This volume offers new perspectives on the connected histories of Spain, China and Japan following the foundation of Manila as the capital of the Spanish Philippines in 1571. Cross-cultural encounters not only shaped Manila’s development as a â€˜Eurasian’ port city, but also had profound political, economic and social ramifications for the three pre-modern states involved. Integrating Manila into world history helps to revise many long-cherished misconceptions while replacing them with a more balanced view.

"Zomia" is a term coined in 2002 to describe the broad swath of mountainous land in Southeast Asia that has always been beyond the reach of lowland governments despite their technical claims to control. This book expands the anthropological reach of that term, applying it to any deterritorialised people, from cast-out migrants to modern resisters-in the process finding new ways to understand the realities of peoples and ethnicities that refuse to become part of the modern state.

This book draws on a wide range of methods-including approaches from literary studies, cultural studies, and urban sociology-to analyse the transformation of Shanghai through rapid growth and widespread urban renewal. Lena Scheen explores the literary imaginings of the city, its past, present, and future, in order to understand the effects of that urban transformation on both the psychological state of Shanghai's citizens and their perception of the spaces they inhabit.

When people look at success stories among postcolonial nations, the focus almost always turns to Asia, where many cities in former colonies have become key locations of international commerce and culture. This book brings together a stellar group of scholars from a number of disciplines to explore the rise of Asian cities, including Singapore, Macau, Hong Kong, and more. Dealing with history, geography, culture, architecture, urbanism, and other topics, the book attempts to formulate a new understanding of what makes Asian cities such global leaders.

          

This year the 9th International Convention of Asian Scholars (ICAS) will be held from 5 to 9 July in Adelaide, Australia. The theme for ICAS 9 is 'interculturality', a relatively new term, which can be understood as the encounter between hegemonic and non-dominant cultures as well as frictions, overlapping, interdependencies, potentials for conflict, and mutual interference caused by this. 

Amsterdam University Press will be present at the conference!  Keep an eye out for our commissioning editor Saskia Gieling (s.gieling@aup.nl) and our books at the stand of the International Institute for Asian Studies (IIAS)!

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