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) at Pacific School of Religion, 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."

Plenary II on Friday afternoon Aug/8 will address the state of the field of APA religious studies from various disciplinary angles.  Plenary III on Saturday afternoon Aug/9, offered jointly with the Center for Lesbian and Gay Studies in Religion and Ministry (CLGS)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.

REGISTRATION INFORMATION: 

When registering, please note that ticket options above include choices in three separate categories:  1) registration, 2) the Closing Banquet, and 3) housing.  Please read the entire menu of options and select all appropriate items.  The opening plenary (Plenary I) and reception on Thursday evening Aug/7 are free and open to the public, but registration is required.  If you are attending the Thursday-evening events solely, please discontinue online registration and complete and send in the mail-in registration form found on the APARRI 2008 Web page at www.pana.psr.edu.

Please note that if you continue with online registration, the payment pages will include a link to the Center for Lesbian and Gay Studies in Religion and Ministry (CLGS), and credit card statements will show payment made to "CLGS."  The PANA Institute shares a PayPal account with CLGS, its sister center at Pacific School of Religion, so please be assured that payment is being properly processed.  

Questions about the conference or about registration may be directed to APARRI Program Executive Christopher Chua at cchua@psr.edu or 510/849-8210.