For Celebration of the 20th Anniversary of the Research Center for Humanities and Social Studies (RCHSS), Academia Sinica, and in Memory of the 30th Anniversary of the Program for Southeast Asian Area Studies (PROSEA), Academia Sinica.
Theme:
In 1994, with the initiation of the former President of Academia Sinica, Dr. Yuan-Tseh Lee, the Program for Southeast Asian Area Studies (PROSEA) was created. This marked the commencement of institutional research on the region among Taiwan’s academics, and consequently motivated the launch of graduate and undergraduate studies and research centers on Southeast Asia in several universities. In 2003, the Center for Asia-Pacific Area Studies (CAPAS), grounded in PROSEA (and the Program for Northeast Asian Area Studies, also at Academia Sinica), was established. Over the last three decades, Taiwanese academia has generated three generations of researchers in these area studies—the senior, the middle-aged, and the junior. They have immersed themselves in a range of research issues, learnt from the experiences of international academics, absorbed their theories and engaged in ongoing debates. Concurrently, Taiwan’s connections with Southeast Asia have deepened. This conference, hosted by CAPAS, provides a timely opportunity to look at the perspectives and methodologies of Southeast Asian studies in Taiwan, Northeast Asia, Southeast Asia and beyond.
Some of the questions we will examine on this occasion are:
What constitutes area studies? What is the relevance of area studies vis-à-vis academic disciplines, and what are their differences? How do we reconcile regional unity and local diversities? How do we connect different scales of studies, ranging from communities, nations, trans-nations, to trans-areas? How do we move forward from ongoing debates between different research perspectives and methodologies? What are the issues and research sites that require further exploration, so that we can go beyond established theoretical concepts and bring out new insights and interpretations?
The answers to these questions will require interdisciplinary efforts. We would like to make this conference a venue for exchange of ideas and inspirational moments. We sincerely invite local and international scholars to take part in it. We look forward to your participation as well as the continuous growth of Southeast Asian studies in Taiwan.
Organizer:
Center for Asia-Pacific Area Studies (CAPAS) of RCHSS, Academia Sinica.
Taiwan Association of Southeast Asian Studies, TASEAS
Co-Sponsors:
Taiwan-Asia Exchange Foundation, TAEF
Dept. Southeast Asian Studies, National Chi Nan University
Research Center of Southeast Asian Studies, National Chengchi University
Dept. History, Tamkang University
