CSEAS Newsletter
January 2025
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Lunar New Year decorations in Singapore Chinatown in early January, with the iconic modernist People's Park Complex in the background (Image: AGD) | |
CSEAS News
CSEAS sends warm wishes for a happy 2025, and a Year of the Snake that is healthy, prosperous, and joyful! Thank you for your friendship and ongoing support.
CSEAS is delighted to share some updates from CSEAS faculty affiliates and faculty executive committee members. In October 2024, Nancy Peluso, Professor of the Graduate School and former faculty chair of CSEAS, was invited to the University of Amsterdam to give the Wertheim Lecture. This lecture was initiated by the Amsterdam School for Social Science and Research in 1990 in recognition of W.F. Wertheim's major contributions to the European tradition of historical-sociological research on modern Asia. In her talk, "Remittance Houses in the Remittance Forests of Java," Peluso analyzed such houses and forests as moments of empowerment for forest plantation workers in centuries-long struggles between foresters and villagers. Bravo, Nancy! CSEAS is also honored to note that Vasugi Kailasam, Assistant Professor in the Department of South and Southeast Asian Studies and CSEAS executive committee member, was awarded the prestigious 2024 Prytanean Faculty Enrichment Award. Every year, the Prytanean Alumni Chapter, the first women's honor organization in the United States, presents a woman junior faculty member at UC Berkeley with this award to honor their excellence and achievements. Kailasam's contributions to UC Berkeley and beyond are reflected in her outstanding scholarship, teaching, mentoring, and service. Congratulations, Vasugi!
We are excited to begin this serpentine year and spring semester with some wonderful programming. On February 7, Victoria Reyes will present on her pathbreaking book, Academic Outsider: Stories of Exclusion and Hope. Then, on February 18, the Department of South and Southeast Asian Studies own Vasugi Kailasam will discuss the Tamil historical novel of WWII in Southeast Asia. And on February 27, don't miss a moderated discussion on Thai politics and society with former Move Forward Party of Thailand leader, Pita Limjaroenrat, and Assistant Professor in the Department of Anthropology, Daena Funahashi! Please also note that the UCB application deadline for FLAS is February 10, 2025. For more info on the FLAS competition, see below.
Follow CSEAS on our Instagram account, @cseas_ucb ! CSEAS uses this account to share announcements, event reminders, and glimpses into Southeast Asian Studies on campus, in the Bay Area, and beyond. CSEAS is keen to hear what you would like to know about Southeast Asia and Southeast Asian Studies at Berkeley, and to share your news of relevant events and opportunities. Get in touch with us at cseas@berkeley.edu!
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CSEAS Events
Thursday, February 6
Talk
Academic Outsider: Stories of Exclusion and Hope
Victoria Reyes, Associate Professor, Department of Gender & Sexuality Studies, UC Riverside
5:00 pm
554 Social Sciences
Victoria Reyes presents her essential book, in which she explores how many enter the academy with dreams of doing good but are failed by institutions, especially if they are considered “outsiders.”
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Tuesday, February 18
Talk
The Tamil Historical Novel of WWII in Southeast Asia
Vasugi Kailasam, Assistant Professor, Department of South and Southeast Asian Studies, UC Berkeley
5:00 pm
370 Dwinelle Hall
This talk examines the Tamil realist novel within the historical context of World War II and its immediate aftermath in South and Southeast Asia. With analysis of two seminal works from the Tamil modernist canon, Kailasam investigates the deployment of narrative realism and its adaptive textures from a comparative perspective within the Tamil novel.
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Thursday, February 27
Talk
Decoding Thai Politics: Challenges & Prospects, with Pita Limjaroenrat
Pita Limjaroenrat, former leader of the Move Forward Party & Visiting Senior Fellow, Harvard Kennedy School, with Daena Funahashi, Assistant Professor of Anthropology, UC Berkeley
5:00 pm
Venue TBC
Join Pita and Funahashi for a moderated discussion about contemporary Thai politics and society followed by an open audience Q&A on themes such as Thailand’s economy, inequality, and democratic movements; Thailand’s relationships with ASEAN, BRICS, and the world’s superpowers; and the global state of democracy.
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Bay Area Events
Sunday, January 19
Festival
Oakland Little Saigon Tết Festival
11:00 am - 3:00 pm
Clinton Park (655 International Boulevard, Oakland)
Join this festival for Tết, the Vietnamese celebration of the Lunar New Year, with performances, food, and more.
