AAS Presidential Panel: Funding for Asian Studies in the Twenty-First Century: International Perspectives

Organizer and Chair: Barbara Watson Andaya, University of Hawai'i

As any Ph.D. student will know, funding for projects dealing with Asian topics is not easy to obtain, especially in the social sciences and humanities. The question of funding becomes more significant in later years as academics seek to obtain support for sabbatical projects, sometimes in the investigation of what funding agencies see as arcane subjects of limited interest. In the late 20^th and 21^st centuries technological advances and improvements in communication have opened up unprecedented possibilities for global co-operation in research and publishing. Nonetheless, though attractive, financial support for co-operative initiatives is often limited by national constraints on citizenship and by concerns that the research does in some way benefit the donor, whether state or private. Composed of individuals who have been significant in developing institutions that further international research on Asia, this panel offers a comparative examination of the realities of funding, support and directions for Asian Studies over the last decade and into the future.

Insiders and Outsiders in Prioritizing the Study of Asia in the 21st Century

Anthony Reid, National University of Singapore

The Asia Research Institute (ARI) was established in July 2001 as one of the strategic initiatives of the National University of Singapore. Located at one of Asia’s communication hubs, the Institute’s mission is to provide a world-class focus and resource for research on the Asian region by engaging the social sciences broadly defined, and by pushing the frontiers between and beyond disciplines.  Through frequent provision of short-term research appointments it seeks to be a place of encounters between the region and the world and to encourage collaboration with other Asian research institutes worldwide. This presentation offers some perspectives on the direction of Asian studies from the ARI standpoint, and the role of both insiders" and "outsiders" in establishing priorities for the study of Asia in the 21st century".

W. A. L. Stokhof, International Institute of Asian Studies

Founded in 1993, the International Institute for Asian Studies (IIAS) is a postdoctoral research centre based in Leiden and Amsterdam, the Netherlands. Its primary objective is to encourage the interdisciplinary and comparative study of Asia and to promote national and international cooperation in the field. The institute focuses on the human and social sciences and on their interaction with other sciences. By providing information services, constructing international networks, and setting up international cooperative projects and research programs, the IIAS functions as a window on Europe for non-European scholars and contributes to the cultural rapprochement between Asia. The IIAS considers academic cooperation indispensable to top-level research. It believes that, in the present environment of globalization, the distinctive national traditions of research and scholarship need to be brought together into complementary partnerships. This presentation by the founder and current director of IIAS will review the realities of funding for local and international projects, both in the recent past and into the next decade.

Terrill E. Lautz, Henry Luce Foundation

The Henry Luce Foundation was established in 1936 by the late Henry R. Luce, co-founder and editor-in-chief of Time Inc., and its work reflects the interests of four generations of the Luce family. Higher education has been a persistent theme for most of the foundation's programs, with an emphasis on innovation and scholarship. One of its major interests, resulting from Luce family links to China, is to foster understanding between Asia and the United States. Project grants are limited to Northeast and Southeast Asia, but the Foundation also periodically funds special competitive initiatives to target specific issues, such as the initiative to strengthen the study of Asia at the undergraduate level of American higher education. In addition, the Luce Scholars Program provides stipends and internships for fifteen young Americans to live and work in Asia each year. This presentation will review the funding outlook for the future as currently perceived.

Charnvit Kasetsiri, Thammasat University, Thailand

In May 1994 a small group of Southeast Asian scholars drafted a blueprint for Southeast Asian studies in the region. With generous support from the Toyota Foundation and the Japan Foundation Asia Center, the SEASREP Council (now celebrating its ten-year anniversary) aims to promote Southeast Asian studies through various study, research and exchange grants by establishing a network of scholars in the region through universities and other channels. However,  SEASREP envisions a re-orientation in approach in the next decade. In the new century, it will be more important to explore networks than to define boundaries, a move that, in turn, requires expanded rather than constricting intellectual frameworks and even greater collaboration among scholars and disciplines in and outside the Southeast Asian region. Consequently, while insisting on Southeast Asia as its point of intellectual departure, SEASREP hopes to open out the study of the region, acknowledging its ancient and continuing role as a global crossroads. Dr. Charnvit Kasetsiri has been intimately involved with SEASREP since its founding, and will speak to both problems and possibilities for the future.

David B. J. Adams, Council for International Exchange of Scholars

This presentation will assess the likelihood of continued federal government support for Asian studies and briefly introduce the various forms of support including grants for study and research including the Fulbright Scholar and Fulbright Student grants and Fulbright-Hays grants for student and faculty research. There will also be a brief introduction to the some of the new US government initiatives such as the Foreign Language Teaching Associates program and initiatives related to improved understanding of Islamic communities and societies.