February
17th 2014
Dear
Colleagues and Friends,
It
certainly has been an exciting year to be doing work and research in
Burma/Myanmar, and we have much to look forward to in the coming year.
AAS 2014
We are looking forward to seeing many of you at this coming year’s Association for Asian Studies (AAS) Conference in Philadelphia (March 27-30th 2014). There is quite a selection of panels on the program this year - a total of 36 Southeast Asia-related panels – three of which are specifically about Burma/Myanmar, including our BSG sponsored panel, organized by Christian Lammerts, “Connected and Local Histories of Arakan: New Textual and Epigraphic Studies.”
BSG Business Meeting at the AAS
The
Burmese Studies Group business meeting will be convened at the conference hotel
(Philadelphia Marriott Downtown) on Friday
(9:00pm March 28th in Meeting Room 406. Members and attendees of
the AAS are welcome to attend and join the BSG.
Draft
Agenda
·
Approval
of the 2013 Minutes
·
Report
by the Ex-Com (Initiatives and Finances)
·
Report
by the Center for Burma Studies
·
Report
by the Journal of Burma Studies
·
Report
on the International Burma Studies Conference, Singapore
·
Election
BSG Officers 2014
Please submit
items to be included in the agenda by 10th March 2014 to the
Ex-Com (hismvat@nus.edu., jane.ferguson@anu.edu.au, cmiller27@radford.edu
).
Burma Studies Group Travel Award
2014
In
support of excellence in scholarship on Burma/Myanmar, and to increase the
participation of junior scholars, the Burma Studies Group (BSG), is pleased to
announce the launching of the Burma
Studies Group Travel Award.
The BSG
invites applications from individuals who will present a paper on Myanmar at the
2014 AAS Annual Conference in Philadelphia. This year, up to three (3) awards
of $200 will be given to assist eligible individuals in defraying travel costs
to the conference. Applicants must personally
deliver their presentations at the conference to receive their award.
The BSG Ex-Com will select awardees using the following criteria:
• Excellence: peer review/acceptance of the
paper by AAS Conference Committee. Excellence is prioritized over financial
need; accepted works that are part of organized panels are also prioritized
over individual papers. Applicants may indicate additional measures of
scholarly merit such as a related publication/exhibition/other media not
otherwise indicated in the paper abstract.
• Myanmar
themes/topics/issues: The entire paper or a significant portion must be devoted to Myanmar
material, regardless of discipline. For comparative works/case studies/multiple
foci, the Myanmar dimension must be evident, as demonstrated by title and
abstract published in the AAS program.
• Impact: the award should not be relied
upon to cover all participant costs of travel but help defray customary
conference expenses. Applicants are asked to briefly state other funding
sources applied for and received, if applicable (such as the AAS Graduate Student
Stipends, AAS LDC awards, own institutional or grant support, etc).
Awards are not normally expected to exceed AAS Graduate Student Stipends
(currently pegged at $200 in 2013-2014) but unlike the AAS, has less
restrictive residence requirements. No financial report is required.
BSG Election 2014
As most
of you probably remember our team of co-chairs (Jane Ferguson and Maitrii
Aung-Thwin) and Secretary (Christopher Miller) were elected at the BSG meeting
in 2011 to serve a three-year term. Please do start thinking of candidates to
nominate to continue the work of the BSG for the next three years.
According
to our Constitution (a link to a copy can be referred to at the BSG website:
burmastudiesgroup.org, under “An Open Letter”),
·
Officers
and all committee members in good standing of both the AAS and BSG can be
nominated or self-nominated for the election.
·
Officers
can only be elected by those present at the business meeting of the AAS.
·
Each
person elected as an officer of the BSG shall serve a three-year term. Each
officer will be eligible for re-election to a three-year term after which they
will not be eligible for a consecutive term in office.
·
Nominations
with a brief profile are welcomed by 15th
March 2014. We will circulate the
names and profiles shortly thereafter.
·
Nominations
by standing members will also be accepted at the meeting itself.
International Burma Studies
Conference in Singapore
The biennial
International BSC Conference, “Envisioning Myanmar: Issues, Images, Identities”
will take place August 1st to the 3rd, at the Pan Pacific
Hotel in Singapore. The conference will
be convened by the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, the Faculty of Arts
and Social Sciences (NUS), and the Center for Asian Legal Studies (NUS).
The link
to the temporary event page is as follows:
The
conference website will go “live” in early March for conference details. Please register and book your accommodations
early. There is a limited amount of space
for attendees and participants.
Thank
you for all of your work and interest in our group, and looking forward to
seeing many of you in Philadelphia!
Best
wishes,
Maitrii
Aung-Thwin
Jane
Ferguson
Christopher
Miller
