of International Public Policy (OSIPP) in Osaka University, Japan.

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Join us in Tokyo for ACAH2025!

May 11-16, 2025 | Held in Tokyo, Japan and Online

Welcome to the 16th Asian Conference on Arts & Humanities (ACAH2025).

Held in partnership with the IAFOR Research Centre at the Osaka School of International Public Policy (OSIPP) at Osaka University, this international conference encourages academics and scholars to meet and exchange ideas and views in a forum stimulating respectful dialogue. This event will afford an exceptional opportunity for renewing old acquaintances, making new contacts, networking, and facilitating partnerships across national and disciplinary borders.

Since its founding in 2009, IAFOR has brought people and ideas together in a variety of events and platforms to promote and celebrate interdisciplinary study, and underline its importance. Over the past year we have engaged in many cross-sectoral projects, including those with universities (the University of Barcelona, Hofstra University, UCL, University of Belgrade and Moscow State University), a think tank (the East-West Center), as well as collaborative projects with the United Nations in New York, and here, with the Government of Japan through the Prime Minister’s office.

With the IAFOR Research Centre, we have engaged in a number of interdisciplinary initiatives we believe will have an important impact on domestic and international public policy conversations. It is through conferences like these that we expand our network and partners, and we have no doubt that ACAH2025 will offer a remarkable opportunity for the sharing of research and best practice, and for the meeting of people and ideas.

The 16th Asian Conference on Arts & Humanities (ACAH2025) will be held alongside The 15th Asian Conference on Cultural Studies and The 16th Asian Conference on the Social Sciences. Registration for either conference will allow delegates to attend sessions in the other.

– The ACAH2025 Programme Committee

Conference Programme Committee

Professor Grant Black, Chuo University, Japan
Dr Joseph Haldane, IAFOR and Osaka University, Japan, & University College London, United Kingdom
Professor Bradley J. Hamm, Medill School of Journalism, Northwestern University, United States
Professor Donald E. Hall, Binghamton University, United States
Fan Li, Leping Social Entrepreneur Foundation & Stanford Social Innovation Review (SSIR), China
Dr James W. McNally, University of Michigan, United States & NACDA Program on Aging
Professor Sela V. Panapasa, University of Michigan, United States

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Key Information
  • Location & Venue: Held at the Toshi Center Hotel in Tokyo, Japan, and Online
  • Dates: Sunday, May 11, 2025 ​to Friday, May 16, 2025
  • Early Bird Abstract Submission Deadline: November 29, 2024*
  • Final Abstract Submission Deadline: February 14, 2025
  • Registration Deadline for Presenters: March 27, 2025

*Submit early to take advantage of the discounted registration rates. Learn more about our registration options.

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Programme

  • Turning the Faucet to Full: Expanding the Use of Bormann’s Symbolic Convergence Theory (SCT) in Asian Humanities, Social Science, and Cultural Studies Research
    Turning the Faucet to Full: Expanding the Use of Bormann’s Symbolic Convergence Theory (SCT) in Asian Humanities, Social Science, and Cultural Studies Research
    Keynote Presentation: Thomas G. Endres

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Speakers

  • Umberto Ansaldo
    Umberto Ansaldo
    University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong
  • Thomas G. Endres
    Thomas G. Endres
    University of Northern Colorado, United States

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Conference Committees

The International Academic Board (IAB)

Dr Joseph Haldane, IAFOR and Osaka University, Japan, & University College London, United Kingdom
Professor Jun Arima, President, IAFOR & University of Tokyo, Japan
Professor Anne Boddington, Executive Vice-President and Provost, IAFOR & Middlesex University, United Kingdom
Professor Barbara Lockee, Virginia Tech, United States
Professor Donald E. Hall, Binghamton University, United States
Dr James W. McNally, University of Michigan, United States & NACDA Program on Aging
Professor Grant Black, Chuo University, Japan
Professor Dexter Da Silva, Keisen University, Japan
Professor Baden Offord, Centre for Human Rights Education, Curtin University, Australia & Cultural Studies Association of Australasia
Professor Frank S. Ravitch, Michigan State University College of Law, United States
Professor William Baber, Kyoto University, Japan
Dr Virgil Hawkins, Osaka University, Japan

