Eloisa May P. Hernandez, PhD marked another historical feat as she becomes the first Filipino and Southeast Asian to be elected vice president of the European Association for Southeast Asian Studies (EuroSEAS).
Hernandez was elected on Sept. 3 during the 14th EuroSEAS Conference in Madrid, Spain.
According to its website, EuroSEAS is “the world’s largest organization devoted to the study of Southeast Asia. Founded in 1992, it aims to stimulate scholarly cooperation within Europe in the field of Southeast Asian studies.” Its main activity “is the organization of a biennial international conference bringing together hundreds of specialists on Southeast Asia from all over the world.”
A professor at the UP Diliman (UPD) Department of Art Studies (DAS), her research interests are film, popular culture, and Philippine art history.
In her Facebook post, EuroSEAS member and Philippine contingent Cynthia Grace C. Gregorio, PhD said Hernandez’s “push for Southeast representation in the board in 2024 sparked real change with the inclusion of five Southeast Asian scholars in the EuroSEAS board. This ‘ripple’ of change paved the way for her election as vice president and this achievement is overwhelming.” Gregorio is a professor at the UPD Institute of Chemistry.
Hernandez attended the EuroSEAS conferences in Naples, Italy (2007), Gothenburg, Sweden (2010), Lisbon, Portugal (2013), Vienna, Austria (2015), Paris, France (2022), and Amsterdam, The Netherlands (2024).
Hernandez has a PhD (Philippine studies) and an MA (art history) from UPD. She is a fellow at the UP Center for Women’s and Gender Studies and program head of the UP Varsity Pep Drummers and Crowdleaders.
