Southeast Asia

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...

Marissa Pinpin Lee

Supported by the SEALIVES grant, my undergraduate History of Art Honors Thesis (submitted May 2025) examines the work of artist Alfonso Ossorio (1916–1990), focusing on the moment of his return to the Philippines in 1950. My SEALIVES grant allowed me to visit his most recognized work, The Last Judgment (1950), now colloquially known as “Angry Christ,” at the St. Joseph the Worker Chapel in Victorias City, Negros Occidental. My research diverges from the life-history interview format of many other SEALIVES projects, instead tracing this artist’s practice through the site and act of artistic...

Small Grants Program Year Two, 2024-2025

Year Two Grantees and Project Abstracts, 2024-2025 Ato Aliping

Undergraduate Student, UC Berkeley

Bio: Ato Aliping is a third-year undergraduate student pursuing a degree in sociology at UC Berkeley. His main research interests are concentrated on post-colonial studies in Southeast Asia and the development of the Indigenous identity of the Igorot abroad as a part of the larger Philippine diaspora and their local community. As a Kankanaey-Bontoc Igorot-American, Ato grew up living in both Mountain Province, Philippines, and in San Diego,...

David Thái Transcript

Narrator: David Thái (Thái Quốc Cường David) [DT] 29 July 2024

Interviewer: Alan Yeh (AY) Hồ Chí Minh City, Vietnam

AY : C'est Alan Yeh avec David Thái à l'occasion d'une histoire orale. C'est le lundi 29 juillet 2024 à Hô Chi Minh-Ville. Il est 11h15. Nous sommes dans son restaurant Kobe Bistro by David Thái, dans le premier arrondissement à Saïgon. Bonjour David. (DT : Salut!) Merci beaucoup d'avoir accepté cette interview. J'aimerais commencer par vos premiers souvenirs. Donc est-ce que vous pouvez parler un peu de votre famille?

DT : Ah moi...

Marie Kecman Transcript 2

Narrator: Marie Kecman (MK) 11 July 2024

Interviewer: Alan Yeh (AY) Paris, France

AY: C'est Alan Yeh avec Marie Kecman. C'est le deuxième jour, on est le 11 juillet, le jeudi 11 juillet 2024. Il est 11 h 40 à Paris.

En fait, je voulais commencer avec votre enfance parce qu'on a parlé un peu sur votre enfance, mais aussi je pense qu'il manque un peu sur votre arrivée en France. Donc est-ce que vous pouvez raconter vos souvenirs ?

MK: Alors on est arrivé en France, je crois qu'il était fin du printemps ou de l'été. Il faisait...

Southeast Asian Lives and Histories

The UC Berkeley Center for Southeast Asia Studies (CSEAS) is thrilled to announce that it is the recipient of a major grant from the Henry Luce Foundation Initiative on Southeast Asiafor the project Southeast Asian Lives and Histories (SEALIVES).

The Luce grant provides $400,000 to support SEALIVES, a thematic umbrella for projects conducted about Southeast Asians in Southeast Asia and the diaspora. The heart of this...

Small Grants Program Year Three, 2025-2026

Year Three Grantees and Project Abstracts, 2025-2026 Agung Wicaksono

Lecturer, Universitas Gadjah Mada, Yogyakarta, Indonesia

Bio: Dr. Agung Wicaksono is a lecturer at the Department of Anthropology, Faculty of Cultural Sciences, Universitas Gadjah Mada. He completed his bachelor's degree at the Department of Cultural Anthropology UGM in 2009 and master's degree in 2011. Afterwards, Agung took a doctoral program at ASAFAS (Graduate School of Asian and African Area Studies) Kyoto University from 2015 - 2019. There...

Marie Kecman Transcript 1

Narrator: Marie Kecman (MK) 10 July 2024

Interviewer: Alan Yeh (AY) Paris, France

AY : C'est Alan Yeh avec Marie Kecman, née Phạm Công Đăng Vy, à l'occasion d'une histoire orale. C'est le mercredi 10 juillet 2024 à Paris. Il est 14 h 10. Nous sommes dans son restaurant Café Broc’ouest dans le 14ᵉ arrondissement. Bonjour Marie, Bonjour Alan. Je vous remercie d'avoir accepté de faire cet entretien.

MK : Avec plaisir.

AY : Et j'aimerais commencer par par le début. Donc je vais vous faire regarder cette vidéo du reportage Saigon sur Seine 1980 à propos des quartiers...