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Conference Programme Committee

Dr Grant Black, Chuo University, Japan
Dr Thomas G. Endres, University of Northern Colorado, United States
Dr Joseph Haldane, The International Academic Forum (IAFOR), Japan
Professor Bradley J. Hamm, Medill School of Journalism, Northwestern University, United States
Professor Donald E. Hall, Binghamton University, United States
Professor Fan Li, LePing Social Entrepreneur Foundation & Stanford Social Innovation Review (SSIR), China
Professor James W. McNally, University of Michigan, United States & NACDA Program on Aging
Professor Sela V. Panapasa, University of Michigan, United States

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ACAH2025 Review Committee

Professor Sara Abdoh, Benha University, Egypt
Dr Songül Aral, İnönü Üniversitesi Malatya-Türkiye, Turkey
Dr Venkata Ramani Challa, Presidency University, Bengaluru, India
Dr Timothy Chan, Singapore Institute of Management, Singapore
Dr Ling Sayuri Chen, International Research Center for Japanese Studies (Nichibunken) Retd., Japan
Dr Mei-hsin Chen, University of Navarra, Spain
Dr Bianca Yin-ki Cheung, Lingnan University, Hong Kong
Dr Laurence Craven, American University of Sharjah, United Arab Emirates
Dr Nondumiso Gumede, University of Zululand, South Africa
Dr Joselito Gutierrez, University of Santo Tomas, Philippines
Dr Kris Ho, United International College BNU-HKBU, China
Dr Ikekhwa Albert Ikhile, University of South Africa, South Africa
Dr Navdeep Kahol, Government College, Dera Bassi, Punjab (India), India
Dr Andrej Kapcar, Masaryk University in Brno, Czech Republic
Dr Derry Law, Saint Francis University, Hong Kong
Dr Rebecca Lind, University of Illinois at Chicago, United States
Dr Josit Mariya, Indian Institute of Information Technology, Kottayam, India
Dr Ana Clara Roberti, University of Porto - CITCEM / Universidade Portucalense - CIAUD UPT, Portugal
Dr Valentina Rossi, eCampus University of Novedrate, Italy
Dr Priyanka Yadav, Poornima University Jaipur Rajasthan, India

IAFOR's peer review process, which involves both reciprocal review and the use of Review Committees, is overseen by the Conference Programme Committee under the guidance of the International Academic Board (IAB). Review Committee members are established academics who hold PhDs or other terminal degrees in their fields and who have previous peer review experience.

If you would like to apply to serve on the ACAH2025 Review Committee, please visit our application page.

Apply to Join the Review Committee

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Turning the Faucet to Full: Expanding the Use of Bormann’s Symbolic Convergence Theory (SCT) in Asian Humanities, Social Science, and Cultural Studies Research
Keynote Presentation: Thomas G. Endres

Humans are storytellers and scholars – whether they be from the arts and humanities, the social sciences, or cultural studies – need the means to assess and interpret the symbolic narratives found within communities. Over the past two decades, a faucet has been turned on low, and a small stream of Asian scholars have started to use Ernest Bormann’s Symbolic Convergence Theory (SCT) as their theory and method of choice. The flow of research – examining heroes, villains, settings, and plotlines – has been slow but steady; now, in this address, SCT expert Thomas G. Endres plans to turn the faucet to full. In sharing both the body of work done throughout Asia and his own studies, which range from rhetorical analysis to quantitative research, both emerging and established scholars can assess SCT’s utility as an insightful tool. Hopefully the steady stream of this theoretical framework will expand, as SCT is further applied across a variety of Asian Pacific publications and presentations.

Read presenter's biography
Umberto Ansaldo
University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong

Biography

Professor Umberto Ansaldo is currently an Honorary Professor in the University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong. He recently served as Head of the School of Media, Creative Arts and Social Inquiry at Curtin University, Australia from 2021 through 2023. Previously, he was the Head of the School of Literature, Art and Media at the University of Sydney, Australia from 2018 through 2020, and Head of the School of Humanities at the University of Hong Kong, where he taught from 2009 to 2018.

