Director: Professor David P Chandler
The Centre of Southeast Asian Studies was created at Monash in 1964 in order to encourage interdisciplinary cooperation in the study of Southeast Asia and to coordinate the work of staff and graduate students engaged in study of the region. Its members are drawn from several departments in the university; at present, these include the departments of Anthropology and Sociology, Geography and Environmental Science, History, Asian Languages and Studies, Linguistics, Music and Politics as well as the faculties of Business and Economics, Education and Law.
The value of the centre stems largely from the community of interest that exists among students and staff members affiliated with it. This expresses itself through its publications, and through experiences in Southeast Asia as Asian citizens, fieldworkers and beginning students. The centre does not engage in formal teaching on its own, but graduate students enrolled under the auspices of the centre may be encouraged to take some of the subjects offered by various departments
Over the years, the Monash University library has built up an impressive collection of printed materials from and about Southeast Asia. These include runs of scholarly journals, newspapers, and important microfilm and microfiche holdings, as well as a strong monograph collection.
The centre organises a series of work-in-progress seminars by research students, interspersed with general seminars by staff and visiting scholars. Recent seminars have dealt with such topics as west Sumatran music, HIV-AIDS in Indonesia, and refugees along the Burma-Thailand border
During the year the centre also sponsors one-day or weekend conferences dealing with particular themes. Recent conferences have been about research on women in Southeast Asia and the politics of Islam in Indonesia. In cooperation with the Australian-Indonesian Association the centre sponsors an annual series of lectures on an Indonesian theme.
Through the Monash Asia Institute, the centre offers travel grants to enable graduate students to carry out fieldwork relating to Southeast Asia. Scholarships, however, are awarded only through the associated departments.
The centre offers support services to its graduate students, including use of personal computer and printer, photocopier, microfilm reader and slide viewer. A limited number of desks are available for students' use, as well as filing cabinets and a basic kitchen.
Inquiries about graduate study for the MA or PhD within the centre may be addressed to the director, but applications have to be approved by the head of the relevant department.