Burma-Myanma(r) Research and its Future

Implications for Scholars and Policymakers,
Sat 21-Wed 25 September 2002,
Gothenburg, Sweden

1st Collaborative International Conference of the Burma Studies Group (BSG) in conjunction with the Centre for Asian Studies (CEAS), Gothenburg University.

Sponsored by: Gothenburg University (Faculty of Social Science and Vice-Chancellor's Office), International Institute for Asian Studies (IIAS), South East Asia committee of the Association of Asian Studies (AAS), the Nordic Institute of Asian Studies (NIAS), the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA), the Nordic Academy for Advanced Studies (NorFA - Nordisk Forskerutdanningsakademi) and the Centre of East and Southeast Asian Studies, Lund University.

(third announcement, July 2002)

STOP PRESS - download detailed conference SCHEDULE
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LIST OF PANELS AND SPEAKERS

Electronic versions of papers are requested for 15 August.
For deadlines and conditions please see our conference home page.

Legends:
confidential – speakers who benefit from waiting with disclosing their identity
* no abstract provided yet

DISCLAIMER

“The conference organisers are committed to seeing a broad a diversity of opinions represented at this conference and welcome speakers of all backgrounds and opinions. However, where speakers are deemed to have current or planned future commercial interests that could possibly conflict with the impartial academic nature of this conference, whilst encouraging them to present their papers orally at the conference like everyone else, we also request them to:
(a) declare their own and their employer's commercial interests before speaking,
(b) undertake not to use this conference as an opportunity for commercial gain of any sort at any time,
(c) refrain from reference to delivery at the conference as legitimating their views in any way, in publication or otherwise.
Papers deemed to be based on such commercial interests will be delivered off the formal programme.”

A. DISCUSSION PANELS

(A1) Discussion panel 'Half a century of Burma studies' (involving academics active before 1962)

Co-ordinated by Dr Dorothy Guyot (dguyot@aya.yale.edu). Including: Anna Allott, Professor John Badgley; Dr Sarah Bekker, Drs Dorothy and James Guyot, Professor F.K. Lehman;  Dr E. Michael Mendelson, Professor June Nash, Professor Melford Spiro and Professor David Steinberg

(A2) Diplomacy: the Nature of Dialogue and Reconciliation

Co-ordinated by Professor David Steinberg (Georgetown University, steinbdi@georgetown.edu), Dr Kyi May Kaung (Sr. Research Associate, The Burma Fund, Washington DC, kolorama@yahoo.com). Panellists t.b.a.

B. KEYNOTE LECTURES

(B1) Between scholarship and activism (Dr Chao-Tzang Yawnghwe, University of British Columbia; program team director of the National Reconciliation Program (NRP))

(B2) Between scholarship and involvement (Professor F.K. Lehman, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign)

(B3) Hill-valley relations in Mainland Southeast Asia, especially Burma: Why civilizations can't climb hills (Professor James C. Scott, Yale University)

C. PANELS WITH COORDINATORS

(C1) 'Open space' (Dr Gustaaf Houtman, )
(note: the former youth panel has now been merged into this panel)

(C1.2) Katarina Plank. (PhD Candidate, History of Religions, Lund University, katarina@plank.se). Orthopraxis and messianism: S. N. Goenka’s international vipassana family and its Burmese legacy [abstract | full]

*(C1.6) Tun Kyaw Nyein (Assistant Dean, University College and Assistant Director Assistant Director of Distance Education, North Carolina Central University, tnyein@wpo.nccu.edu). Civilian Military Leadership Dynamics prior to '62. [abstract | full]

(C1.7) Guy Lubeigt (CNRS, Laboratoire PACIFICA-PRODIG, Institut de Géographie, Paris, guy.lubeigt@wanadoo.fr). State and Sangha in Burma : a cooperation mutually fruitful [abstract | full]

(C1.10) Gavin Douglas (PhD Ethnomusicology, douglas_gavin@hotmail.com. State patronage and the transformation of Burmese traditional music. [abstract | full]

(C1.11) Dr Priyambudi Sulistiyanto (Fellow, Southeast Asian Studies Programme, National University of Singapore, seasp@nus.edu.sg). Reconciliation and the Politics of Justice: Indonesia and Burma in Comparative Perspective [abstract | full]

(C1.12) Alfred Oehlers (Dept of Commerce, Massey University (Albany), A.L.Oehlers@massey.ac.nz). "Burma and Singapore: Some Research Questions and Obstacles" [abstract | full]

(C1.16) Dr Koung Nyunt (Department of Architecture, University of Auckland, k.nyunt@auckland.ac.nz). Loyalty of Rangoon and Dishonour of Mandalay under Military rule (1962-88) [abstract | full]

(C1.18) Curtis Lambrecht. (PhD candidate, Yale University, Curtis.lambrecht@yale.edu). The Border Areas and National Races Development Programme [abstract | full]

(C1.20) Professor Jacques Ivanoff in collaboration with M. Cartolano  and T. Lejard (L'Institut de Recherche sur le Sud-Est Asiatique (IRSEA), CNRS, jacquesivanoff@yahoo.com). From field-work to bilateral cooperation, from Burma to Europe through ASEAN: the MAP-RAID Project example. (on the Moken Sea Gypsies). [abstract | full]

(C1.21) Karin Dean (PhD Candidate, Geography, National University, Singapore, karindean@hotmail.com). Kachin Territorial Place vs. Social Space: Constructing, Contesting and Crossing Boundaries [abstract | full]

(C1.22) confidential

(C1.23) San Thwin, MSc  Forest Policy (PhD Candidate, Institute of Forest Policy, University of Göttingen, san_thwin@yahoo.com). Forest resource degradation in Myanmar [abstract | full]

(C1.25) Annie Nason: khumi-Chin (PhD Candidate, Birmingham University, UK, AnnieNason@aol.com). How the Role of Women Developed Amongst the Christian Anglican  Community of the Khumi-Chin of the Upper Kaladan River, Western Burma. [abstract | full]

