Southeast Asia

Tani Sebro

Performing Merng Tai: The Life and Arts of Khru Saangkham Jangyod

Born in Shan State in 1967, following General Ne Win’s bloody military coup d’etat, Saangkham Jangyod came of age during a time of profound unrest in Burma. Yet, despite enduring the uproars of civil war, forced displacement, and personal loss, Khru (teacher) Saangkham would become one of the most revered cultural practitioners of the Tai (Shan) performing arts repertoire. Today, Khru Saangkham teaches and performs traditional Tai dance, martial arts, music, and opera while living in exile in Northern Thailand. His mission...

Margiana Petersen-Rockney

Agrarian Migrations and Hmong Diasporas in Siskiyou County, California

Team: Dr. Margiana Petersen-Rockney (PI), Morgan Vannavilaithong (videographer), Karen Vang (community-based researcher and...

Daniel Owen

The Poet and The Angkringan Proprietor

Afrizal Malna at home in Kahuripan Nirwana

Afrizal Malna and Dan Owen at a cafe

For my SEALIVES project, I proposed to...

Alan Yeh

Con ăn cơm chưa? Việt Kiều Care, Consumption, and Culinary Crossings

This project explores diasporic Vietnamese culinary histories and practices of care, as part of a larger dissertation entitled “Con ăn cơm...

Kavitha Ganesan

Self-narratives about home (“ruma”) and land (“bawang”): The stories of Len Lakong and Pelura Sinau, the indigenous Lundayeh women of Long Pasia, Sabah, Malaysia

This SEALIVES project brought together the researcher and...

Puangchon Unchanam and Khorapin Phuaphansawat

The Monarchy, the Mass, and the Marginalized: Lèse-majesté Prosecutions and People at the Periphery

This interview project is part of our research which aims to examine how Thai commoners with socio-economic disadvantages decided to join the monarchy reform movement during 2020-2022 and how they have been prosecuted and endured legal prosecutions. Their marginalized and precarious experiences would provide an immensely rich accounts for a study of the monarchy reform movement, political activism, and ongoing lèse-majesté prosecutions in Thailand...

Harifa pye Siregar

Literacy amidst Ignorance: Anton Solihin and Batu Api Library, as observed by pye siregar

My project focuses on filming Anton Solihin, the owner and caretaker of Batu Api Library. Batu Api is a private library located in Jatinangor, an educational area approximately 26 miles from Bandung, the capital of West Java Province, Indonesia. Since its founding on April 1, 1999, Batu Api has amassed thousands of books, documents, films, musical recordings, and newspaper clippings related to Indonesia. Anton and Batu Api would provide interesting stories about the side...

The Republic of Vietnam Endowment for Vietnamese Studies

The Republic of Vietnam Endowment for Vietnamese Studies

The University of California, Berkeley is proud to announce the establishment of the Republic of Vietnam Endowment at the Center for Southeast Asia Studies (CSEAS). Made possible by a generous $500,000 pledge from Cuong Duc Nguyen and Mary Bui Nguyen, the endowment will serve as a permanent foundation for the study of Vietnam’s complex histories, vibrant cultures, and enduring global legacy.

Housed within the Institute of East Asian Studies (IEAS), CSEAS will use the new funding to support a wide range of academic initiatives...

The Challenges of Peace: US-Vietnam Relations since 1975 International Symposium

The Challenges of Peace: US-Vietnam Relations since 1975 International Symposium Organizers: The Center for Southeast Asia Studies at the University of California Berkeley and the US-Vietnam Research Center at the University of Oregon Symposium date: September 18-19, 2025 Location: University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, CA The symposium is free and open to the public; we warmly invite all interested individuals to attend. Do note that you must register for each day separately if you would like to attend on both...

Local Information and Logistics

The symposium is free and open to the public; we warmly invite all interested individuals to attend. Do note that you must register for each day separately if you would like to attend on both days. Since seats are limited, we encourage you to cancel your registration if your plans change and you will no longer be able to join us. We know that attending for the full day may be difficult due to schedule constraints, and you are welcome to join as you are available. We will also have registration available on-site on September 18-19. ...