Latest Update
- LuceSEA webinar recording available: Who Tells the War? Community Memory and the Vietnam War’s Enduring Legacies
The recording of the first webinar in the LuceSEA Webinar Series: Southeast Asia in Transition is now available! Featuring Lt. Gen. (Ret.) Dan “Fig” Leaf, Dr. Long T. Bui (UC Irvine), Dr. Thy Phu (University of Toronto Scarborough), and Dr. Barbara Watson Andaya (UH Mānoa), this session explores how the Vietnam War continues to shape… Read more: LuceSEA webinar recording available: Who Tells the War? Community Memory and the Vietnam War’s Enduring Legacies - Book Talk: He Who is Made Lord: Empire, Class and Race in Postwar Singapore
Wednesday, October 8, 2025, 3:00–4:30 PM HST | 8:00–9:30 PM EST | 9:00–10:30 AM SST (Oct 9) Moore Hall 258 and Online Register: https://go.hawaii.edu/rhr Join us for a conversation with Muhammad Suhail Mohamed Yazid, Fellow at the Harvard University Asia Center, as he discusses his latest book He Who is Made Lord: Empire, Class and… Read more: Book Talk: He Who is Made Lord: Empire, Class and Race in Postwar Singapore - Fall 2025 LuceSEA Webinar #3: ASEAN Interrelationship: Memberships, Conflict Managements, and Human Right Protection
Wednesday, November 5, 2025, 3:00–4:30 PM (HST) | Registration: https://go.hawaii.edu/rus Join us for the third webinar in the 2025 Fall LuceSEA Webinar Series, Southeast Asia in Transition: Memory, Governance, and Regional Challenges in a Turbulent World. This session explores ASEAN’s interrelationships across membership, conflict management, and human rights protection. It spotlights the Association’s dispute-resolution and… Read more: Fall 2025 LuceSEA Webinar #3: ASEAN Interrelationship: Memberships, Conflict Managements, and Human Right Protection - Cartographies of Skin and Soil: Tattoos, Resistance, and Colonial Maps of the Philippines
To mark 50 years of Philippine Studies at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, Hamilton Library’s Philippine Studies Collection presents: Cartographies of Skin and Soil: Tattoos, Resistance, and 1500s Colonial Maps of the Philippines Workshop and Exhibit Discover how Filipinos have long marked memory and resisted erasure through traditional tattoos, archival materials, and rare 1500s… Read more: Cartographies of Skin and Soil: Tattoos, Resistance, and Colonial Maps of the Philippines - Tria Kerkvliet Southeast Asia Studies Graduate Fellowship 2026–2027
Opens: November 15, 2025 | Deadline: February 15, 2026 The Center for Southeast Asian Studies is pleased to announce the Tria Kerkvliet Southeast Asia Studies Graduate Fellowship for the 2026–2027 academic year. This endowment fund provides support to PhD students at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa whose research focuses on Southeast Asia in the… Read more: Tria Kerkvliet Southeast Asia Studies Graduate Fellowship 2026–2027 - Call for Volunteers: CSEAS Graduate Student Opportunity
The Center for Southeast Asian Studies (CSEAS) at UH Mānoa is seeking four graduate student volunteers to support transcription work for our LuceSEA webinar series. This opportunity allows students to gain hands-on experience in academic publishing, digital marketing, and cross-cultural communication, while contributing to the global visibility of Southeast Asia-focused scholarship. Volunteer Responsibilities Skills You’ll… Read more: Call for Volunteers: CSEAS Graduate Student Opportunity - Visit the UH Student Basic Needs website!
