Author Archives: burmastudiesgroup

CFP: Tech and Governance in Asia (Monash + Nottingham)

See the call for papers below. I have heard murmurings of interesting digital governance innovations in the Burma space over the last few years – from blockchained identities for Rohingya stateless people to artists making NFTs to support the revolution. I would imagine they would fit nicely here.

The conference is organized by U Nottingham and Monash University Malaysia (which I only bring up so that I can mention that, on a personal note, I long thought that Monash was Malaysia National University [b/c, like, M-Nash]. Apparently that’s not correct, and Monash is actually a city in Australia!)

Please send an abstract of 500 words to governingtechnologies2022@gmail.com by 15 May 2022. Selected paper presenters will be notified by 05 June 2022. Full papers of a maximum of 8,000 words will be due by 31 August 2022.

Deep Cuts #16: Suvannabhumi, a SEA journal with mostly SEA contributors, featuring this week 4 articles by Burmese scholars

This week in DC we feature an entire journal! Some of you will roll your eyes – of course you’ve known about Suvannabhumi for years. Nonetheless, many do not know about it, and given recent discussions about decolonization of SEA (where decolonization is both a metaphor and material – which is actually repetitive, because metaphors are themselves material*), it seems relevant to feature a journal that publishes lots of Myanmar academics, and feature their work.

Included here are just some of the contributions by Burmese scholars in recent years: Kyaw Minn Htin’s study on the Marma, what he identifies as a “de-Arakanized” Chittagong Hill Tract Community; Nanda Hmun on the role of women in Bagan sculpture; Zaw Lynn Aung’s study of the mahasammata model of Kingship in the Mrauk U period; and Myo Oo on conceptions of time, and how they intersected historically with social class and Buddhist traditions. Let this also act as a chance to hype future features of Myo Oo (on Anyatha) and KMT (on Rakhine identity) in coming weeks.

see here for PDFs.

much more than an airport

[* h/t to Ros Morris by way of Geoff Myint ]

Recent Pubs, 2 May 2022

This week we feature Ardeth Thawnghmung on Myanmar’s concept of “National Races”; Yi Li on the failure of colonial British tin mine development in southern Burma, and Tønnesson, Min Zaw Oo, and Ne Lynn Aung on the way that EAOs use social media to project state-ness. See here for full citations and all the other recent publications.

National Races Village; source: internet

Event: “The future of research in Myanmar: ethics and practice” (6 May)

with Saw John Bright, Myat Thet Thitsar, and Nick Cheesman

moderated by: Tamas Wells and Sophia Htwe, 12:00-1:30pm AEST

Description

In Myanmar, research has long been associated with challenges and questions in terms of ethics and practice. With a history of successive authoritarian regimes and earlier colonial occupation setting the stage for more extractive research relationships, researchers—both international and domestic—have continued to conduct research in the face of harsh restrictions. In addition, university research ethics processes are not necessarily able to adapt to the complexity of fieldwork in dynamic contexts, with international fieldwork a noted challenge.  Since the military coup in February 2021 ended a decade of more democratic rule in Myanmar, these questions have become more acute. How can and should international researchers engage in Myanmar when the state has been captured by an illegitimate military regime? What ethical responsibilities do researchers, and especially international researchers, have when working on Myanmar or other authoritarian contexts? What practical approaches to research can be used in a context of restricted access and high risks for researchers? How can foreign researchers engage productively with scholars and practitioners in and from Myanmar, in ways that benefit people in and from Myanmar and while ‘doing no harm’? What are the priority areas for future / additional research and impact? And most fundamentally, what value does academic research bring to Myanmar’s people in these extraordinarily challenging times, and how can this value be enhanced? This panel discussion will address key questions about the ethics and practice of research in Myanmar, through a moderated discussion among expert panel members and other participants. 

See our entire calendar of events here

Many Upcoming Events

there’s lots going on in the next week-ish: 

  • 2 May: Ken MacLean, “Crimes in Archival Form.” 3-4:30pm (WDT), Zoom link here. 
  • 5 May: Adam Burke, “Security in Myanmar’s borderlands” ANU​​​, 12.30 – 1.30pm AEST (UTC+10), Zoom: Register here
  • 6 May: Saw John Bright, Myat Thet Thitsar, and Nick Cheesman, “The future of research in Myanmar: ethics and practice” 12:00-1:30pm (AEST). Register here.
  • 9 May: Jonathan Saha on “Racial Capitalism and Peasant Insurgency in Colonial Myanmar,” 16:00 – 17:30 (EDT). Register here.

see here https://burmastudiesgroup.wordpress.com/announcements/ for our entire calendar.

[this calendar with burmese language that i found on the Internet is for fun only – it’s from 2020]