Southeast Asia Program
China’s Belt and Road Could Fill ‘Vacuum’ After Trump’s USAID Freeze: Analysts
Chris Barrett, IAD/SEAP
Chris Barrett, professor of agricultural and development economics, discusses the USAID freeze.
Additional Information
The Future of Thailand: A Fireside Chat with Pita Limjaroenrat
February 25, 2025
3:00 pm
Rockefeller Hall, 203
A discussion with Pita Limjaroenrat, hosted by the Center on Global Democracy.
About the Speaker
Pita Limjaroenrat (b. 1980) formerly led the Move Forward Party (MFP) in Thailand’s May 2023 general elections, where his social democratic platform won the most votes and seats in the Parliament. Despite this mandate, his attempts to form a government were blocked by institutional mechanisms, and the Constitutional Court dissolved the MFP on August 7. Pita’s policy focus centers on addressing grassroots issues, welfare improvements, and human rights, while advocating for the demilitarization of politics and economic demonopolization. Currently, he is Visiting Senior Fellow at Harvard Kennedy School. He holds a joint MPA-MBA from Harvard Kennedy School and MIT Sloan and has been named on the TIME 100 Next List. Today, Pita continues to champion transparent and equitable governance on a global scale.
About the Event
Join Pita Limjaroenrat, former leader of Thailand’s dissolved Move Forward Party, for a discussion on contemporary Thai politics and society. In this fireside chat, Pita will address audience questions on topics such as Thailand’s political and economic landscape, inequality, and democratic movements, as well as the country’s evolving relationships with ASEAN and major global powers. The discussion will also touch on broader regional challenges and the state of democracy on a global scale.
Additional Information
Program
Einaudi Center for International Studies
Southeast Asia Program
Inter-Asian Intimacies: Southeast Asian Marriage Migration to East Asia
GETSEA's free, virtual Spring 2025 mini-course
Applications are now open for GETSEA’s Spring 2025 Mini-Course!
The consortium for Graduate Education and Training in Southeast Asian Studies (GETSEA) is offering one free and virtual mini-course this spring, open to all graduate students studying Southeast Asia!
This course does not offer credit, though students are encouraged to work with a faculty member at their own institution to count a course as independent study credit. Priority will be given to Ph.D. and M.A. students from GETSEA member institutions, but students from all institutions are welcome to apply. Limited space is available for undergraduates and non-students. These courses entail a workload of equivalent to roughly one credit. Only those committed to completing all aspects of courses should apply.
Details about our previous mini-courses are available here, and any questions or proposals can be submitted to us at getsea@cornell.edu.
Applications due February 24, 2025.
Additional Information
Across the Archives: Hán-Nôm Heritage in the Era of Digital Humanities
February 26, 2025
7:00 pm
Hosted by librarians Emily Zinger (Cornell University Library) and Brent Bianchi (Yale University), this webinar will provide an overview of Yale’s Maurice Durand papers, as well as current work with the Digitizing Việt Nam project. Our first speaker, Trâm Phương Nguyễn, Ph.D. (Columbia University) will focus on the Hán-Nôm collection that she and her colleagues are working on and the digital humanities tools in development specifically for this collection and Hán-Nôm studies. She will also discuss how this collection has been formed and its accessibility to the public. Our second speaker, Thành Hà Thị Tuệ (Vietnam National University) will describe their work with the Maurice Durand papers, focusing particularly on 3 Hán Nôm texts: The Tale of Kiều; the dictionary 大南國音字彙; and Tú Xương thi tập 陳濟昌詩集.
Additional Information
Program
Einaudi Center for International Studies
Southeast Asia Program
SEAP Top-Off Award for Einaudi Center Research Travel Grant for Graduate Students
Details
Einaudi Center Research Travel Grants for Graduate Students to Southeast Asia are reviewed by SEAP faculty. Therefore, we expect everyone who is eligible to apply for this funding as a priority. We ask that any SEAP student applying for these funds email a budget using THIS TEMPLATE to SEAP Program Manager Colin Peterson (crp88@cornell.edu) so that SEAP faculty can award supplemental funding beyond airfare, as well as cover significant gaps in research needs. Historically, top-off awards have ranged from $300 to $750.