The University of Hawaiʻi Student Basic Needs website is available for UH students on the 10 campuses statewide to access basic needs, both on and off campus. This includes resources for food and housing, childcare, mental health services, financial resources, transportation, and more. Student basic needs security is critical for ensuring strong academic performance, persistence,… Read more: Visit the UH Student Basic Needs website! - Building Collaborative Knowledge in Northern Thailand
Chiang Mai Field School, May 25 – June 26, 2025 From May 25 to June 26, 2025, the Center for Southeast Asian Studies at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa supported an on-site field school in northern Thailand as part of the LuceSEA Transitions project. In partnership with the Regional Center for Social Science and… Read more: Building Collaborative Knowledge in Northern Thailand - Halo-Halo Ecologies: A Virtual Book Launch
Hawai‘i: Friday, October 3, 2025, 3:00 – 5:00 p.m. (HST) | Online | Register Here The UH Center for Southeast Asian Studies, the Mama Sita’s Foundation, and the Philippine Consulate General in Honolulu cordially invite you to: Halo-Halo Ecologies: The Emergent Environments Behind Filipino Food About the Book Halo-Halo Ecologies: The Emergent Environments Behind Filipino… Read more: Halo-Halo Ecologies: A Virtual Book Launch - Fall 2025 LuceSEA Webinar #2: Southeast Asia Facing the US Tariff Turbulence
Wednesday, October 1, 2025, 3:00–4:30 PM (HST) | Registration: https://go.hawaii.edu/reN CSEAS invites you to the first event in our Fall 2025 LuceSEA Webinar Series, exploring the theme Southeast Asia in Transition: Memory, Governance, and Regional Challenges in a Turbulent World. This webinar explores how Southeast Asian states are responding to the economic, political, and social… Read more: Fall 2025 LuceSEA Webinar #2: Southeast Asia Facing the US Tariff Turbulence - Call For Abstracts: East-West Center’s International Graduate Student Conference
12-15 Feb 2026 | Abstract Submission | Deadline: September 30th, 2025 The East-West Center welcomes graduate students from around the world for the annual International Graduate Student Conference (EWC-IGSC). This conference provides an opportunity for scholars to share interdisciplinary perspectives formally, through presenting research papers and attending other panel presentations, and informally in the multi-cultural environment of… Read more: Call For Abstracts: East-West Center’s International Graduate Student Conference - CSEAS Fall 2025 Events
The Center for Southeast Asian Studies is excited to share our Fall 2025 lineup of webinars, colloquia, book talks, film screenings, and community gatherings. Please see the flyers below for dates, times, and event details. September 2025 October 2025 November–December 2025 For the most up-to-date information and to subscribe to our newsletter: - From Transmission to Tradition: Noisy Hegemonies in Vietnamese Music History
Wednesday, September 10, 2025, 3:00 – 4:30 PM, Tokioka Room, Moore Hall 319 The Center for Southeast Asian Studies and the Ethnomusicology Program at UH Mānoa are pleased to host a talk by Professor Alexander M. Cannon (Professor of Ethnomusicology, University of Birmingham, UK). Synopsis: Tradition is enriching, perplexing, beautiful, and uncomfortable. In many ways,… Read more: From Transmission to Tradition: Noisy Hegemonies in Vietnamese Music History - Global Asia Working Group Talk
From Japanese pioneers to Igorot Nikkeijin pioneers: Tracing migration across generations Friday, September 12, 2025, 12:00–1:00 PM, Saunders Hall 624, University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa Speaker: Haruka Kei Waseda, Masters in Asian StudiesDiscussant: Dr. Ben Kerkvliet, Emeritus Professor, Australian National University This talk examines the histories and lived experiences of the Igorot Nikkeijin—descendants of Japanese… Read more: Global Asia Working Group Talk - Fall 2025 Southeast Asia Potluck Gathering: Mingle, Mix & Munch!
