Regional Centers

The Institute for Regional and International Studies (IRIS) comprises and provides coordination and administrative support for Wisconsin’s nine area studies centers – eight of which are National Resource Centers – and the International Studies Major of the College of Letters and Science. IRIS is a pillar unit of UW-Madison’s International Division.

The Department of Asian Languages and Cultures collaborates closely with the three Asian regional studies centers:
Center for East Asian Studies
Center for South Asia
Center for Southeast Asian Studies

Many of our faculty members serve in administrative roles as directors, committee members, and play a vital role in the campus-wide dedication to creating community among scholars.

Our graduate students benefit from the scholarly efforts of each center through robust programming, outreach activities, and funding language study through FLAS and travel for research. Funding opportunities are also made available to undergrads.

Each of the Asian area studies programs reaches students in a variety of ways, which overlap with the academic programs in ALC such as their undergraduate certificates, MA programs, and PhD minors.

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Center for East Asian Studies

History

CEAS began in 1962 as the East Asian Studies program, building on more than sixty years of research and teaching on China, Japan, Korea, Tibet, and Taiwan at the UW-Madison. Over the years, it has grown from fewer than a dozen faculty members teaching thirty graduate-level courses to more than seventy faculty members teaching nearly three hundred courses at both undergraduate and graduate levels.

The Center for East Asian Studies (CEAS) is the focal point connecting East Asia to the University of Wisconsin-Madison. One of the UW-Madison’s eight federally funded National Resource Centers, CEAS is dedicated to all aspects of research, education, and outreach related to China, Japan, and Korea.

CEAS Mission Statement

  • Support the study of East Asia and its individual countries in a variety of disciplines and across disciplines
  • Foster a cohesive community for the study of East Asia on campus, in the UW system, and throughout the state of Wisconsin
  • Disseminate knowledge about East Asia to promote the education of UW students and cultural literacy concerning East Asia in Wisconsin.

CEAS also shares its resources locally, nationally, and internationally with members of the academic community as well as with public and private sector organizations and the general public.

Study and Student Support

We offer an undergraduate certificate in East Asian Studies, and a Ph.D. minor.

CEAS also supports training in the languages spoken in East Asia, including Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Tibetan, and Uyghur. The center works with International Academic Programs to support opportunities for study abroad in mainland China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore, South Korea, and Japan for both language training and general education.

CEAS administers a competition for a scholarship to attend an annual U.S.-Japan undergraduate conference as well as study abroad scholarships for mainland China and Taiwan, and oversees the federally funded Foreign Language and Area Studies (FLAS) fellowships for the study of Chinese, Japanese, Korean, and Tibetan.

Current Director

Steven Ridgely

Position title: Associate Professor, Department of Asian Languages & Cultures

CEAS Director

Email: steve.ridgely@wisc.edu

Phone:608.262.1740

Center for South Asia

The Center for South Asia at the University of Wisconsin-Madison is made up of a community of faculty and staff who reflect the diversity and global relevance of South Asian Studies.

Through our diverse academic disciplines, summer language instituteannual conference, student organizations and outreach programs, the Center seeks to define and promote greater understanding of South Asian history, language, religion and culture.

We also support linkages to other relevant area studies and global studies programs that emphasize transnational flows of culture, people, money in ways that are important to a better understanding of South Asia both in the past and the present.

Current Director

Anthony Cerulli

Credentials: Director

Position title: Professor, Asian Languages and Cultures

Email: director@southasia.wisc.edu

Center for Southeast Asian Studies

History

The Center for Southeast Asian Studies was formally established in 1973 as an interdisciplinary program of the College of Letters and Sciences. Formal scholarly interest in Southeast Asia, however, developed in the early 1950s when Wisconsin pioneered cooperation in economics with the University of Indonesia and Gadjah Mada University. Subsequently, the program expanded considerably as scholars with research and teaching experience in the region joined the faculty. In the early 1960s, the University established a combined East and Southeast Asia Program, from which the Center for Southeast Asian Studies emerged as a separate program in 1973.

Since 1981, the Center has been recognized as a National Resource Center by the U.S. Department of Education and has received Title VI funding for program development and Foreign Language and Area Studies (FLAS) fellowships. In addition to federal support, the Center’s program has benefited greatly from substantial grants from the Henry Luce Foundation (1988-93) and from a million dollar challenge grant from the Mellon Foundation. In 1996, the Center participated in the establishment of the International Institute and currently collaborates with other area programs in global and comparative research and activities. At present, the Center operates a vigorous and well-developed program committed to the study of Southeast Asia that is recognized as one of the best worldwide.

Faculty

The program’s vibrant community of core faculty represent fifteen disciplines that include anthropology, business, communications (journalism), education, economics, geography, history, linguistics, literature, performing arts, political science, religious studies, and sociology. Many other University faculty members have research and teaching interests in Southeast Asia and regularly work with students in a wide variety of fields, including environmental, development, and policy studies, natural resources, and law.

Academic Programs

More than 120 undergraduate and graduate students specializing on Southeast Asia are enrolled in various departments and institutes throughout the University. The Center administers two major degree programs: BA in Asian Studies (Southeast Asian Concentration) and MA in Southeast Asian Studies (see Academic and Degree Programs), as well as offering an Undergraduate Certificate, a Graduate Certificate, and a PhD minor in Southeast Asian Studies.

Some fifty courses with significant Southeast Asia content are offered in various departments and colleges each academic year (see Southeast Asia Course Offerings). Regular instruction is offered through the Department of Languages and Cultures of Asia in five Southeast Asian languages: Filipino/Tagalog, Hmong, Indonesian, Thai, and Vietnamese. In addition, the Center is actively involved in the advanced language training program for Indonesian held in Southeast Asia during the summers and hosts the Southeast Asian Studies Summer Institute (SEASSI)every summer. Faculty and student research are supported by extensive library holdings, with particular strengths on Indonesia, the Philippines, and Thailand, including a separate Southeast Asian Video Archive and other special collections (see Resources for Study and Research).

Fellowships

The Center offers two varieties of fellowship support for graduate students: Foreign Language and Area Studies awards (FLAS, funded by the Center’s Title VI grant) and Center Fellowships (see Financial Aid). Considerable emphasis is placed on study abroad and field research in Southeast Asia. All graduate students are encouraged and assisted in their efforts to conduct field research in the region, and many are successful in the national competition for dissertation research grants. Numerous undergraduate study abroad opportunities in Southeast Asia are administered through The International Division’s Study Abroad Office.  In 1998, the Center also inaugurated a graduate student study abroad program in collaboration with Thammasat University in Bangkok (see Study Abroad). To encourage interaction with Southeast Asian scholars and to enrich the on-campus program, visiting faculty from the region are regularly invited. In recent years scholars from Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, Japan, Australia, China and Spain have been in residence for varying periods of time.

Through language training and related area studies education, Southeast Asian studies at Wisconsin has contributed to the nation’s wealth of foreign area expertise. Since 1980 more than sixty Ph.D. and over a hundred M.A. degrees have been awarded to students conducting research on Southeast Asia. Employment opportunities for these graduates have varied, with roughly half of the Ph.D. degree holders having found academic teaching positions in the United States or abroad and many others securing careers in administration or research with private, government, or international organizations. The Center remains committed to its goal of assisting talented and deserving students in gaining the education needed for scholarly and professional careers in Southeast Asian studies.

Current Director

Tyrell Haberkorn

Position title: Director, Center for Southeast Asian Studies

Professor, Asian Languages and Cultures

Email: tyrell.haberkorn@wisc.edu