Dr. Lisa Arensen, Assistant Professor of Environment and Sustainable Development in Southeast Asia at the Institute of Asian Studies at Universiti Brunei Darussalam, has been awarded First Prize in the 2021 Creative Ethnographic Prose Writing Competition, sponsored by the Society for Humanistic Anthropology.An experiment in reflexive writing about development work in Cambodia, Dr. Arensen’s paper is entitled “Province of Thieves: An Essay on Violence, Reflexivity and the Cross-Cultural Encounter.”The Creative Ethnographic Prose Competition is meant to highlight the potential for story to simultaneously engage readers and explore topics of anthropological concern.Dr. Arensen’s award-winning paper will be published in a forthcoming…

Dr. Victor T. King, Professor of Borneo Studies at the Institute of Asian Studies at Universiti Brunei Darussalam recently gave a talk to the Panaga Photographic Society (PPS) on Borneo through photographs.In this talk, Professor King discussed photographs that he had taken over 50 years of conducting research on Borneo and highlighted the ways that these photographs can illuminate the many changes that societies on Borneo, including Brunei, have undergone over that period.In noting the value of photographs for documenting societies, Professor King encouraged members of the PPS to take photos of current societies, as those photos will in time…

The Institute of Asian Studies (IAS) had a strong presence at the recent Universiti Brunei Darussalam – Borneo Studies Network (UBD-BSN) Borneo Studies Conference held 30 June - 1 July 2021 at UBD and virtually with the theme of “Borneo Within, Borneo Beyond.”IAS Director, Associate Professor Bruno Jetin, a member of the conference organizing committee, introduced the first keynote of the conference by Dr. Victor T. King, Professor of Borneo Studies at IAS. Professor King’s keynote was entitled “A Contextualization and Deconstruction of Borneo Studies over the last 50 Years,” and it provided a comprehensive context for understanding how Borneo…

The Institute of Asian Studies at Universiti Brunei Darussalam (IAS @ UBD) is now accepting applications for the January 2022 intake to its MA and PhD in Asian Studies by research programs.For more information about these programs and for links to the application and scholarship information, please visit the IAS Graduate Studies web page.The deadline for submission is 31 July 2021.

The Institute of Asian Studies at Universiti Brunei Darussalam (IAS @ UBD) is pleased to announce the publication of Ethnobotany of the Mountain Regions of Southeast Asia.Edited by Deputy Director of IAS, Assistant Professor F. Merlin Franco, and part of Springer’s “Ethnobotany of Mountain Regions” series, this volume is a compendium that discusses the medicinal, cultural, and economic importance of major plant species of the mountainous regions of Southeast Asia.At 1137 pages, and with contributions from 37 individual authors, Ethnobotany of the Mountain Regions of Southeast Asia offers the latest full-range research on important plants in Southeast Asia’s mountainous regions.The…

The Institute of Asian Studies (IAS) at Universiti Brunei Darussalam is a research institute dedicated to producing and disseminating cutting-edge knowledge about the societies, economies, politics, cultures and histories of the Asian region. As a research institute, we are interested in candidates who are very productive in research and publish in top academic journals, who have a solid experience in international collaboration and who can contribute to the IAS “Asia in transition” Springer book series.Universiti Brunei Darussalam (UBD) is the leading higher education institution in Brunei Darussalam. It partners with more than 100 world-leading universities and institutions spanning 6 continents…

An interview with Victor T. King, Professor of Borneo Studies at the Institute of Asian Studies at Universiti Brunei Darussalam, has recently been published in Southeast Asian Social Science Review.The interview is entitled, “Eminent Southeast Asianist and Specialist on Borneo: In Conversation with Professor Victor T. King.”Conducted by Senior Lecturer Wan Puspa Melati Wan Halim of Taylor’s University in Malaysia, the interview covers a broad range of topics relating to Professor King’s career in Borneo Studies and the field of Borneo Studies more generally, pertaining to its past, present, and future trajectories.Please find the introduction to the interview below. For…