Event: “Everyday Justice and State Evasion in Myanmar”

15 March 2022, 1:30 to 3:30pm, Chiang Mai University (+ zoom).

See our entire event calendar here.

This week in BSG Pubs we feature Moe Moe Inya’s short stories that have just been translated into English; Aruna Global South’s recent series on national identity in Myanmar (first three pieces) available in both Burmese and English; and Stéphen Huard’s ethnography of a Buddhist initiation ritual. See here for full citations: https://burmastudiesgroup.wordpress.com/recent-publications-2/.

Mar 26th: Film Screening & Dialogue with Director; $10 suggested donation for those outside of Burma.

Register here; see here for our calendar

This week we feature a volume for ဗမာစကား / မြန်မာစာ lovers out there. Edited by Justin Watkins, it contains a ton of fascinating investigations into how the language works: Phonology! Syntax! Verb semantics! Discourse and stylistic register! Old Burmese! Lexicography! It’s not for everyone… it’s for us. [See here for PDF download]

Watkins, Justin, ed. Studies in Burmese Linguistics. Pacific Linguistics, Australian National University, 2005.

17 March – Jonathan Saha talks about his Colonizing Animals. Register here.

see here for our calendar of events

on the origins of the Independent Journal of Burmese Scholarship (IJBS). See here for his reflections.

11 Mar 2022: Dorothy Mason, “Contested Terrains: Lineages, logics and effects of land reforms during Myanmar’s interrupted political transition (2011-21),” ANU’s MRC 2022 Dialogue Series. Register here and see here for the whole calendar of Burma Studies events.

This week in BSG Pubs we are featuring RCSD’s series “Understanding Myanmar’s Development” – these research papers written by Burmese authors, while not all new, are new-ish and deserve attention. We also have Steinmüller on the concept of grace among Wa and Lahu prophets; and Edwards’ ethnography of Yangon’s circle train / Chin Christian proselytization. See here for full citations: https://burmastudiesgroup.wordpress.com/recent-publications-2/.

15 March 2022, 1:30 to 3:30pm, Chiang Mai University (+ zoom).

See our entire event calendar here.

editor’s note: John was my first mentor in Burma studies, someone who encouraged me to spend time on the ground, to get in the thick of things, to try to learn the language, to develop the kind of relationships with people that he did. I loved him. He will be missed. One of his more obscure texts, on the way villagers that he knew thought about နိင်ငံေရး, is included below the obituary written by his daughter.

Elliott Prasse-Freeman

Obituary:

On March 1st, 2022, the world became a bit less interesting. John slipped on a frosty step while fetching the newspaper and hit his head, causing a brain bleed. He lingered for a week, surrounded by his loving family. His passing was peaceful. As a dedicated atheist, John believed in science and pursuit of knowledge, generously donating his remains to the U of WA medical program. He is survived by his wife Atsuko, children Lya and Chris, and grandchildren, Izabel, and Wilbur, previously known as Patricia. To mention all John’s lifetime accomplishments would require a book, so we will focus on a few highlights.

Born in 1930 to Nell Shepard and E.K. Badgley in Missoula Montana, John was the youngest of four siblings: Gladys, Kirk, and Marion. He often reminisced about his early childhood; the lessons learned growing up in Depression-era Montana shaped his identity as a man. Meeting Patricia McMeekin in religious studies class at the U of Montana forever changed his path. In 1952, while stationed in Hokkaido, Japan during the Korean War, the young couple developed a lifelong admiration for Asian cultures. John went on to achieve his Ph.D. from Berkley in political science, specializing in the region. Together, they traveled to Burma and forged a deep commitment and love for that culture that extended to their children. Until Patricia’s death in 1984, they challenged and supported each other through all of their adventures. John was lucky enough to have two great loves. In 1996 he married Atsuko Koseki and, in addition to digitizing and curating the Echols Collection at Cornell, opened La Table restaurant, with her by his side as head chef. She continued to feed him well until the end.

John had a varied and rich professional life as a writer, scholar, professor, librarian, curator, and restauranteur. A distinguished alumnus of the University of Montana and recipient of two Fulbright scholarships, he was an unconventional and visionary thinker. He taught at Miami University in Ohio, John’s Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies in Washing D.C. and Cornell. He established nonprofits relating to public policy, education, and environment, including the 1973 Institute of the Rockies, 1991 Cambodia Library Archival Preservation Project, 2008 Nargis Library Recovery, 2017 Montana Voices – to name a few.

A man of strong convictions who never failed to speak his mind, John was deeply dedicated to family and was always a potential mentor, uncle, or grandfather to whomever he met. He remained curious, exasperating, fascinating, and charismatic until his death. He will be missed by many. A Celebration of Life is planned for both Edmonds, WA, and Missoula, MT, in the summertime. John loved a good party.