Southeast Asia

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...

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 interview two people...

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...

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...

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...

Message of Sympathy for the Earthquake in Myanmar

April 1, 2025

Dear Center for Southeast Asia Studies and Institute of East Asian Studies community,

On behalf of the Faculty Chair and Program Director of CSEAS and the Director, Associate Director, and team at IEAS at UC Berkeley, we express our deepest sympathy and support to the people of Myanmar and Thailand and all those affected by the earthquake on March 28.

Our thoughts are with all those in Myanmar and Thailand, and those in exile and diaspora, who have suffered bereavement and injury, who have lost loved ones, and...

CSEAS Faculty Chair Lisandro Claudio Discusses Duterte's Arrest

March 18, 2025

The ex-president of the Philippines, Rodrigo Duterte, could soon become the first Asian former head of state to be tried at The Hague.

The populist politician was arrested on Mar. 11, 2025, after the International Criminal Court issued a warrant relating to his “war on drugs.”

Some 6,000-plus people were killed during the crackdown. But despite the controversy surrounding his policies and the end of his presidency in 2022, Duterte remains an influential figure.

The Conversation U.S. turned to Lisandro Claudio, an expert on Philippine politics and history at the...

Call for Papers: 9th Symposium of IASSRT: Beyond the Silk Road, Across the Seas

March 3, 2025

October 9-12, 2025, Banatao Auditorium, UC Berkeley, USA

More information

IASSRT Call for Papers 2025

IASSRT Call for Papers 2025

CSEAS and the Consulate of the Philippines in San Francisco Sign Historic Grant Agreement

September 5, 2024

Consul General Neil Ferrer and UC Berkeley Vice Provost for Academic Planning & Senior International Officer Dr. Lisa Alvarez-Cohen (San Francisco PCG photo)

BERKELEY, CALIFORNIA, USA – In a historic first, the Philippine Consulate General in San Francisco and the Regents of the University of California (UC...