Southeast Asian studies

Definitions of Southeast Asia

The boundaries of Southeast Asia are contested due to historical, cultural, and linguistic similarities between some groups in Southeast Asia and neighboring regions like India and China. Many scholars of Southeast Asian studies rely on the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to create a concrete list of nations that fit under the umbrella of Southeast Asia. As of 2016, members of ASEAN include Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao DPR, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam.

Before and During the Second World War

While the term "Southeast Asia" was first used in connection with the present region by American priest and educator Howard Malcom in 1837, the region presently referred to as Southeast Asia was split between India and the Far East by anglophone scholars prior to the Second World War and de-emphasized as an area of study due to the presence of national interests in the region. Initial inquiries into the culture and traditions of Southeast Asia were primarily conducted by German and Austrian scholars who had greater access to the region because their home countries had no colonies in the region The strategic importance of numerous locales in Southeast Asia such as the Dutch East Indies and the Philippines during the Second World War attracted increased attention from the West. This newfound attention led to the establishment of Mountbatten's South-East Asia Commant (SEAC) in 1943, and the publication of the first map of Southeast Asia by the National Geographic society in 1944.

Postwar

Immediately after the conclusion of the Second World War, the beginnings of the Cold War drew the attention of United States think tanks and intelligence organizations away from Southeast Asia. Events such as the 1949 Revolution in China and fear about the spread of communism re-centered much of the monetary focus on to China and the Soviet Union. This led to two results: while funding and the commitment of corporations to the area decreased, oversight also decreased; researchers in the West were free to pursue most avenues of interest without the objection of their sponsors.

In East Asia

In Japan, Southeast Asian studies became a more concrete field of study in the period after Japanese colonization of the region during the Pacific War. The Center for Southeast Asian Studies at Kyoto University was founded in 1963, and The Japan Society for Southeast Asian History was founded in 1966 In the United States, the rise of communism in Vietnam and Laos brought Southeast Asian studies to the forefront of academia and politics. In Korea, academics began forming groups focusing on the region of Southeast Asia in the 1990s. In 1991, the Korean Association of Southeast Asian Studies (KASEAS). Southeast Asian studies in South Korea focuses mainly on Southeast Asia's relationship with other regions in Asia, trans-border migration within and outside Southeast Asia, and the spread of Korean Wave in the region.

Publication

Southeast Asian Studies is also the English name of the Japanese scholarly journal Tonan Ajia Kenkyu. The journal has been published since 1963 by the Center for Southeast Asian Studies at Kyoto University.

Programs by country

Universities that offer studies of Southeast Asia are listed by region:

Southeast Asia

Ateneo de Manila University

Chulalongkorn University

Gadjah Mada University

Mahidol University International College (MUIC)

National University of Singapore

Silliman University

Thammasat University

University of Indonesia

University of Malaya

University of Asia and the Pacific

University of the Philippines Diliman

Walailak University

East Asia

Beijing Foreign Studies University

Beijing International Studies University

City University of Hong Kong

Jinan University

Kyoto University

National Chi Nan University

National Sun Yat-sen University

Sophia University

Sun Yat-sen University

Tokyo University of Foreign Studies

Xiamen University

North America

Arizona State University

Cornell University

Johns Hopkins University

Northern Illinois University

Ohio University

University of British Columbia

University of California, Berkeley

University of California, Los Angeles

University of California, Riverside

University of Hawai'i at Manoa

University of Illinois

University of Michigan

University of Pittsburgh

University of Toronto

University of Washington, Seattle

University of Wisconsin, Madison

Yale University

Europe

Università degli Studi di Napoli "L'Orientale"

School of Oriental & African Studies (University of London)

University of Hull

Heidelberg University

Contemporary Asian Studies - University of Amsterdam

Southeast Asian Studies - Leiden University

Southeast Asian Studies - Asia Africa Institute at Hamburg University

Oceania

The Australian National University