Friday, September 19, 2025, 5:00 – 7:30 PM Ethnomusicology Courtyard, UHM Music Department (near the Barbara B. Smith Amphitheatre), 2411 Dole Street Join us for our Fall 2025 CSEAS Gathering! This event brings together students, faculty, and researchers interested in the languages, cultural traditions, and communities of Southeast Asia. This semester, we’re excited to partner… Read more: Fall 2025 Southeast Asia Potluck Gathering: Mingle, Mix & Munch! - Meet Dr. Gillian Bogart, Our Newest Asian Studies Faculty and CSEAS Affiliate
Aloha and welcome to Dr. Gillian Bogart, our newest Asian Studies faculty member and CSEAS affiliate. She joined UH Mānoa in Fall 2025. Read her story here: Faculty Spotlight: Dr. Gillian Bogart Where she’s from Born and raised in Brooklyn, New York, Dr. Bogart most recently came to Hawaiʻi from Santa Cruz, California. She joined… Read more: Meet Dr. Gillian Bogart, Our Newest Asian Studies Faculty and CSEAS Affiliate - Environmental Biographies of Southeast Asia: Collaborative Learning in the Field
The Center for Southeast Asian Studies (CSEAS) is pleased to highlight a new exhibition, Environmental Biographies of Southeast Asia: Collaborative Learning in the Field. This exhibition brings together stories from forests, rivers, paddy fields, and fish ponds in Chiang Mai (Thailand) and South Sulawesi (Indonesia), created through collaborative fieldwork by undergraduate and graduate students from… Read more: Environmental Biographies of Southeast Asia: Collaborative Learning in the Field - APME Featured in UH NewsUH News features the Asia-Pacific Museum Exchange (APME) inaugural Face2Face Workshop at UH Mānoa, which brought together 13 museum and heritage professionals from across Southeast Asia and the Pacific. Read the full story on UH News
- APME Participant Gerry Apriryan Awarded British Library FundingWe are excited to share that Ignatius Gerry Apriryan, APME Participant from the Irama Nusantara Foundation, has been awarded funding by the British Library’s Endangered Archives Programme (EAP1749). His project, Surveying pre-independence Indonesia’s popular music archives in Haryadi Suadi’s collection (1900–1950s), will document magazines, shellac records, and music sheets from Indonesia’s pre-independence period. This important… Read more: APME Participant Gerry Apriryan Awarded British Library Funding
- APME Program Featured by U.S. EmbassiesThe Asia-Pacific Museum Professionals Exchange (APME) has recently been featured by two U.S. embassies, highlighting the program’s success in fostering cross-cultural collaboration and knowledge exchange. We are excited to see the program recognized internationally, and we look forward to continuing these conversations across Southeast Asia and the Pacific.
- Fall 2025 LuceSEA Webinar: Who Tells the War? – Sep. 3
Registration: https://go.hawaii.edu/r4n CSEAS invites you to the first event in our Fall 2025 LuceSEA Webinar Series, exploring the theme Southeast Asia in Transition: Memory, Governance, and Regional Challenges in a Turbulent World. This session brings together distinguished scholars and practitioners to discuss how community narratives shape the memory and ongoing legacies of the Vietnam War.… Read more: Fall 2025 LuceSEA Webinar: Who Tells the War? – Sep. 3 - Announcing the 2025 Fall LuceSEA Webinar SeriesTheme: Southeast Asia in Transition: Memory, Governance, and Regional Challenges in a Turbulent World Join us for four thought-provoking webinars this fall, bringing together scholars and practitioners to explore critical issues shaping Southeast Asia today. Fall 2025 Schedule Times vary by region – see flyer for details.Free & open to the public.Registration: A registration link… Read more: Announcing the 2025 Fall LuceSEA Webinar Series
- 11th International Conference on Southeast Asia (ICONSEA2025): 50 Years of Southeast Asian Studies – Regional Contour, Global TrajectoriesDecember 11–12, 2025, Universiti Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia The Department of Southeast Asian Studies, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, Universiti Malaya will host the 11th International Conference on Southeast Asia (ICONSEA2025) in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, from December 11 to 12, 2025. In conjunction with the 50th anniversary of Southeast Asian Studies at Universiti Malaya,… Read more: 11th International Conference on Southeast Asia (ICONSEA2025): 50 Years of Southeast Asian Studies – Regional Contour, Global Trajectories