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Friday, February 7 - Sunday, February 9
Festival
San Jose Lunar New Year - Tet & Moon Festival 2025
All day
Eastridge Mall (2200 Eastridge Loop, San Jose)
The 10th anniversary celebration of UStar Productions Hoi Xuan San Jose Tet Festival, with cultural performances, music, food, games, and more.
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Please scroll to the bottom of the newsletter for virtual events about Southeast Asia occurring across the US and around the world. | |
Jobs & Postdocs
Gosling-Lim Postdoctoral Fellowship in Southeast Asian Studies
Association for Asian Studies
This fellowship is focused on capability-building in Southeast Asian Studies among scholars who are Southeast Asian nationals based in Southeast Asia and at Southeast Asian institutions. Its goal is to enable such scholars to concentrate on publishing their dissertation research, and/or embark on new post-dissertation research. The intent is that fellowship recipients will develop their careers in Southeast Asia, helping to advance the field of Southeast Asian Studies within the region. The fellowship provides US $55,000 of funding, to be expended over 10-12 months while the recipient is in residence or otherwise based at an academic institution, in Southeast Asia or abroad, other than their home institution and the institution at which their doctorate was obtained. See the website for details. Deadline: February 3, 2025.
Stanford Next Asia Policy Lab (SNAPL) Postdoctoral & Visiting Fellowships
Walter H. Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center (APARC), Stanford University
SNAPL is committed to addressing Asia's emergent social, cultural, economic, and political challenges, and it is offering one or two postdoctoral fellowships (two years in length) to begin in Autumn quarter 2025. There are four fellowship tracks: "Talent Flows and Development,” "Nationalism and Racism," "U.S.-Asia Relations," and "Democratic Crisis and Reform." SNAPL also offers three visiting fellow positions to researchers and professionals from Asia with a PhD or a substantial record of achievement related to the Lab's four research themes. One of these three positions will be specifically dedicated to research on the Philippines. See the job listings for details. Deadlines: December 1, 2024, & March 1, 2025.
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Fellowships, Funding, & Learning Opportunities
Fulbright-Hays Doctoral Dissertation Research Abroad Fellowship Program
The DDRA fellowship program provides opportunities for doctoral candidates to engage in full-time dissertation research abroad in modern foreign languages and area studies, including in Southeast Asia. The program is designed to deepen research knowledge and increase the study of modern foreign languages, cultural engagement, and area studies not generally included in U.S. curricula. Students may request funding to support overseas research for a period of no less than six months and no more than 12 months. See the website for details. Deadline: January 22, 2025.
Lee Kong Chian NUS-Stanford Fellowship on Southeast Asia
Walter H. Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center (APARC), Stanford University
This fellowship provides experts on Southeast Asia the opportunity to conduct research on or related to contemporary Southeast Asia. Fellows spend three to four months at both institutions. At Stanford, APARC's Southeast Asia Program hosts the fellowship. Appointments will begin and end within the period from September 1, 2025 to May 31, 2026. See the job listing for details. Deadline: January 24, 2025.
ANTI/AUTHORITARIAN: Southeast Asian Studies Graduate Workshop
University of Wisconsin Madison
The Justice in Southeast Asia Lab invites graduate student applicants to join graduate student colleagues from UW-Madison, keynote speakers, and UW-Madison faculty to examine the role(s) of different kinds of scholarship in subverting authoritarianism in Southeast Asia through a series of roundtables, presentations, and exchanges. Shared accommodation for participants from outside Wisconsin will be provided and some travel funding may be available. See the website for details. Deadline: February 7, 2025.
Foreign Language and Area Studies Fellowships (FLAS)
At UC Berkeley, funding for FLAS Fellowships is available from CSEAS, a Title VI National Resource Center. Academic Year FLAS awards are available for Filipino, Indonesian, Khmer, and Vietnamese. Students should check with the Department of South & Southeast Asian Studies about the level of instruction to be offered for Thai or Burmese before applying. FLAS fellowships provide funding to students to encourage the study of less commonly taught foreign languages in combination with area and international studies. The purpose of FLAS is to promote the training of students who intend to make their careers in college or university teaching, government service, or other employment where knowledge of foreign languages and cultures is essential. Applicants must be U.S. citizens or permanent residents. See the website for details. Deadline: February 10, 2025.
