International Convention of Asia Scholars

International Convention of Asia Scholars
Name	International Convention of Asia Scholars
Abbr	ICAS
Formation	1999
Type	Non-profit association
Headquarters	Varies (rotating host institutions)
Region served	Asia, Oceania, Europe, North America

International Convention of Asia Scholars is a transnational association that convenes scholars of Asian studies through biennial and annual meetings, regional conferences, and publication initiatives. Founded to foster interdisciplinary exchange across area studies, the organization brings together researchers associated with institutions such as University of Oxford, Harvard University, Peking University, University of Tokyo, and National University of Singapore. Its activities intersect with networks linked to Association for Asian Studies, European Association for Asian Studies, Asian Development Bank, United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, and major research libraries like The British Library and Library of Congress.

History

ICAS emerged from collaborative planning among scholars who had participated in forums hosted by Association for Asian Studies, EuroSEAS, Asian Studies Association of Australia, and conferences at universities including Columbia University, University of California, Berkeley, Seoul National University, and University of Hong Kong. Early meetings convened academics working on topics related to Ming dynasty, Qing dynasty, Meiji Restoration, Taisho period, Republic of China (1912–1949), People's Republic of China, Joseon dynasty, Goryeo, Muromachi period, Tokugawa shogunate, British Raj, Southeast Asian history, Khmer Empire, Srivijaya, and modern states such as India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Myanmar, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines, Brunei.

Founders and early conveners included faculty linked to Australian National University, SOAS University of London, University of Toronto, McGill University, University of Sydney, Yonsei University, and research centers like The Asia Foundation and East–West Center. The convention expanded alongside developments in area studies shaped by funding from organizations such as Ford Foundation, Rockefeller Foundation, Japan Foundation, Kościuszko Foundation, and by comparative projects referencing works like The Cambridge History of China, The Cambridge History of Japan, A History of Southeast Asia, and journals including The Journal of Asian Studies, Modern Asian Studies, Asian Survey, Pacific Affairs, and Positions: Asia Critique.

Organization and Governance

The governance model mirrors structures used by academic associations like Association for Asian Studies and European Association for Asian Studies, with an international steering committee, regional coordinators, and rotating program committees drawn from institutions including National Taiwan University, Tsinghua University, Kyoto University, Peking University Health Science Center, University of Malaya, Ateneo de Manila University, Chulalongkorn University, Universitas Indonesia, University of the Philippines, and Nanyang Technological University. Leadership roles have been filled by scholars affiliated with Princeton University, Yale University, Stanford University, Cornell University, University of Chicago, University of Michigan, University College London, and University of Edinburgh.

Administrative practices incorporate principles similar to those used by International Council for Philosophy and Humanistic Studies, International Social Science Council, and professional standards found at American Council of Learned Societies and British Academy. Funding and partnerships are cultivated with libraries and museums such as National Museum of China, Tokyo National Museum, Victoria and Albert Museum, and funding agencies including National Endowment for the Humanities, Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, Australian Research Council, and European Research Council.

Conferences and Activities

ICAS organizes biennial international conventions, regional conferences, workshops, graduate consortia, and multi-panel sessions collaborating with host universities such as University of Hong Kong, Chinese University of Hong Kong, City University of Hong Kong, Seikei University, Hankuk University of Foreign Studies, and research institutes like Institute of Southeast Asian Studies and Korea Institute for Advanced Study. Program topics have addressed historical themes like Silk Road, Indian Ocean trade, Great Game, Opium Wars, Treaty of Nanking, Meiji reforms, and contemporary issues involving ASEAN Summit, Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, G7 Summit, Belt and Road Initiative, Trans-Pacific Partnership, World Trade Organization disputes, and transnational movements linked to Indian Diaspora, Chinese Diaspora, Korean Diaspora, Japanese Diaspora, Filipino diaspora.

Workshops connect specialists in fields with linked projects such as archival digitization at National Archives of Japan, manuscript studies referencing Tibetan Canon, epigraphy linked to Ram Khamhaeng Inscription, oral history projects referencing Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman interviews, and museum collaborations with Asian Art Museum (San Francisco), Freer Gallery of Art, and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery.

Membership and Participation

Members include scholars, librarians, graduate students, independent researchers, and policymakers affiliated with universities and institutions including Purdue University, Indiana University Bloomington, Ohio State University, University of British Columbia, McMaster University, Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich, Leiden University, University of Amsterdam, Sciences Po, Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne, and think tanks such as International Crisis Group and Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Participation formats mirror academic associations like American Historical Association with panels, roundtables, poster sessions, and keynote lectures delivered by figures associated with Amartya Sen, Partha Chatterjee, Gayatri Spivak, Benedict Anderson, Prasenjit Duara, Wang Gungwu, Rana Mitter, Gilles Kepel, Sun Yat-sen studies practitioners, and leading museum curators.

Registration tiers and institutional memberships parallel those of Association for Asian Studies and European Association for Asian Studies, enabling universities such as University of Melbourne, Monash University, University of Auckland, University of Otago, Sejong University, Korea University, and research networks like Asian Law Institute to sponsor sessions and travel grants.

Publications and Awards

ICAS supports publication outlets and proceedings in collaboration with academic presses including Cambridge University Press, Oxford University Press, Routledge, Brill Publishers, Springer, and journals such as Journal of Asian Studies, Modern Asian Studies, China Quarterly, Japan Forum, Contemporary South Asia, Indonesia and the Malay World, and Sojourn: Journal of Social Issues in Southeast Asia. It sponsors prizes and awards for best paper, early career researcher recognition, and dissertation awards similar to honors given by Association for Asian Studies and region-specific prizes like the John K. Fairbank Prize and the MFK Fisher Prize.

Collaborative monograph series and edited volumes emanate from conference themes on topics connected to works like Orientalism (Said), comparative studies referencing World-systems theory, and methodological innovations in digital humanities projects akin to Digital South Asia Library and Chinese Text Project.

Impact and Reception

ICAS has influenced scholarly exchange across institutions such as Harvard-Yenching Institute, Yenching Academy, Mellon Foundation–funded programs, and led to collaborative grants involving Wellcome Trust and national academies including Academia Sinica, Australian Academy of the Humanities, Royal Society of New Zealand, and Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft. Reviews in journals like The Journal of Asian Studies and Modern Asian Studies have noted its role in fostering interdisciplinary networks comparable to European Association for Asian Studies and Association for Asian Studies initiatives, while critiques have paralleled debates seen around the institutionalization of area studies in postcolonial critiques by scholars associated with Edward Said, Gayatri Spivak, Dipesh Chakrabarty, and Prasenjit Duara.

Its convenings have catalyzed projects between museums, archives, and universities, producing cooperative exhibitions with institutions like British Museum, Metropolitan Museum of Art, National Palace Museum, and collaborative digital projects linked to World Digital Library and regional repositories.

Category:Academic conferences Category:Asian studies organizations