(C1.26) Prof. Ward Keeler (Dept of Anthropology, Univ. of Texas at Austin, ward.keeler@mail.utexas.edu). Performing gender in Mandalay. [abstract | full]

(C1.27) Confidential

(C1.28) Toe Zaw Latt (MA Asian Studies candidate, Monash University, zawlatt@jeack.com.au) The myth of a unified Burma and prospects for a national reconciliation process [abstract | full]

(C1.29) Confidential

(C1.30) Camilla Buzzi (MA Student, University of Oslo, camillab@stv.uio.no). The Impact of Democratisation on inter-ethnic relations in Burma. [abstract | full]

(C1.31) Erik Braun (PhD Candidate, Dept of Sanskrit and Indian Studies, Harvard University, ebraun@fas.harvard.edu). The meditation system of U Ba Khin and its relation to the notion of the kalapas [abstract | full]

(C2) Research, Education and Human Resource Management (Pat Herbert, patriciaherbert@onetel.net.uk; Thein Lwin, nhec_edu@cm.ksc.co.th)

Little research has been conducted or published on this subject, although it is one crucial to Burma's capacity for sustained long-term development. The Panel welcomes papers which explore educational and research policy issues (past, present and future), case studies of particular subject areas (e.g., education provision at primary, secondary and tertiary levels, private education, military education, medical education, monastic/religious education) and such issues as language policy, curriculum development, funding and investment, library resources, the role of intellectual, as well as relevant comparative and regional studies. The Panel particularly welcomes research papers from those with practical experience in Burma (as planners, teachers, students) with a view to identifying strengths and weaknesses in Burma's education system and prioritizing educational needs.

(C2.1) Dr Thein Lwin (Burmese National Health and Education Committee, nhec_edu@cm.ksc.co.th). Issues surrounding Curriculum Development in the Ethnic Nationality Areas of Burma. [abstract | full]

(C2.3) John Brandon (Associate Director, Asia Foundation, Washington Office, jbrandon@dc.asiafound.org) – On the need to developing human capital by adjusting policies. [abstract | full]

(C2.5) Professor Elwyn Thomas (formerly Head of the Department of Education and International Development, University of London Institute of Education, etomsk3@hotmail.com). Capacity building for the education sector in Burma: Challenges for schooling and teacher education. [abstract | full]

(C2.6) confidential

(C3) Ethnic Diversity (Professor Mikael Gravers, etnomg@moes.hum.au.dk, Chair: Dr Magnus Fiskesjö, magnus.fiskesjo@ostasiatiska.se)

With the overall aim of increasing understanding of specific political, social and cultural dynamics involved in the migration of Burmese populations, the panel organisers invite papers from those working within a variety of disciplines on issues broadly related to migration in the Burmese context. We wish to explore migration processes in the Burmese context by bringing together complementary lines of research, such as: the macro-analysis of global flows of migration, problem-oriented reports and studies of the challenges facing displaced persons, and work on the deterritorialisation of identities, notions of 'home' and the 'reinvention' of culture in displacement.

The theme of 'migration' raises fundamental issues about changes and continuities in cultural identity and social relations in the face of global economic change, political upheaval, experiences of violence, and transnational contexts. Resulting in both new and reinforced social configurations and relations, migration places Burmese people and Burma in the world, and represents an ongoing reconstitution of Burmese social worlds. Research in this area takes place against a backdrop of migration's emergence during the last decade as a major topic of analysis both within the social sciences and in general, contemporary social debates. Academic studies have ranged from representing migrants in terms of adaptation to 'host societies', through descriptive analyses of the interrelations of 'peripheral' places of origin and 'central' places of destination, to more theoretical explorations of such areas as migration and the global economy, the creation of transnational space, identities and culture in exile, notions of 'home', and the literature of exile. Furthermore, the interests of government agencies and non-government organisations mean that much research is still placed in the welfare-unemployment-security-health framework and focused on 'practical' issues such as repatriation, integration, health concerns, and 'socio-psychological' matters.

This panel acknowledges that while the reasons for and consequences of displacement and exile are as diverse as people themselves, we can still find common ground in experiences of up-rooting and the uncertainty of an existence in a foreign environment. For example, memories of shared context leave traces and enjoy biographical, structural, political and social afterlives. Returnees frequently continue to depend on support networks, patterns of aid and resources assembled during their period of exile. Those with the opportunity and the necessary strategic skills and knowledge, are able to access a wide range of livelihood options that continue to tie them both to their places of origin and to their places of exile. Those less fortunate, on the other hand, may become cognitively or emotionally trapped in traumas of violence and displacement, unable effectively to rebuild their social lives and livelihoods. If solutions are to be negotiated, in the Burmese context as in any other careful analysis is required to reveal the dynamics of the various discursive, social, cultural and political reconfigurations that take place.

(C3.1) David Tegenfeldt (MA, Conflict Transformation Program, Eastern Mennonite University, USA, dtegenfeldt@vaix.net). “Dynamics of Group Identity in Ethnic Conflict: the Kachin Context” [abstract | full]

(C3.2) Carol J. Gowler (MA, Conflict Transformation Program, Eastern Mennonite University, USA, cgowler@vaix.net). “Constructive Responses to Conflict - Traditional Kachin Systems” [abstract | full]

(C3.3) Ashley South (MA, SOAS, London; working in Thailand, lerdoh@yahoo.co.uk). Ceasefires and Civil Society: The Case of the Mon. [abstract | full]

(C3.4) Dr Magnus Fiskesjö (Museum of Far Eastern Antiquities, Stockholm, magnus.fiskesjo@ostasiatiska.se). Self-other dynamics and the concept of autonomy in the Wa context. [abstract | full]