The Southeast Asian Studies Summer Institute (SEASSI)
University of Wisconsin Madison
SEASSI is an eight-week intensive language training program for undergraduates, graduate students, professionals, and non-traditional students. Students learn speaking, reading, listening, and writing skills through classroom instruction and a full range of co-curricular activities. Languages offered through SEASSI include: Burmese, Filipino, Hmong, Indonesian, Javanese, Khmer, Lao, Thai, and Vietnamese. SEASSI 2025 takes place from June 16 to August 8. See the website for details. Various deadlines starting February 14, 2025.
Summer Study Abroad in Laos (SAIL)
Center for Lao Studies & Northern Illinois University
During this five week‐long program (June 30 - August 1), students will partake in language and cultural lessons at the Lao‐American Institute (LAI) in Vientiane, with private instruction by professors from the National University of Laos. Participants will also have the opportunity to study Lao history and culture, augment their academics with cultural trips throughout the area, and experience volunteering with various organizations. See the website for details. Deadline: April 1, 2025.
Advanced Study of Khmer (ASK)
University of Hawai'i at Mānoa
This intensive eight-week training in Khmer language (June 9 - August 1) is held in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. The program is administered in collaboration with the Center for Khmer Studies (CKS) in Cambodia and the Institute of Foreign Languages (IFL) at the Royal University of Phnom Penh (RUPP). The program's hands-on-activities provide students with the opportunity to acquire linguistic foundations necessary to engage in academic research, professional discourse, and cultural immersion with all segments of Khmer society. Students must cover their own expenses. See the website for details. Deadline: March 30, 2025.
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Call for Papers
(organized by submission deadline)
June 17 - 21, 2025
AIFIS-MSU Conference on Indonesian Studies: Indonesia in Motion - Aspirations and Apprehensions
The American Institute for Indonesian Studies (AIFIS), & Michigan State University (MSU) Asian Studies Center
Virtual Conference
Organizers invite abstract submissions from scholars across broad disciplinary perspectives in the study of Indonesia. This year’s conference theme examines the intersections of precarity, resilience, and transformation in Indonesia and beyond, and highlights uncertainties prompted by emerging trends in all aspects of life in Indonesia, past, present, and future. The conference considers the shared hopes and anxieties shaping the experiences of Indonesian and global communities. Proposals for panels and presentations engaging with this theme or on any other theme focusing on Indonesia and its place in the world are welcomed. Abstracts are accepted in Indonesian and English. More information here. Submission deadline: February 28, 2025.
September 15 - 17, 2025
Association of Southeast Asian Studies Annual Conference: Global Southeast Asia: Continuity and Change
Association of Southeast Asian Studies (ASEAS), St John’s College, University of Cambridge
The ASEAS organising committee is delighted to invite submissions of paper and panel abstracts for their upcoming conference. This year’s theme, “Global Southeast Asia: Continuity and Change,” explores the dynamic and evolving nature of Southeast Asia in the context of global interconnectedness, political change, environmental challenges, cultural flows, and socio-economic transformations. Organisers welcome a wide range of submissions that engage with Southeast Asia from interdisciplinary perspectives for individual paper presentations and panels. More information here. Submission deadline: April 30, 2025.
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Next time you visit SFMOMA, pause to admire a new mural, VMD, by San Francisco artist and educator Jenifer K. Wofford. Victoria "Vicki" Manalo Draves (1924-2010) won gold medals in both platform and springboard diving at the 1948 Summer Olympics in London, making her the first Asian American gold medalist. Draves was raised in San Francisco by an English mother and a Filipino father, and learned how to swim at the nickel baths in the Mission, experiencing myriad forms of racism and prejudice as she continued to train. Wofford's immersive mural moves away from narrative to engage VMD more abstractly, prompting viewers to linger on the aqueous world of her diving rhythms - the simultaneous external tension and soft inward focus of her practice. | |
Other Events
Thursday, January 23
Webinar
ÁCCENTED #43 | Poetics of Displacement: Stories from Sydney to San Diego
Vivian Pham, Writer & Steven Duong, Poet
6:00 pm PT
Organized by DVAN (Diasporic Vietnamese Artists Network)
Registration is open.
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