UCLA Center for Southeast Asian Studies

UCLA Center for Southeast Asian Studies
Name	UCLA Center for Southeast Asian Studies
Established	1999
Parent	University of California, Los Angeles
Director	K. Sivaramakrishnan
Location	Los Angeles, California, United States
Website	https://www.international.ucla.edu/cseas/

UCLA Center for Southeast Asian Studies. The center is a federally funded National Resource Center dedicated to advancing the interdisciplinary study of Southeast Asia at the University of California, Los Angeles. Established with support from the U.S. Department of Education under the Title VI program, it serves as a hub for scholarly research, language instruction, and public outreach focused on the diverse cultures, histories, and societies of the region. The center collaborates closely with other units within the UCLA International Institute and supports a wide network of students and faculty engaged with countries from Myanmar to the Philippines.

History

The center was formally established in 1999, building upon decades of faculty expertise and student interest in Southeast Asia at UCLA. Its creation was significantly bolstered by a grant from the U.S. Department of Education's Title VI program, designating it as a National Resource Center. This designation linked it to a national network of area studies centers aimed at strengthening American understanding of world regions. Early leadership involved scholars like Robert B. Textor and John K. Whitmore, who helped shape its interdisciplinary focus. Over the years, the center has consistently secured federal funding, allowing it to expand its library collections, support Fulbright Program applicants, and host visiting scholars from institutions like Chulalongkorn University and the National University of Singapore.

Academic Programs

The center administers an interdisciplinary undergraduate minor in Southeast Asian Studies, drawing courses from departments such as Anthropology, History, Political science, and World Arts and Cultures. It provides critical support for graduate students through Foreign Language and Area Studies (FLAS) fellowships for intensive study of languages like Thai, Vietnamese, Indonesian, and Khmer. The academic program is closely integrated with the UCLA Department of Asian Languages and Cultures, which offers language and literature instruction. The center also sponsors the Inter-University Program for Chinese Language Studies in Taipei for advanced Chinese language training relevant to the region.

Research and Publications

Faculty and graduate students affiliated with the center conduct field research across the region, from Angkor Wat to Bali, often supported by grants from the Social Science Research Council and the Henry Luce Foundation. The center publishes the UCLA Journal of Southeast Asian Studies, a peer-reviewed graduate student publication. It also hosts the Southeast Asia Digital Library, a major online repository of historical materials. Notable research initiatives have examined topics such as Theravada Buddhism in Laos, Islamic finance in Malaysia, and post-conflict reconciliation in Timor-Leste. Scholars frequently present findings at the Annual Meeting of the Association for Asian Studies.

Faculty and Staff

The center is led by Director K. Sivaramakrishnan, an anthropologist whose work focuses on South Asia and Southeast Asia. Its core faculty includes renowned scholars such as historian Geoffrey Robinson, an expert on Indonesia and genocide studies; anthropologist Cheryl Mattingly, who works on medical anthropology in Vietnam; and political scientist Thomas B. Pepinsky, who studies comparative politics in Malaysia and Indonesia. The staff includes a dedicated outreach coordinator and language program administrators who manage fellowship programs and community events. The center also hosts visiting professors and postdoctoral fellows from institutions like the École française d'Extrême-Orient.

Facilities and Resources

The center is housed within the UCLA International Institute in Bunche Hall. Its primary physical resource is the extensive Southeast Asia collection at the UCLA Library, particularly within the Richard C. Rudolph East Asian Library. The library holds special collections, including the H. Sutherland Collection on Burma and archives related to the Vietnam War. The center maintains a computer lab and supports the UCLA Language Materials Project, an online resource for language pedagogy. It also provides grants for students to conduct research at facilities like the Cornell University Southeast Asia Program archives or the National Archives of Indonesia.

Outreach and Public Engagement

A key mandate is to share knowledge about Southeast Asia with K–12 educators, community colleges, media, and the public in Southern California. The center organizes workshops for teachers, often in partnership with the National Consortium for Teaching about Asia. It hosts public lecture series featuring diplomats, artists, and scholars, such as filmmakers from the Philippine cinema and musicians from the Gamelan traditions of Java. The center also collaborates with local cultural institutions like the Bowers Museum and the Japanese American National Museum on exhibitions and festivals. Its annual Southeast Asian Studies symposium attracts participants from across the University of California system and beyond.

Category:University of California, Los Angeles Category:Southeast Asian studies Category:Area studies organizations