50th Anniversary Reunion

CSEAS turned 50 this month! To celebrate, we held two major events, an international conference focused on Southeast Asian studies throughout the disciplines, and a reunion for all our students, faculty, visitors, and friends. 

The conference sparked thought-provoking conversations between attendees.  We thank our panelists who made the trip from near and far to present their research and our U-M faculty who served as moderators, for making the conference a success.  We also thank the Luce foundation for their support.  Find out more about the conference topics and access the papers presented.

Our reunion began with an open house, for which Linda Lim and Pete Gosling generously opened their doors and welcomed anyone and everyone who could attend.  For many, it was a reminder of their time at U-M, when large parties at the Lim/Gosling residence were a highlight of the semester, and for other, it was a wonderful introduction to the tightly-knit CSEAS community. The following day, the reunion got underway with a roundtable discussion with some of CSEAS’ founders and most senior members. 

The discussion touched on the different directions Southeast Asian studies has taken since it first became a conceptual tool in organizing academic units in American universities.  Some of the key points mentioned were the importance of language study as the anchor for study about Southeast Asia and the role of the Center to connect people across discipline and specialty, which it has only been able to do through the dedication of numerous people over the years to the cause of Southeast Asian studies at Michigan.
The discussion was so lively it stretched past its allotted time, giving people just enough time to grab a samosa for a snack and head to the next event.  They could choose from three: we showed independent short films from Southeast Asia, including In the Aftermath of Peace: Hope and Struggle in Aceh, by Sandeep Ray, CSEAS alum.  A discussion on Aceh followed, led by Dan Birchok, who is currently writing his dissertation at U-M on discourses of history, Islam and nation in Aceh.  Also on offer were a special tour of the Southeast Asian art gallery in the University of Michigan Museum of Art led by curator Pam Reister, and a tour of the Museum of Anthropology led by director Carla Sinopoli.

In the afternoon, those interested in Philippine Studies as well as former Tagalog language students of Paz Naylor met to reunite. Others interested in Thai studies and particularly Thai politics met to have their own group discussion about the state of Thai politics. 
The highlight of the reunion came at the end of the day: a concert by U-M’s gamelan ensemble, which featured visiting artist FX Widaryanto followed by a banquet dinner.  Pete Gosling offered a toast to the Southeast Asia library collection, which, he reminded us, if CSEAS should perish, would still stand as a repository of our efforts to better understand our world. 

We thank all of our sponsors, faculty, staff, alumni, musicians, and visiting guests who made our reunion weekend a memorable success!

If you'd like to contact us about the weekend's events with comments or questions, please e-mail us at cseasreunion@umich.edu.