(C3.7) Dr Mikael Gravers (Associate Professor, Department of Ethnography and Social Anthropology, University of Aarhus, Denmark, etnomg@moes.hum.au.dk). The Role of Religion in the Formation of Ethnic Identity - the case of the Karen. [abstract | full]

(C3.8) Dr Lian H. Sakhong (Uppsala University, Sweden, liansakhong@hotmail.com; Research Director of the National Reconciliation Program (NRP)). Christianity and Chin identity: A study in religion, politics and national identity in Burma. [abstract | full]

(C4) Water, Environment and Sustainable Development (Dr Khin Ni Ni Thein, wrtc@wrtcburma.org)

(C4.1). Prof. dr. M.B. Abbott  (Emeritus professor of Hydroinformatics, IHE Delft, The Netherlands, knowledge.engineering@skynet.be). The New Paradigm in Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) [abstract | full]  

(C4.2) confidential 

(C4.3) Shwe Shwe Sein Latt (Senior Researcher), Prof. Thierry Lefevre (Director) (Center for Energy-Environment Research and Development (CEERD), Bangkok, l.shwe@ceerd.net and ssslatt@yahoo.com ) New and Renewable Energy Technologies for Sustainable Development in Myanmar [abstract | full]

(C4.7) Dr Khin Ni Ni Thein (Water Research and Training Centre for a new Burma (WRTC),  wrtc@wrtcburma.org). The Salween Water Partnership. [abstract | full]

(C4.10) Mar Mar Aye (Manager, Airpollution Control, Bangkok, mar2aye@yahoo.com). Solid Waste Management: Toward environmental Management in  Burma-Myanmar. [abstract | full]

(C4.11) Htin Aung Kyaw (Research associate, Aquaculture and Aquatic Resources Management Program, htin6468@hotmail.com). Striving for food security in Burma-Myanmar: Evaluation of existing freshwater fish seed production in Yangon Division. [abstract | full]

(C5) Burma-Myanmar in the World: Refugees, Migrants and Transnationalism
(Dr Sandra Dudley, sandra@dudleygill.freeserve.co.uk; Per Lundberg, per.lundberg@sant.gu.se)

With the overall aim of increasing understanding of specific political, social and cultural dynamics involved in the migration of Burmese populations, the panel organisers invite papers from those working within a variety of disciplines on issues broadly related to migration in the Burmese context. We wish to explore migration processes in the Burmese context by bringing together complementary lines of research, such as: the macro-analysis of global flows of migration, problem-oriented reports and studies of the challenges facing displaced persons, and work on the deterritorialisation of identities, notions of 'home' and the 'reinvention' of culture in displacement.

The theme of 'migration' raises fundamental issues about changes and continuities in cultural identity and social relations in the face of global economic change, political upheaval, experiences of violence, and transnational contexts. Resulting in both new and reinforced social configurations and relations, migration places Burmese people and Burma in the world, and represents an ongoing reconstitution of Burmese social worlds. Research in this area takes place against a backdrop of migration's emergence during the last decade as a major topic of analysis both within the social sciences and in general, contemporary social debates. Academic studies have ranged from representing migrants in terms of adaptation to 'host societies', through descriptive analyses of the interrelations of 'peripheral' places of origin and 'central' places of destination, to more theoretical explorations of such areas as migration and the global economy, the creation of transnational space, identities and culture in exile, notions of 'home', and the literature of exile. Furthermore, the interests of government agencies and non-government organisations mean that much research is still placed in the welfare-unemployment-security-health framework and focused on 'practical' issues such as repatriation, integration, health concerns, and 'socio-psychological' matters.

This panel acknowledges that while the reasons for and consequences of displacement and exile are as diverse as people themselves, we can still find common ground in experiences of up-rooting and the uncertainty of an existence in a foreign environment. For example, memories of shared context leave traces and enjoy biographical, structural, political and social afterlives. Returnees frequently continue to depend on support networks, patterns of aid and resources assembled during their period of exile. Those with the opportunity and the necessary strategic skills and knowledge, are able to access a wide range of livelihood options that continue to tie them both to their places of origin and to their places of exile. Those less fortunate, on the other hand, may become cognitively or emotionally trapped in traumas of violence and displacement, unable effectively to rebuild their social lives and livelihoods. If solutions are to be negotiated, in the Burmese context as in any other careful analysis is required to reveal the dynamics of the various discursive, social, cultural and political reconfigurations that take place.

(C5.1) Celina Su (PhD Candidate, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, celinasu@mit.edu, celinasu@yahoo.com) & P. Muennig (Sophie
Davis Medical School at City University of New York, petermuennig@yahoo.com). "Mechanisms for access to basic social services in northwestern Thailand: A case study of one community of Shan Burmese Refugees" [abstract | full]

(C5.3) Lisa Brooten (PhD Candidate, School of Telecommunications, lb252689@ohiou.edu; Assistant Professor, College of Mass Communication and Media Arts, Department of Radio-TV, Southern Illinois University, Carbondale). Media, human rights and refugees. [abstract | full]

(C5.4) Per Lundberg (PhD Candidate, Dept. of Social Anthropology, Göteborg University, per.lundberg@sant.gu.se). "Resistance, mobility and/as agency among Burmese dissidents in Thai exile" [abstract | full]

(C5.5) Dr Sandra Dudley (Research Officer, Queen Elizabeth House, University of Oxford, sandra@dudleygill.freeserve.co.uk). Beyond the camps: Karenni refugees, nationalism and the world.  [abstract | full]

(C5.6) Ken Maclean (Ph.D. candidate in Anthropology and a M.S. candidate at the School for Natural Resources and Environment, University of Michigan Ann Arbor, USA, maclean@umich.edu). From the Outside Looking In: Burmese Exiles on the Changing Politics of Humanitarian and Development Assistance. [abstract | full]

