The Institute of Asian Studies

The Institute of Asian Studies (IAS) at Universiti Brunei Darussalam (UBD) is a research institute dedicated to producing and disseminating cutting-edge knowledge about the societies, economies, politics, cultures and histories of the Asian region. With a core staff and affiliated researchers producing multidisciplinary scholarship, and located at the heart of Asia on the beautiful and ecologically diverse island of Borneo, the IAS serves Brunei as well as the global community in elevating our understanding of this dynamic region of the world.

News & Events

Working Paper on the Gulintangan and Heritage

The Institute of Asian Studies at Universiti Brunei Darussalam is pleased to announce the publication of IAS Working Paper No 78: Rolling Heritage: Gulintangan as Inalienable Gift in Brunei Darussalam by Mohammad Adi and Muhammad Arafat. Please see below for details. Download the Working Paper Abstract: This paper discusses the dynamics of gulintangan inheritance in […]

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Seminar on Borneo’s Economic Integration

The Institute of Asian Studies at Universiti Brunei Darussalam (IAS @ UBD) recently held a seminar on “The Long and Winding Road to Borneo’s Economic Integration” by Associate Professor Bruno Jetin (IAS). For more information about the seminar, please see the flyer below.

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Webinar on “Crisis Infrastructuring” in Malaysia

Senior Assistant Professor Sin Yee Koh delivered a webinar entitled “Crisis Infrastructuring: Malaysia My Second Home” hosted by the Sydney Southeast Asia Centre (SSEAC) on 5 February 2024. The webinar was co-hosted with the Malaysia and Singapore Society of Australia (MASSA). Dr Koh’s talk was based on her recent publication, “Crisis Infrastructuring: The Malaysia My […]

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Seminar on Community-Based Humanitarian Action in the Philippines

The Institute of Asian Studies at Universiti Brunei Darussalam (IAS @ UBD) recently held a joint seminar with the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences (FASS) on “Exploring Community-Based Humanitarian Action during the COVID-19 Pandemic in Urban Areas of the Philippines” by Assistant Professor Dr. Maria Carinnes Alejandria (FASS). For more information about the seminar, […]

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New Chapter on China’s Heritage Diplomacy in Indonesia

Assistant Professor Angela Tritto together with Dr. Punto Wijayanto from Trisakti University in Jakarta have recently published a chapter titled “The Maritime Silk Road: Tourism, Heritage, Symbols and the People-to-People Dimension of China’s Heritage Diplomacy in Indonesia” in the book Heritage Conservation and China’s Belt and Road Initiative (Routledge). The chapter examines the nexus of […]

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Seminar on the Sociology of the Everyday in Contemporary Brunei

The Institute of Asian Studies at Universiti Brunei Darussalam (IAS @ UBD) recently held a seminar on “Mundane to Meaningful: Toward a Sociology of the Everyday in Contemporary Brunei” by Associate Professor Paul J. Carnegie. In this seminar, Dr. Carnegie discussed the sociology of the everyday approach, and introduced a recently published book in the […]

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Staff

The staff of IAS consists of researchers in the Institute and research fellows from across the University. While the main focus of the IAS staff is on conducting research and publishing, IAS researchers also regularly teach modules for such majors as Anthropology & Sociology and History & International Relations in the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences (FASS), as well as supervise graduate students in IAS, and both graduate and undergraduate students studying in programs in other faculties.

Scholarship

The core mission of the IAS staff is to engage in research and to publish.

These are some recent representative publications.

B. Jetin (2018). “Production Networks of the Asian Automobile Industry: Regional or Global?”. International Journal of Automobile Technology and Management, 18 (4), pp. 302-328. DOI: 10.1504/IJATM.2018.097346

Franco, F.M. and Minggu, M.J. (2019). “When the Seeds Sprout, the Hornbills Hatch: Understanding the Traditional Ecological Knowledge of the Ibans of Brunei Darussalam on Hornbills”. Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine, 15 (46). DOI: 10.1186/s13002-019-0325-0

Victor T. King (2019). “Truth’s Fool: Derek Freeman and the War over Cultural Anthropology”, International Journal of Asia Pacific Studies, 15 (1), pp. 183-197. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/aman.13063

Paul J. Carnegie (2019). “National Imaginary, Ethnic Plurality, and State Formation in Indonesia,” in Ratuva S. (eds), The Palgrave Handbook of Ethnicity. Palgrave Macmillan, Singapore. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-0242-8_165-2

Chang-Yau Hoon and Esther Kuntjara (2019). “The Politics of Mandarin Fever in Contemporary Indonesia: Resinicization, Economic Impetus, and China’s Soft Power”, Asian Survey, 59(3): 573-594. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1525/as.2019.59.3.573

Liam C. Kelley (2020). “The Centrality of ‘Fringe History’: Diaspora, The Internet and a New Version of Vietnamese Prehistory,” International Journal of Asia Pacific Studies, 16 (1): 71–104. DOI: https://doi.org/10.21315/ijaps2020.16.1.3

Seminar Series

To exchange ideas with other members of the University community and the public, the IAS holds a regular seminar series.

Working Paper Series

The Institute also maintains a working paper series to highlight and disseminate the cutting-edge work of IAS researchers, UBD faculty, and other scholars working in and on the region.

Book Series

The Institute maintains a book series with academic publisher Springer on “Asia in Transition.”

Video Interviews

The Institute creates video interviews with IAS staff members, IAS research associates, UBD lecturers who research about Asia, and visitors to IAS who share their knowledge on topics ranging from the Belt and Road Initiative to Hornbills in Brunei.

Graduate Studies

IAS offers research-based MA and PhD programmes in Asian Studies.

Conferences

The Institute maintains productive relations with numerous international scholars and scholarly organizations.

Internationalisation

The Institute maintains productive relations with numerous international scholars and scholarly organizations.