This top-off award is only available to doctoral and master's students who are core members of SEAP, which is determined at the discretion of SEAP core faculty based on a student’s commitment to Southeast Asian scholarship as demonstrated through factors such as: whether a SEAP core faculty member is on a student's academic committee; the active participation of a student in SEAP programming and events; research focus; language learning; and coursework.
Please direct any questions to SEAP Program Manager Colin Peterson (crp88@cornell.edu).
Additional Information
SEADL Undergraduate Paper Award
Submit your undergraduate papers by July 31
The Southeast Asia Digital Library Paper Award seeks papers from undergraduates concerning original research in Southeast Asian Studies. The first-place winner will receive their choice of two books from the Cornell University Press catalog. Both first- and second-place winning papers will be published on the Southeast Asia Digital Library (sea.lib.niu.edu).
Applicant Eligibility
Applicants must be current undergraduate students at Southeast Asia Digital Library (SEADL) affiliated institutions* at the time of submission. Applicants must agree that, should they win, their papers will be made openly accessible and published online on SEADL.
Paper Eligibility
Eligible papers must be within the field of Southeast Asia Studies and reference primary source materials. Papers may be written for a class or independent study within the past three academic years: Spring 2022 - Spring 2025. Papers must be between 2,000 and 10,000 words, excluding references.
Evaluation Criteria
Winning papers will demonstrate the student's ability to support original research with analysis of primary source materials. Papers that reference materials held in SEADL collections will be given increased consideration.
Submission Materials
Submission packets should include a cover page containing the paper title, author name, author email, institutional affiliation, and date. Papers should be submitted as a separate PDF document listing only the title. No author information should be included in the paper itself to allow for blind evaluation.
Email submission packets to seadl@cornell.edu by July 31, 2025
*SEADL Affiliated Institutions:
Arizona State University; The City University of New York; Columbia University; Cornell University; Duke University; Harvard University; Indiana University, Bloomington; King’s University College at Western University; McGill University; Michigan State University; Northern Illinois University; Ohio University; The State University of New York; Université de Montréal; Université Laval; University of British Columbia; University of California, Berkeley; University of California, Los Angeles; University of California, Riverside; University of Hawai’i at Manoa; University of Michigan; University of Saskatchewan; University of Toronto; University of Victoria; University of Washington; University of Wisconsin-Madison; Yale University; York University
Additional Information
Program
Thai Conversation Hour
April 16, 2025
6:00 pm
Join us on Zoom to practice your Thai skills and meet new people. Conversation Hours provide an opportunity to use the target language in an informal, low-pressure atmosphere. Have fun practicing a language you are learning! Gain confidence through experience! Just using your new language skills helps you learn more than you might think. Conversation Hours are open to any learner, including the public.
Join Thai Conversation Hour on Zoom!
Additional Information
Program
Southeast Asia Program
SEAP Research Grant for Doctoral Candidates
Details
Purpose
SEAP offers research funding to PhD candidates who applied for and did not receive major external research awards.*
This grant is only available to SEAP PhD candidates who have completed their A-Exams, with preference given to those in the fourth and fifth years of their programs. To apply, students must submit a revised version of a rejected research proposal addressing feedback from committee members and/or external reviewers. The student's Committee Chair must also provide a brief statement of justification for this research proposal, focusing on degree progress and efforts to secure funding. Students may also submit proposals that are pending review.