Professor Ansaldo’s disciplinary roots are in linguistics – most specifically in the study of language contact, linguistic typology, and language documentation. He is the author of four books to date (with CUP, OUP, Routledge, and Stockholm University Press), has edited or co-edited a further 11 volumes and journal special collections, and has authored multiple journal articles and book chapters. His most recent output is the co-editorship of The Routledge Handbook of Pidgin and Creole Languages (Routledge, 2021).

At the University of Hong Kong (HKU), Professor Ansaldo led the Humanities Area of Inquiry on the Common Core Curriculum Committee in HKU’s major revision of its curriculum (2010-2013), a time when, along with the University of Melbourne, Australia, HKU was leading in reimagining undergraduate curricula. As Chair of Linguistics, he was instrumental in establishing the Department within the top ten programs in Linguistics (QS rankings), and number one in Hong Kong. He also sat on HKU’s Senate and HKU’s Campus Development & Planning Committee. In the latter role, he was involved in the completion of the new Humanities Tower at the Centennial Campus, and the physical relocation of the Faculty from the Main Building.

At the University of Sydney, Professor Ansaldo sat on the University Executive Research Committee and led his School through a transformative period in terms of curriculum innovation and research engagement. He was in charge of overseeing the incorporation of the Sydney College of the Arts into the Faculty of Arts & Social Sciences. This included integrating existing and developing new curricula, forging research synergies, and leading the renovation of a purpose-built facility, with associated financial, technical, and HR responsibilities. He also piloted the first three micro-credit units in the Faculty.

Professor Ansaldo has secured competitive research grants and leveraged industry funding for the advancement of the humanities and social sciences throughout his career. One of his proudest achievements was his role in securing financial support to develop and host an exhibition on language and the brain, the “Talking Brains” exhibition, that launched successfully at the CosmoCaixa in Barcelona, Spain in 2017. This type of engagement and championing of the Humanities is what Umberto is most passionate about.

Umberto has lived and worked in Sweden, The Netherlands, Singapore, and Hong Kong, before moving to Australia. He speaks seven languages including Mandarin – he is well-acquainted with Asia and has conducted fieldwork in Muslim communities of the Indian Ocean, and has strong international networks in Southeast Asia, Japan, and Europe.

Panel Presentation (2025) | TBA

Previous Presentations

Keynote Presentation (2024) | Can Today’s Universities Contribute to a Better Future?
Thomas G. Endres
University of Northern Colorado, United States

Biography

Dr Thomas G. Endres is Professor of Communication Studies at the University of Northern Colorado, United States, where he coordinates the university’s Communication Studies Extended Campus online degree completion program and teaches for the university's honours and leadership programs. In a career marked primarily by administrative (chair or director) responsibilities, Dr Endres found time to conduct research in the areas of pedagogy, popular culture, and the use of story to create rhetorical communities. He has published several dozen refereed articles, book chapters, conference proceedings, and an encyclopaedia entry, applying Bormann’s Symbolic Convergence Theory to the study of such communities: examining diverse collectives such as single mothers, father-daughter dyads, laity in the Catholic church, and tattooed people. He is author and photographer of two books: ‘Sturgis Stories: Celebrating the People of the World’s Largest Motorcycle Rally’ and ‘My Costume, Myself: Celebrating Stories of Cosplay and Beyond,’ and co-author with Deanna D. Sellnow on Sage's 4th edition of ‘The Rhetorical Power of Popular Culture: Considering Mediated Texts.’ He has delivered more than 250 presentations, workshops, and keynote addresses across the United States and abroad, including presentations in Austria, China, the Czech Republic, Japan, Spain, Thailand, Turkey, and the United Kingdom. He lives in Greeley, Colorado, with his wife, Maki Notohara Endres.

Keynote Presentation (2025) | Turning the Faucet to Full: Expanding the Use of Bormann's Symbolic Convergence Theory (SCT) in Asian Humanities, Social Science, and Cultural Studies Research