New Postdoctoral Researcher Van Tran joins NIAS Team

Van is our new Postdoctoral Researcher at NIAS and the Department of Political Science. She studies social movements and digital cultures under authoritarianism in Myanmar and beyond. She received her Ph.D. in Political Science at Cornell University and is an inaugural UBC Myanmar Initiative Fellow.
 
In conversation about her work at NIAS, she explains: "Regarding my research focus, I am excited to turn my dissertation into journal articles and a book manuscript, highlighting oft-neglected yet politically consequential responses by average bystanders toward contentious mobilizations under repression, with evidence from Myanmar during 1988-2010. In addition, I also look forward to working on new research projects examining contentious dynamics in 2021 post-coup Myanmar, using social media analysis.
Thank you very  much, NIAS team, for the warm welcome and generous support! I feel very fortunate to be among such brilliant colleagues and hope to engage further with NIAS’s larger community." 

The pleasure is all ours, warm welcome to our team and we're looking forward to the new year together!

Find out more about her work by vistiting Van's website or follow her on Twitter! 

Cambodia's Golden Voices and Legacies 

NIAS is delighted to invite to the inaugural online lecture of the "Cambodia Seminar Series" organized in collaboration with the Center for Khmer Studies (CKS) and the New York Southeast Asia Network (NYSEAN). "Cambodia's Golden Voices and Legacies" will be presented by Dr. LinDa Saphan, Associate Professor, College of Mount Saint Vincent examining the lyrics of popular Cambodian songs from the prewar era to the Khmer Rouge (1953–1975). Director of NIAS, Duncan McCargo will moderate the online lecture.

Find more information on the event and register here. 

Time and date: 13.00  - 14.30am (CET), Friday 28 January 2022
Organizer: Nordic Institute of Asian Studies, The Center for Khmer Studies,  New York Southeast Asia Network 

Citizen Designs: City-Making and Democracy in Northeastern Thailand

What does it mean to design democratic cities and democratic citizens in a time of mass urbanization and volatile political transformation? The organizers of the TS4 Seminar Series, NIAS, Sydney Southeast Asia Centre (SSEAC) and the New York Southeast Asia Network (NYSEAN) are delighted to announce Dr. Eli Elinoff, Victoria University of Wellington presenting an ethnographic account of the citizenship struggles and political engagements of residents living alongside the main state railway running through the city of Khon Kaen, in Northeast Thailand.
 

Find more information on the event and register here. 
Please note, accounting for the time shift, this webinar takes place at 2am (CET). It is however possible, to follow the recording later on SSEAC's youtube channel.

Time and date: 02.00  - 03.30am (CET), Friday 11 February 2022
Organizer: Nordic Institute of Asian Studies, Sydney Southeast Asia Centre, New York Southeast Asia Network 

Newly published article by former SUPRA student 

We're delighted to hear the news about our former SUPRA student Hong Yu Liu, publishing his latest article "The role of the state in influencing work conditions in China's internet industry: Policy, evidence, and implications for industrial relations" in the Journal of Industrial Relations.    

Hong is currently a PhD candidate at the Department of Sociology at the University of Cambridge. His doctoral research project investigates the impact of new technology on work conditions and industrial relations. Click here, to see his profile.

Congratulations on the publication & find more information below. 

Abstract 

While there is growing scholarly interest in work conditions in China's internet industry, many studies have focused exclusively on corporate employment relations strategies. By contrast, the article demonstrates the Chinese government's significant role in shaping the collective work experience in business reality. Drawing on three months of fieldwork in China, the findings suggest that the state's quest for technology supremacy has resulted in internet companies that compete ferociously, which in turn causes extreme working hours and burnout. The censorship of online labour activism and the ambiguity in court decisions also lower the interest of tech workers in organising and defending their labour rights. This study opens up an evidence-based debate on industrial relations in contemporary China and calls for more discussions on the state's role in shaping worker well-being and protection. 

The article is Open Access and can be read here.

In Focus Blog

In Focus is a forum for articles with a focus on Asia (here defined as East Asia, Southeast Asia, Central Asia, Oceania and South Asia).  We welcome well-written contributions from early career researchers as well as senior researchers on topics with relevance to modern and contemporary Asia. The blog has existed since 2008 and hold contributions on a number of different topics over the years.
The target length of the articles is 800-1000 words. If you have an accompanying picture, please feel free to include it with your submission.
You can send your submission to info@nias.ku.dk with the subject 'New blog submission'.
Contributions are reviewed on a rolling basis when sent to us.

Deities and Divas 

‘Deities and Divas: Queer Ritual Specialists in Myanmar, Thailand and Beyond’, by Peter A. Jackson and Benjamin Baumann (eds.) is now in store and available at our webshop! 

‘Deities and Divas’ is the first book to trace commonalities between queer and religious cultures in Southeast Asia and the West.

Get your copy or download the E-book on niaspress.dk. 

Spirit Possessions

'Spirit Possession in Buddhist Southeast Asia', edited by Bénédicte Brac de la Perrière & Peter A. Jackson, is due for release in early March. Currently, this is being finalised.

Recently, we offered the indexing proof to several leading scholars in the field for their feedback. Here are four of the responses that have been received to date. 

 

China´s International Relations: South- South Perspectives

China’s main foreign policy initiatives are not directed at the West but prioritise south-south relations. The Department of Cultural Studies and Oriental Languages at the University of Oslo invites to this online seminar that aims to look in detail at China’s orientation towards developing countries and the meaning of the concept of a ‘more democratic world order’ for the Chinese Communist Party. 

Find more information on the event and register here. 

Time and date: 15.00  - 16.30am (CET), Thursday 10 February 2022
Organizer:  Department of Cultural Studies and Oriental Languages at the University of Oslo,

Bangladesh at 50 

The Centre for Development and the Environment at the University of Oslo invites to this festive event on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of Bangladesh's independence taking place at Litteraturhuset in Oslo. A panel of experts will discuss Bangladesh’s internal political and economic dynamics, its interactions with foreign economies, as well as development cooperation with Norway. The seminar is followed by a cultural performance by the Lund International Tagore Choir.

Find more information on the event and register here.

Time and date: 18.00  - 20.00pm (CET), Monday 21 February 2022
Organizer: Centre for Development and the Environment at the University of Oslo