(C5.8) Cecilia Strand (Ph.D. candidate, Dept.of Information
Sceince, Uppsala University, cecilia.strand@dis.uu.se, ceciliastrand@hotmail.com). Democracy movement Internet strategies. [abstract | full]

C7) Law and the Constitution (Myint Zan, Zan_M@Vanuatu.usp.ac.fj; Janelle Saffin, janelle.saffin@parliament.nsw.gov.au)

(C7.1) The Hon. Janelle Saffin (Member of Parliament, New South Wales, janelle.saffin@parliament.nsw.gov.au; Honorary Secretary Burma Laywers Council, Australian Section; International Co-ordinator of the NCUB's Constitutional Drafting Committee). Burma's Colonial Legacy-Unfinished Political Business-No Constitutional Settlement [abstract | full]

(C7.2) Ngun Cung Lian (Andrew). (PhD Candidate, School of Law, Indiana University, nclian@indiana.edu). The separation of powers and federalism in the constitutions of Burma. [abstract | full]

(C7.4) Naw May Oo (Snyder Research Fellow, Lauterpacht Research Centre for International Law, Cambridge University, moaye@yahoo.com). The Right to Health: International and Constitutional Law Focus with Analysis on the Principle of Progressive Realization (ICESCR). [abstract | full]

(C7.5)  Dr Graeme Wiffen (Senior Lecturer, Centre for Environmental Law, Macquarie University, gwiffen@hotmail.com). Heritage law as applicable to Burma. [abstract | full]

(C8) State and Society (Dr Kyaw Yin Hlaing, polkyh@nus.edu.sg; Professor Robert H. Taylor, r_h_taylor@btopenworld.com). Discussant: Professor Robert H. Taylor

The State and Society Panel invites papers which will address the relationship between the state and societal groups in Myanmar. The groups to be examined include the following:
• The peasantry
• Urban workers
• Minority communities in peripheral regions
• Students and youth
• Intellectuals, academics and creative artists
• The Sangha and other religious groups
• The indigenous business community
• Foreign investors

In doing so, paper writers are asked to consider the capacity of the state and its personnel to formulate and implement clear and coherent policies in relationship to these societal groups. In addition, they should also address the more frequently studied issue of the capacity of these groups to resist, thwart or assist the state in implementing its goals. Thus papers are asked to examine the state's:

• Institutional capacity including the ability to make and enforce relevant rules and regulations and to collect taxes
• Social control capacity including the ability to establish control over the society in both central and border areas
• Regenerative capacity including recruitment patterns and training of policy formulators and civil servants
• Policy making capacity including its ability to understand and address the specific interests of relevant groups
• Co-ordinating capacity including the ability to establish consistent governmental control over both central and border areas

Case studies of specific economic, social, health, educational or environmental policies, such as employment generation, disease prevention and control, drug eradication or forest degradation, might be used to illustrate these topics.

(C8.1) Oh Yoon Ah (Department of Political Science, National University of Singapore, artp1297@nus.edu.sg). State, Christian Church and Generation Gap in Ethnic Identity Formation: A Case Study of Insein Karen Community
[abstract | full]

(C8.2) Confidential

(C8.3) Confidential

(C8.4) Prof. Donald M. Seekins. (College of International Studies, International Meio University, Okinawa, Japan, kenchan@ii-okinawa.ne.jp) “Burma’s Changing Urban Landscapes: Politics and the ‘New’ Rangoon and Mandalay”  [abstract | full]

(C8.5). Dr Ingrid Jordt. (Dept. of Anthropology, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, jordt@uwm.edu). Patron-Client Ties and the Process of Political Legitimation in Burmese State-Society Relations [abstract | full]

(C9) Linguistics (Dr Justin Watkins, justin.watkins@soas.ac.uk; Kenneth van Bik, vanbik@socrates.Berkeley.EDU)

The Linguistics Panel invites papers in all areas of linguistics, both descriptive and theoretical, which focus on any language or languages spoken in Burma. We encourage participants to consider writing papers on languages other than Burmese, and would especially welcome papers written in collaboration with native speakers, but all contributions will be welcomed.

(C9.1) Dr Emmanuel Guillon  (INALCO, Paris, guillon@club-internet.fr). Some aspects of the Mon language today [abstract | full]

(C9.2) Paulette Hopple (PhD Candidate, Summer Institute of Linguistics, Paulette_Hopple@sil.org). Topicalization in Burmese expository discourse. [abstract | full]

(C9.3) Professor Vadim B. Kassevitch (Vice President, Univ. of St. Petersburg; Professor of Burmese and General Linguistics;  Director, Laboratory for Computer Application in the Humanities;  kasevich@vbk.usr.pu.ru ). The syntactic markers of written Burmese: are they really optional? [abstract | full]

(C9.5) Helga So-Hartmann (PhD Candidate, SOAS, London University, helga_so-hartmann-uk@kastanet.org). Peak marking features in Daai folktales [abstract | full]

(C9.6) Kenneth Van Bik (PhD Candidate in Linguistics, University of California, Berkeley, vanbik@socrates.Berkeley.EDU). Subgrouping in Kuki-Chin. [abstract | full]

(C9.7) Dr Justin Watkins (Lecturer in Burmese, SOAS, London University, justin.watkins@soas.ac.uk). The tonal characteristics of functional particles in Burmese [abstract | full]

(C9.8) Professor Rudolf Yanson (Head of Department of Letters of China, Korea and South-East Asia, St Petersburg University, Yanson@RY1703.spb.edu). On the role of the medial palatal sonant in the history of the Burmese language [abstract | full]

(C10) Orality and Alternative Resources – Oral History and Oral Traditions Research in Burma Studies (Mandy Sadan, School of Oriental and African Studies, London, mandy.sadan@talk21.com)

In recent years there has been increasing interest in orality as both a tool and a subject of academic research. This panel will explore ways in which oral histories (broadly defined to include oral testimony) and oral traditions (including associated performances or rituals) may be used to enable new approaches in Burma-Myanma(r) studies.

