The Centre for Southeast Asian Research (CSEAR) is one of five regional research centres in the Institute of Asian Research (IAR) at SPPGA. Since its foundation in 1992, CSEAR has been organizing seminars, workshops, conferences and publications to promote interest in and understanding of Southeast Asia through scholarly exchange. The Centre continues to actively engage with students, researchers, and community members to promote the cultures of Southeast Asia on the UBC campus, in Metro Vancouver, and beyond.
1992-2000: Foundational Years
The Centre for Southeast Asia Research was founded in 1992 as one of five regional research centres at the IAR. In its first eight years CSEAR was headed by Prof. Geoffrey Hainsworth (UBC Economics). During this time it became a hub for Southeast Asia research as experts from numerous UBC departments became part of the Centre. Some of these scholars included Drs. Diane Mauzy (Political Science), Tineke Hellwig (Asian Studies), Ian Townsend-Gault (Law), Michael Tenzer (Music), Nora Angeles (SCARP), Abidin Kusno (IAR), Paul Evans (IAR), Richard Barichello (Land & Food Systems), Brian Job (Political Science), Michael Leaf (SCARP), John Roosa (History), Kai Ostwald (SPPGA & Political Science) and Juliet Lu (SPPGA & Forestry).
CSEAR also published a number of research monographs in a series of Working Papers and Development Studies. These included critical and impactful works such as Globalization and the Asian Economic Crisis: Localized Impacts, Coping Strategies and Governance Reform in Southeast Asia (2000). Additionally, the centre received a Hampton Grant in 1996 which enabled it to conduct an interdisciplinary study on resource management, sustainable development, and livelihood security in Vietnam.
Prof.Tim Cheek and Prof. Michael Leaf accept a painting offered by artist Norbert Monterona to CSEAR, Sept 2004.
The CSEAR reading room in the CK Choi Building.
Old CSEAR Logo in Asia Pacific Report, Spring 1993
cSEARching for Southeast Asia graduate conference. April 2016.
2000-2021: Cultivating Research and Fieldwork at CSEAR
In the past two decades CSEAR was led by various UBC Professors and Student-Workers, emerging as the leading Institute dedicated to Southeast Asia in Canada. During this time the Centre was led by Prof. Micheal Leaf (Dir. 2000 – 2007), Prof. Abidin Kusno ( Dir. 2012 – 2015), Prof. Richard Barichello (Dir. 2007 – 2013; 2016 – 2018), and Prof. Kai Ostwald (Dir. 2015 – 2016; 2018 – 2021).
CSEAR organized a number of research initiatives and events with partners from Canada, the US, Europe, and Southeast Asia to cover key emerging issues in the region. The diverse array of events organized throughout these two decades drew on perspectives from Law, Visual Arts, and Sociology. Some highlights included The Poor at Risk: Surviving the Economic Crisis in Southeast Asia”, “The Promises and Limits of International Criminal Justice: The ‘Extraordinary Chambers’ in Cambodia”, and “Arts, Popular Culture and Social Change in the new Indonesia”. Many of these events also drew global connections and engaged with experience of diasporic communities, such as the talk Public Eyes/Private Lenses: Visualizing the Chinese in Indonesia and in North America” held in 2007.
Moreover the Centre continued to be an essential space and source of support for graduate students at UBC. A landmark event geared towards this was the graduate student conference cSEARching for Southeast Asia held in 2016. In 2021, CSEAR hosted the biennial Canadian Council for Southeast Asian Studies (CCSEAS) conference, providing students with the opportunity to connect with an international community of scholars and experts.
Going beyond the UBC campus. the Centre supported several in-person field projects in Southeast Asia. In 2006, Dr.Abidin Kusno initiated the Asian Urban Lab to promote collaborative research on both historical and contemporary aspects of urbanism and urban change in Asia. The laboratory established a Digital Image Library of materials of statistical, cartographic, and textual materials on selected Asian cities. In a similar vein, Dr. Micheal Leaf spearheaded a SSHRC-funded project The Challenges of the Agrarian Transition in Southeast Asia (ChATSEA). From 2017-2019 Dr. Kai Ostwald and Dr. Richard Barichello also led a series of capacity-building programs funded by IDRC at the Yangon University of Economics in Myanmar during 2017-2019.
CSEAR Today and the Road Ahead
More than 30 years since its inception, CSEAR continues to focus on research, community activities and Canadian engagement with Southeast Asia through events of various sizes. The Centre is currently directed by Dr. John Roosa (UBC History) in collaboration with a Graduate Student Directing Committee. From 2021-2023 this committee comprised of four students: Nila Utami, Constant Courtin, Isabel Chew and Salihin Subhan. Continuing its longstanding legacy the Centre has engaged with urgent issues in the region and welcomed several high-profile guests. These have included His Royal Highness Tunku Zain Al’Abidin,, Pulitzer prize-winning Burmese journalist Wa Lone, and prolific scholars such as Dr. Meredith Weiss (SUNY), and Dr. Abidin Kusno (York University).
Learn more about the Centre for Southeast Asia Research here.
