The Southeast Asia Center at the Henry M. Jackson School of International Studies and the Libraries at the University of Washington (UW) will spearhead a new initiative of innovative collaborations to explore the effects and consequences of authoritarianism in Southeast Asia and on Southeast Asian American communities in the United States.
The $1 million grant will develop expertise, capacity, and resources on Southeast Asia.
“We are excited to develop our work to engage scholars and students in the crosscurrents and interconnections between the U.S. and Southeast Asia,” said Celia Lowe, chair of the Jackson School’s Southeast Asia Center. “This grant will help build a vibrant and relevant future for Southeast Asian Studies.”
The grant includes introducing Southeast Asian Studies graduate students to archival practices. An undergraduate research class will study applicable museum artifacts, with a focus on making collections meaningful and accessible to communities of Southeast Asian heritage, and in Southeast Asia. The grant also will train a Southeast Asia librarian through a two-year program supported by a partial tuition fellowship from the UW School.
Jenna Grant, assistant professor in anthropology, and Vicente L. Rafael, professor of history, will lead a collaboration with filmmakers, archivists and documentation specialists from partner institutions in Cambodia, the Philippines, and Burma.