Oral history research for archival purposes has been given support elsewhere from ASEAN, although it was the contribution that the oral histories of elite politicians could make to the construction of national histories in Southeast Asia that helped to encourage this interest. However, the main concern of the panel will be the ability of oral research to explore discourses that are marginalised from the political and cultural centre. It will consider the role of oral testimony in the design, implementation and assessment of NGO interventions, as well as the role that oral traditions research may play in studies relating, for example, to the cognitive structuring of identities, marginal conceptualisations of historical time or geographical space, or the relationship between literate and oral cultures and the problematisation of development.

In 2001 UNESCO made the first 'Proclamation of Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity'. Burma is home to many oral art forms that could fall within the criteria of the Proclamation. However, the failure even to get Pagan inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site must force us to consider the difficulties of recording and researching marginalised oral culture in a Burma-Myanma(r) context in realistic ways. This complexity cannot be reduced entirely to a discussion of periphery-centre power relations, but must also address the contexts in which performance and meaning are controlled by dominant voices within marginalised groups themselves. For example, whilst orality and oral art forms may be a source of cultural identity for some minority populations, for others oral traditions may no longer represent the spiritual and developmental values of the peoples and communities to which they belong. This creates a particularly difficult relationship within many communities where religious conversion (especially conversion to Christianity) has repositioned the context of the art form, and influences (usually negatively) the desire to record and preserve it other than within clearly defined and politicised contexts. Examples of this may be seen in some local, minority script development initiatives derived from such recordings, and the desire to publish certain narratives as definitive community histories. Both of these outcomes may actually lead to the narrowing of future oral traditions research possibilities, in contrast to stated intentions.

Papers are invited on any of these issues, or on any others within the broad definition of the panel. The panel will encourage a multi-disciplinary perspective, acknowledging the interactions of historical, anthropological, linguistic, and social science methods in this kind of research, and would appreciate papers from academics in a variety of disciplines, as well as NGO practitioners. It will also consider papers from academics outside Burma-Myanma(r) studies whose work is relevant to the issues outlined above, and which may be instructive for Burma-Myanma(r) researchers, especially those new to this area of research.

(C10.1) Glenda Kupczyk-Romanczuk (gkupczyk@metz.une.edu.au). Our environment in your language: People on the Thai / Burma border talk to a dictionary writer about their environment [abstract | full]

(C10.2) Mai Ni Ni (MA Candidate in International Peace Studies, KROC Institute, University of Notre Dame, maung@nd.edu). Sonethu Chin Cultural Preservation Project [abstract | full]

(C10.3) Lisa Maddigan (Green Centre for World Art, Brighton Museum). Kachin textile project [abstract | full]

(C10.4) Mandy Sadan (PhD candidate, History, London, mandy.sadan@talk21.com). Development of alternative historical resources in Kachin State [abstract | full]

(C11) From Fact to Fiction: A History of Thai-Myanmar Relations in a Cultural Context (Professor Sunait Chutintaranond, sunait.c@chula.ac.th)

(C11.1) Professor Sunait Chutintaranond (Director, Thai and Southeast Asian Studies Centre, Faculty of Arts, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, sunait.c@chula.ac.th). Lessons from the historical relationship between Thailand and Myanmar-Burma. [abstract | full]

SHOW Never we shall be (produced by Myat Mihkin Foundation), a film about kingship in Myanmar.                                                                                           

(C11.2) confidential

OPTIONAL SHOWING: Suriyuthai, a large production Thai film dealing with the Thai-Burmese war.

(C12) Pictorial Art (Sylvia Lu Frazer, sylvialu@his.com)

(C12.1) Charlotte Galloway (Assistant Curator of Asian Art, National Gallery of Australia, Charlotte.Galloway@nga.gov.au). The Ananda Temple Sculptures: Buddhist Texts as Sources of Iconography. [abstract | full]

(C12.2) Dr Alexandra Green (Lecturer, Dept of Art and Archaeology, SOAS, 106351.416@compuserve.com). Word and Image: Texts Used in the Preparation of Seventeenth and Eighteenth Century Burmese Wall Paintings. [abstract | full]

(C12.3) Sylvia Frazer-Lu (independent scholar, sylvialu@his.com). Formulaic Depictions and Original Compositions in Burmese Narrative Illustrations with Special Reference to an Early Twentieth Century Lacquer Manuscript in the New York Public Library. [abstract | full]

(C12.4) Anne May Chew (ex-member of « Laboratoire Péninsule Indochinoise »,  Paris, Anne.Chew@wanadoo.fr). The Rock-cut  Temples of Po Win Taung in Central Burma: Architecture, Sculpture and Mural Paintings. [abstract | full]

(C12.5) Chotima Chaturawong (PhD candidate, Cornell University, cc133@cornell.edu). 'The Architecture of Burmese Buddhist Monasteries in Upper Burma, The Biographies of Trees' [abstract | full]

(C13) Gender, society and development (Dr Hiroko Kawanami, HKawanami@aol.com)

(C13.2)  confidential

(C13.3) Dr Hiroko Kawanami (Lecturer, Dept of Religious Studies, Lancaster University, HKawanami@aol.com). Religious Ideology, Representation, and Social Realities: the case of Burmese Buddhist Womanhood [abstract | full]

(C13.4) Khin Mar Mar Kyi  (MA, Australian National University, ma_mar@hotmail.com). Recolonising Gender: Representation of Burmese women through popular literature of novels, poems, songs and cartoons by the colonisers and colonised. [abstract | full]

*(C13.10) Dr Khin Ni Ni Thein (Water Research and Training Centre for a new Burma (WRTC),  wrtc@wrtcburma.org). Gender inclusion in the information age. [abstract | full]

(C14) Health and HIV (Professor Tun Kyaw Nyein, tnyein@wpo.nccu.edu)