*Examples of major external awards: Fulbright US Student Program; Fulbright-Hays Program; Mellon/ACLS Dissertation Innovation Fellowships; Wenner-Gren Dissertation Fieldwork Grants; Wenner-Gren Engaged Research Grants; NSF Graduate Research Fellowships Program (GRFP); NSF Doctoral Dissertation Research Improvement Grants (DDRIG)
Amount
Up to $10,000
Eligibility
This grant is only available to SEAP PhD candidates who have completed their A-Exams, with preference given to those in the fourth and fifth years of their programs. To apply, students must submit a revised version of a rejected research proposal addressing feedback from committee members and/or external reviewers.
All applicants must also apply for the Einaudi Center Global PhD Research Awards (due March 7).
Applicants must be core members of SEAP, which is determined at the discretion of SEAP core faculty based on a student’s commitment to Southeast Asian scholarship as demonstrated through factors such as: whether a SEAP core faculty member is on a student's academic committee; the active participation of a student in SEAP programming and events; research focus; language learning; and coursework.
Timeline
Applications due April 17
Questions?
Please direct any questions to SEAP Program Manager Colin Peterson (crp88@cornell.edu).
How to Apply
Please use the “Apply” button below to create and submit an application using the Einaudi Center Funding Application website (Cornell NetID login required). Required materials include:
- A revised version of your original research proposal. The document should include an addendum that describes the feedback you received on the original research proposal from your committee members and/or external reviewers, and how you have incorporated the feedback. Proposals pending review are also acceptable.
- Budget using THIS TEMPLATE
- Other sources of funding
- Letter of recommendation
- Statement of justification from your committee chair for this research proposal, focusing on your degree progress and efforts to secure funding
Additional Information
SEAP Flexible Research Travel Grant
Details
Purpose
If, for some reason, a SEAP graduate student has travel research needs for which applying for the Einaudi Center Research Travel Grant for Graduate Students is not possible, SEAP provides up to $3,000 in funding. This award is available for research that is off-cycle (primarily due to a student's matriculation date), either independently or as part of a class.
Students should not use this award in lieu of the Einaudi Center Research Travel Grant + SEAP Top-Off Award funding that is part of the annual spring semester application cycle. The SEAP Flexible Research Travel Grant is intended for extraordinary research needs, which you must present in writing along with your budget. Receiving this award requires submitting applications for the Einaudi Center Research Travel Grant and the Graduate School Research Travel Grant, if possible.
Terminal master’s degree students whose studies/research involve fieldwork or archival work on Southeast Asian topics and demonstrate a need for funding support may also use this award for a master’s thesis/project on any time frame with a budget up to $5,000.
Amount
Up to $3,000 for graduate students for off-cycle research/study
Up to $5,000 for terminal master's degree students for research on any time frame
Eligibility
This grant is only available to doctoral and master's students who are core members of SEAP, which is determined at the discretion of SEAP core faculty based on a student’s commitment to Southeast Asian scholarship as demonstrated through factors such as: whether a SEAP core faculty member is on a student's academic committee; the active participation of a student in SEAP programming and events; research focus; language learning; and coursework. To receive this award, students must also apply for the Einaudi Center's Research Travel Grant for Graduate Students, the Graduate School's Research Travel Grant, and any departmental awards.
Timeline
Fall applications are reviewed on October 15.
Spring applications are reviewed on a rolling basis.
Questions?
Please direct any questions to SEAP Program Manager Colin Peterson (crp88@cornell.edu).
How to Apply
Please use the “Apply” button below to create and submit an application using the Einaudi Center Funding Application website (Cornell NetID login required). Required materials include:
- Project proposal. The proposal should contain a title, abstract, objectives, activities, timeline, and outcomes.
- Budget using THIS TEMPLATE
- Other sources of funding
- Letter of recommendation
Additional Information
Indonesian Conversation Hour
April 24, 2025
3:15 pm
Stimson Hall, G25
Come to the LRC to practice your language skills and meet new people. Conversation Hours provide an opportunity to use the target language in an informal, low-pressure atmosphere. Have fun practicing a language you are learning! Gain confidence through experience! Just using your new language skills helps you learn more than you might think. Conversation Hours are open to any learner, including the public.
Additional Information
Program
Southeast Asia Program