Social Science Research Council

SSRC Global

Inter-Asian Connections

Published on: Apr 10, 2007

The Council is undertaking a new initiative for a series of cross-regional and collaborative research activities entitled “Inter-Asian Connections.” This initiative aims at reconceptualizing the regional space of Asia as a dynamic and interconnected formation, stretching from the Middle East and North Africa through Eurasia, South Asia and Southeast Asia to East Asia. The initiative thus actively fosters and sustains a new, trans-regional and comparative research imagination of Asia, one that moves beyond the territorial fixities of area-studies research without discounting the importance of contextually grounded, place-based knowledge.

Program activities will commence with an international conference on "Inter-Asian Connections" in Dubai, UAE from February 21-23, 2008, involving approximately 150 scholars and co-organized by the Dubai School of Government (DSG). The conference is also co-sponsored by DSG, along with a number of other organizations and institutions in Dubai. This is the first forum that convenes such a wide range of scholars of the Middle East, South Asia, Russia/Eurasia, Southeast Asia, and East Asia, to discuss the shared histories and shared futures of Asia. The conference will be used as a launch-pad for investigating promising research directions, possibilities for networking individuals and institutions across scholarly divides, and for developing web resources for sharing information and making connections.