(C14.1) Professor Tun Kyaw Nyein (Assistant Dean, University College and Assistant Director Assistant Director of Distance Education at North Carolina Central University, tnyein@wpo.nccu.edu). The Politics of HIV and AIDS in Burma. [abstract | full]

(C14.2) Dr. Alice Khin Saw Win (Faculty Lecturer, Faculty of Nursing, Medicine and Dentistry, University of Alberta , alice.khin@ualberta.ca ). Health as human right, HIV/AIDS problem of migrants from Burma in Thailand, a consequence of human rights violations. [abstract | full]

(C14.3) Dr. Myat Htoo Razak (Department of Epidemiology, Johns Hopkins University, mhrazak@jhsph.edu). ‘Assessment of the HIV/AIDS epidemic and its potential consequences on future development of Burma’ [abstract | full]

(C14.4) Dr. Minn Minn Soe (Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University, msoe@sph.emory.edu). Addressing illegal migrant worker issues in Thailand. [abstract | full]

 (C14.5) Dr. Monique Skidmore (Lecturer, Anthropology and Development studies, University of Melbourne, mskid@unimelb.edu.au). The Poor Cousins of Burma’s Biomedical Sector:  Psychiatry and Traditional Medicine. [abstract | full]

(C15) Buddhism and the nat cults
(Dr Bénédicte Brac de la Perriere,  brac@ext.jussieu.fr; Dr Hiroko Kawanami)

The panel is open papers on Buddhism and spirit cults in contemporary Burma-Myanmar in their great diversity, and invites scholars to offer perspectives and respective experiences on the complex religious scene we observe today. In particular, we invite papers that convey how these reflect the present situation, e.g. to what extent these provide hope during a period of political and social turmoil. Also, whilst open to traditional religious practices in rural areas and in the uplands, we invite participants in particular to examine contemporary changes in religious orientation especially amongst the lay population in urban areas.

We continue to maintain strong interest in the influence and activities of the monastic community and its relationship with the wider society, including the contemporary roles of monks and nuns, monastic education and learning, religious activities and initiatives of lay devotees, and Buddhist missionary work abroad.

The panel encourages papers on contemporary practices of spirit cults/worship and their wider religious implications, including the localisation of Buddhism, commercialisation of spirit ceremonies, and 'this-worldly' needs of the lay population. We hope that participants will reengage in the discussion of how to understand Burmese religion, 'either or not as one religious system' in order to see it in a new light after thirty-five years since the publication of Burmese Supernaturalism (Spiro 1967).

Contemporary secular needs could also be discussed in the face of sustained popularity of Vipassana meditation, practices deriving from 'this-worldly' asceticism, new religious values promoting 'spiritual egalitarianism', popularity of certain types religious leaders and saints, and the rising position of Buddhist nuns.

We hope to understand these traditions in a society that is going through rapid structural change and development in certain sectors, whilst struggling to adjust to a new economic climate and pressures from globalisation in an unstable political situation that continues today. We also hope to gain further insight into the contemporary situation by adopting a comparative perspective and learning from examples of other poly-ethnic Buddhist societies in Southeast Asia. Anyone wishing to participate in such discussions is welcome! It is anticipated that a selection of papers will be published in bookform.

(C15.1) Dr Bénédicte Brac de la Perrière (CNRS-LASEMA, Paris, brac@ext.jussieu.fr). Transmission, Change and Reproduction in the Burmese Cult of the 37 Lords [abstract | full]

(C15.3) Dr Guillaume Rozenberg (recently completed PhD in Ethnology at the Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales, Paris, rozenberg_guilla@hotmail.com). Reciprocity and redistribution in the quest for sainthood in Burma: Thamanya Hsayadaw’s birthday. [abstract | full]

(C15.4) Dr Keiko Tosa (Anthropology, Hiroshima University, ktosa@kobe-u.ac.jp). Weikza: the case of Tamanya Taung Hsayadaw (tentative title). [abstract | full]

(C15.5) Jake Carbine (PhD Candidate, Dept of Religious Studies, University of Chicago, jacarbin@midway.uchicago.edu). Upasampada and the Making of a Rahan. [abstract | full]

(C15.6) Dr Naoko Kumada (Fellow, Stanford Center for Buddhist Studies, nkumada@hotmail.com). Dagò, Cosmogony and Politics: religion and power in Burmese society [abstract | full]

(C15.7) Alexandra de Mersan (Master in Ethnology, Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales, Paris, alexdemersan@yahoo.fr). A new palace for Mra Souin Devi. Changes in spirit cults in Rakhine State [abstract | full]

(C15.8) Dr François Robinne (Institute for Research on Southeast Asia, CNRS Marseille, robinne@romarin.univ-aix.fr). Sending back the soul amongst the Christian Kachin in Burma. [abstract | full]

(C16) 20th Century History (Prof. Kei Nemoto, ILCAA, Tokyo University of Foreign Studies, knemoto@aa.tufs.ac.jp)

(C16.1) Dr Paul H.Kratoska (Editor, Journal of Southeast Asian Studies, Dept of History, National University of Singapore, hispaulk@nus.edu.sg). "Linking Burma to the East: Antecedents of the Burma Road and the Burma-Siam Railway" [abstract | full]

(C16.2) Alyssa Phillips (PhD Candidate.in History, Monash University, Australia, Alyssa.Phillips@arts.monash.edu.au) "The Glittering East: British romantic notions of Burma's past during the twentieth century" [abstract | full]

(C16.3) Dr Hans-Bernd Zöllner (University of Hamburg, Germany, Hans-Bernd Zoellner, bazett@t-online.de) "The Nagani-Project" [abstract | full]

(C16.4) Myint Zan (School of Law, University of the South Pacific, Emalus Campus, Port Vila, Vanuatu, Zan_M@vanuatu.usp.ac.fi) "Aspects of the <left> and <right> and their <conversions> in Modern <elite> Burmese Politics". [abstract | full]

