please see the letter from Professor Justin Watkins about the imminent termination of Burmese at SOAS, and please write to SOAS here:

Dear Colleagues and friends in Burma Studies –

With concern and sadness I’m sharing the news that the post of Professor of Burmese at SOAS, University of London, has been scheduled for termination and, if things go as SOAS plans, more than a century of scholarship and research in the lanɡuaɡes and linɡuistics of Myanmar and mainland SEAsia will draw to an end in just over a month. Some very limited Burmese language teaching may continue for now, but not by me, even after 23 years of service. It is some comfort that dear ဆရာကြီး John Okell is not alive to see his legacy being dismantled.

It’s not clear why the Professor of Burmese post has been selected for removal, now that SOAS is under new leadership and recovering well from the financial meltdown of 2020. It seems particularly at odds with the ethos of SOAS to be cutting UK scholarship in Burmese at a time when Myanmar is in such an awful position, and also at odds with the founding charter of SOAS “to accept a special commitment to language scholarship relating to Asia, Africa and the Middle East.”

I call upon colleagues, former students and all those who would wish SOAS to reverse this decision to write to the Director or Deputy Director of SOAS in the most persuasive and supportive way you can, making the case for keeping the Professor of Burmese post. Do share this news with others who may wish to voice support, and feel free to email me privately for further information if you would like.

လေးစားလျက်

Justin Watkins
Professor of Burmese
SOAS, University of London