30/06/2026
We are delighted to share that Sianne Gabor-Mendoza, a PhD candidate in the Department of Old Testament at the Global Institute of Theology, Yonsei University, presented her paper at the Society for Asian Biblical Studies Conference, held in Jakarta, Indonesia.
Her paper, titled “Towards Alternative Readings from the Margins: The Discordant Cry and the Contrapuntal Reading of Labor Migration in Asia,” offers a powerful reading of labor migration through postcolonial feminist hermeneutics. Engaging Edward Said’s contrapuntal reading, the study connects the biblical demand for justice in Deuteronomy with the lived experience of Filipino migrant workers in South Korea.
By bringing attention to the unresolved pain of migrant laborers through the Korean concept of 한 (Han), the paper challenges exploitative systems that reduce migrant workers to mere units of labor. Instead, it recovers their voice, dignity, and sacred agency.
Sianne’s work is a meaningful contribution to Asian biblical scholarship, especially in its commitment to reading Scripture from the margins and listening to the cries of those often silenced by institutional, colonial, and patriarchal power.
We warmly congratulate her on this important academic achievement