(C16.6) Dr Susanne Prager (South Asian Institute, University of Heidelberg, Germany, pragers@gmx.de). "Life as Myth: Aung San and the Cultural Reproduction of Burmese Political Ideas". [abstract | full]

(C16.7) Dr Rajshekhar (Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, India dr_rajshekhar@rediffmail.com). "Gandhi, Aung San Suu Kyi and Burma's Democratic Movement". [abstract | full]

(C17) Returning to Nineteenth-Century Burma: Towards A New Research Agenda  (Will Womack, nancyandwill@netscape.net)

At one time, the nineteenth-century was the primary focus of mainstream historians of Burma. Times have changed substantially and the major historians of Burma now focus on other periods, especially the Pagan period, early modern Burma, and Independent Burma. While this shift in attention has certainly been warranted and enriched the field, the decline of interest in the late Konbaung and colonial years needs to be rectified. Far from unimportant, many of the key developments that culminated preceding trends or would lead to the emergence of modern Burma (whether of "autonomous" indigenous creation or in reaction to the European impact) occurred during this critical period.

A new generation of scholars of Burma has emerged to take on this period again, armed with new data, drawn especially from indigenous language materials and new extensive surveys of the western language archives. These scholars also bring new theoretical paradigms gained from more recent trans-disciplinary studies. A new research agenda for the colonial period has thus emerged, examples of which will be presented by this international group of historians. The sub-topics taken up, in the context of broader historical developments, will include economy, law, medicine, religion, ethnic relations, and state relations.

(C17.1) Professor Ryuji Okudaira (Retired Professor: Researcher on Myanmar (Burmese) History and Culture, Tokyo University of Foreign Studies, okudaira@theia.ocn.ne.jp), "How judges used the Dhammathats in the courts of Eighteenth Century Myanmar (Burma), with special reference to Yezajyo Hkondaw Pyathton." [abstract | full]

(C17.2) Mandy Sadan (PhD candidate, History, London, mandy.sadan@talk21.com), "Environmental imagination and the emergence of ‘Kachin’ in early 19th century British archives." [abstract | full]

(C17.4) Will Womack (PhD candidate, History, SOAS, London, nancyandwill@netscape.net), " The Origins of Eastern Pwo Karen Writing: Monks, Myths, and Manuscripts"   [abstract | full]

(C17.8) Joerg Schendel (PhD candidate, University of Berlin, joerg.schendel@student.hu-berlin.de), "Burma's Cotton Exports in the Nineteenth Century" [abstract | full]

(C17.10) L. E. Bagshawe (Independent Scholar and Translator, lebagshawe@vance.net). Hpo Hlaing’s Yazadhammathingaha. [abstract | full]

(C18) Language and literature (Prof. Julian Wheatley, wheatley@mit.edu)

(C18.1) Myint Zan (School of Law, University of the South Pacific, Emalus Campus, Port Vila, Vanuatu, Zan_M@vanuatu.usp.ac.fj). A Glimpse of Five (Modern) Existential Burmese Poems [abstract | full]

(C18.2) San San Hnin Tun (Cornell University, New York, sht3@cornell.edu). Teaching and learning of Myanmar language for scholars of Myanmar [abstract | full]

(C18.4) Chie Ikeya (PhD candidate in history, Cornell University, New York ci14@cornell.edu). The Japanese occupation of Burma seen through Japanese and Burmese  writing. [abstract | full]

(C18.5) Dr Julian Wheatley (Senior Lecturer in Chinese, MIT, wheatley@mit.edu). Linguistic and social aspects of word-play in Burmese. [abstract | full]

(C18.6) Saw Tun (Assistant Professor, Burmese Language and Literature, Dept of Foreign Languages and Literatures, University of Northern Illinois, sawtun@niu.edu). An examination of the present status of colloquial Burmese. [abstract | full]

(C20) Librarians and library resources (Professor John Badgley, badgley@u.washington.edu)

The historical and future role of library resources for Burmese studies inside and outside of Burma

(C20.1) Liz Curach (University Librarian, University of Western Sydney, l.curach@uws.edu.au). From riches to rags:  an examination of library provision in Burma. [abstract | full]

*(C20.2) John Badgley (Professor John Badgley,  University of Washington, badgley@u.washington.edu). Burmese Libraries, and Research Since 1962. [abstract | full]

(C20.3) Alexandra de Mersan (Master in Ethnology, Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales, Paris, alexdemersan@yahoo.fr). Burmese library facilities at the INALCO institute (Institute of Oriental Languages and Civilizations) in Paris. [abstract | full]

(C21) The economy in transition (Zaw Oo, Zawoo@american.edu)

A panel outlining policy options and spelling out the challenges and opportunities of reforms under democratic transition.

*(C21.1) Zaw Oo (Hurst Fellow, the School of International Service, American University; director of Policy and Research Programs, Burma Fund, Zawoo@american.edu) [abstract | full]

*(C21.5) Dr Kyi May Kaung (Sr. Research Associate, The Burma Fund, Washington DC, kolorama@yahoo.com). The World Bank stabilization and structural change "standard package" and it's likely effect in Burma, if used. [abstract | full]

(C21.6) Prof. Anne E. Booth (Dept of Economics, School of Oriental and African Studies, London, ab10@soas.ac.uk). Is Burma a development disaster? Some thoughts on the economy at the turn of the millenium. [abstract | full]

(C21.7) Dr Sean Turnell (Department of Economics, Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia, sturnell@efs.mq.edu.au). Reforming Burma's Banking System: An Overview of the Problems and Possibilities. [abstract | full]

(C22) Archaeology (Dr Janice Stargardt, Cambridge Univ.)