- New Publication Announcement: Cambodian: An Essential Grammar by Dr. Chhany Sak-Humphry
We are pleased to share the release of Cambodian: An Essential Grammar (Routledge, 2025), authored by Dr. Chhany Sak-Humphry, Associate Professor and Coordinator of the Khmer Language/Culture Program at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa. This accessible and comprehensive guide introduces key grammatical structures of the Cambodian (Khmer) language across 14 chapters, drawing on real-world… Read more: New Publication Announcement: Cambodian: An Essential Grammar by Dr. Chhany Sak-Humphry - Student Spotlight: Chinoko Shirakura , Graduate Student, Curriculum Studies, Department of Education and the current Thai Language Lecturer, University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa
Our third student spotlight in 2025 is Chinoko Shirakura , Graduate Student, Curriculum Studies, Department of Education and the current Thai Language Lecturer. Read Chinoko’s story here: About Chinoko Chinoko Shirakura was born and raised in Thailand to a Thai mother and Japanese father, in a household where language was not just a means of communication,… Read more: Student Spotlight: Chinoko Shirakura , Graduate Student, Curriculum Studies, Department of Education and the current Thai Language Lecturer, University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa - Now Available: Recordings of Southeast Asian Children’s Literature Workshop Series
Missed our full-day workshop series on Southeast Asian children’s literature? Recordings of all three engaging sessions are now available on our YouTube channel! The “Enlivening Southeast Asian Children’s Literature” series brought together storytellers and artists to explore creative, culturally rich ways to bring Southeast Asian stories into K–12 classrooms through shadow puppetry, comic book creation,… Read more: Now Available: Recordings of Southeast Asian Children’s Literature Workshop Series - CSEAS NRC grant funded the purchase of Rare 1478 Southeast Asia Map for SEA Collection in Hamilton Library
The University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa’s Center for Southeast Asian Studies (CSEAS) NRC grant funded the purchase of a rare and historically significant 1478 map—one of the earliest printed representations of Southeast Asia. The map, from a Rome edition of Cosmographia by Claudius Ptolemy and engraved by pioneering printer Konrad Sweynheim, was acquired with funding… Read more: CSEAS NRC grant funded the purchase of Rare 1478 Southeast Asia Map for SEA Collection in Hamilton Library - Graduate Certificate Program in Southeast Asian Studies
Graduate Certificate Overview A Graduate Certificate in Southeast Asian Studies enables students to gain (and demonstrate evidence of) cutting-edge knowledge of the Southeast Asian region in Asia. A Graduate Certificate can serve as a valuable tool in career development for graduate students in discipline-based programs (e.g., PhD or MA students in sociology, political science, music,… Read more: Graduate Certificate Program in Southeast Asian Studies - Highlight on UH Mānoa’s New Thai Language Lecturer, Chinoko ShirakuraUH News recently featured Chinoko Shirakura, the university’s new Thai language lecturer, whose work is grounded in a deep passion for identity, heritage, and connection. A current graduate student in the Multicultural Education Program at UH Mānoa, Chinoko began teaching in January 2025 when the Thai language program officially launched. This fall, Shirakura’s students are… Read more: Highlight on UH Mānoa’s New Thai Language Lecturer, Chinoko Shirakura
- Faculty Spotlight: Congratulations to Dr. Ashok Das on his promotion to Full Professor in the College of Social Sciences!
Dr. Ashok Das, — Professor, College of Social Sciences, Department of Urban and Regional Planning (DURP), College of Social Sciences Congratulations, Dr. Das! The Center for Southeast Asian Studies congratulates Dr. Ashok Das on his promotion to Full Professor at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa. This promotion recognizes his deep commitment to teaching, research,… Read more: Faculty Spotlight: Congratulations to Dr. Ashok Das on his promotion to Full Professor in the College of Social Sciences!