*(C22.1) Dr Dietrich Mahlo (Chairman, Friends of the Museum of Indian Art).  Berlin Pyu Numismatics. [abstract | full]

(C22.2) Dr Tilman Frasch  (South Asia Institute, Heidelberg University, frasch@sai.uni-heidelberg.de). Reading Epigraphs and Architecture: Monasteries in Early Burma. [abstract | full]

(C22.3) Bob Hudson (PhD candidate, Dept Archaeology, University of Sydney, hudson@acl.archaeology.usyd.edu.au). The Creation of an Archaeological Landscape: Upper Burma from the Neolithic to Pagan. [abstract | full]

*(C22.5) confidential

(C22.7) Dr Janice Stargardt (Director Cambridge Project on Ancient Civilization in South East Asia, University of Cambridge, js119@cam.ac.uk). The City as Symbol in Early Pyu Buddhism:  Defining Sacred Space. [abstract | full]

(C23) Relationships with China (Dr Laichen Sun, lsun@Exchange.fullerton.edu)

The significance of the Burma Studies conference in Sweden this coming September is twofold. First, to my knowledge, it will be the largest international conference on Burma ever held, attended by an unprecedentedly large number of, especially young, scholars and interested people from many countries. Secondly, for the first time in the history of Burma studies, this conference aims to look back at Burma studies over the past half a century, with most old Burma hands attending.

This panel will be the first one of its kind focusing specifically on Sino-Burmese relations among all the Burma studies conference so far, and it will contribute to the Gothenburg conference in several ways. First, it is truly international as six presenters come from four different countries (China, Australia, UK, and USA) and within China three different regions (Beijing, Yunnan, and Hong Kong). Secondly, the topics covered by these scholars range from history to literature to religion, from historiography, Chinese community, to frontier studies. Especially the two scholars from mainland China will look back at Burma studies in China by examining academic approaches to Burmese history and literature in China over the past fifty years.

Thirdly, to be truly inclusionary of Burma studies internationally, however, the participation of scholars from China is essential (meanwhile we lament that no Burmese scholars will be on this panel). China as a close neighbor has been an important element in Burma's history. Burma studies in China have made major contributions to the study of Burmese history, literature, culture, language, politics, etc. However, for the past fifty years, Burma studies in China have been closed to the outside world, and so Burma scholars outside China have never become fully aware of the Chinese scholarship in China. No China-trained scholars have attended any of the previous international conferences on Burma. For them to do so now will grant international access to Burma studies in China, and foster communication and interaction between scholars within and without China. The Gothenburg conference is in this respect a golden opportunity.

With the participation of all the six scholars, a window on Burma studies from China's (not necessarily Chinese) perspective will be opened. Particularly the two scholars from mainland China will be able to meet with international scholars in their respective fields. Such a scholarly exchange is of great significance.

(C23.1) He Shengda (Professor, Vice President, Academy of Social Sciences, Yunnan), “Studies of Burmese History in China: Retrospect and Prospect”
Professor Shengda is translator of Maung Tin Aung's History of Burma into Chinese. [abstract | full]

(C23.2) Li Mou (Professor, Peking University), “Chinese Literature in Burma and Burmese Literature in China”. Professor Li Mou is translator of the Glass Palace Chronicle into Chinese. [abstract | full]

(C23.3) Penny Edwards (Centre for Cross-Cultural Research, Australian National University, pedwards@nla.gov.au, Penny.Edwards@anu.edu.au), “Traffic: Re-routing Sino-Burmese encounters, 1840 –1940”. [abstract | full]

*(C23.4) Dr Sun Laichen (California State University, Fullerton, lsun@Exchange.fullerton.edu), “Burmo-Chinese Frontier in 1869”. [abstract | full]

(C23.6) Jean Berlie (Centre for Asian Studies, University of Hong Kong, berliej@hotmail.com), “Yunnanese and Arakanese Muslim links”. [abstract | full]

(C24) NOBUS (Nordic Burma Studies Network) Panel on Wednesday (Per Lundberg, per.lundberg@sant.gu.se) (to be updated)

LAST-MINUTE ABSENCES

(C1.1) Oscar Torretta (Fondazione G. Rumor , St Vincent, Italy, torretta@genie.it). ' The Italians in Myanmar' [abstract | full]

*(C1.4) Myo Nyunt (Edith Cowan University, Mount Lawley, WA, burmavision@hotmail.com). Burma, political transition, an institutional approach. [abstract | full]

(C1.19) Professor Volker Grabowski (Institut für Ethnologie, Muenster University, grabowsk@uni-muenster.de). Burmese relations with the Tai states (Shan, Lan Na, Lü, etc.) [abstract | full]

(C2.4) Khin Maung Phone Ko (formerly lecturer at Rangoon Institute of Technology , lecturer at MARA Institute of Technology, Shah Alam, Malaysia, and  senior lecturer at Nanyang Technological University; consultant to Kyoso  Myanmar Business, Singapore, phoneko@yahoo.com) "Brain-Drain Train to Gain: Study of Myanmar Human Resource Management in Singapore". [abstract | full]

(C15.2) Professor Katsumi Tamura (Department of Social Research, National Museum of Ethnology, Osaka, sweett@idc.minpaku.ac.jp). Some Changes in religious activities in village life in Upper Burma [abstract | full]

(C13.9) Me Me Khine (MPhil student, English Dept, Assumption University, Bangkok, imemymine2002@yahoo.com) Burmese Buddhist nuns in the Theravada tradition and their attitudes towards social work [abstract | full]

(C17.5) Patrick McCormick (PhD candidate, Political Science, University of Washington, pamcc@u.washington.edu). Overlapping identities: Mons, Burmans and the persistence of ethnic conflict [abstract | full]

*(C21.3) Prof. Ronald Findlay (Ragnar Nurkse Professor of Economics, Columbia University, ref2@columbia.edu). An historical overview of Burma's development as an export economy. [abstract | full]

*(C22.4) confidential

conference home page
http://www.therai.org.uk/anthcal/myanmarburma2002.html