The Inya Institute
Quarterly Newsletter Summer 2022
I
n addition to the continuing torching of villages upcountry, the gradual expansion of clashes to new regions like Rakhine State, Tanintharyi Region, and Mon State, which had been so far relatively spared from the junta violence, confirms the highly volatile state of affairs throughout the country. These developments are, not surprisingly, impeding the possibility of collaborative work with local partners, an issue we are currently experiencing with a Rakhine-based organization with which the institute conducted some training in late April. In a span of two weeks, the situation in Rakhine has considerably deteriorated. Meanwhile, Yangon, or at least the centrally located townships, with their deceptive feel of ‘business as usual’, sees occasional flares-up of violence. In such conditions, conducting research on Myanmar in a third country seems a more viable option for the time being. This is why we have prioritized this approach for our fellowship programs. We are thrilled to announce seven new fellows! As detailed pp. 13–14, four fellows were awarded a 2022 CAORCINYA Scholars Fellowship for U.S. Scholars and three fellows a 2022 CAORC-INYA Short-term Fellowship for U.S. Graduate Students. Thailand, Bangladesh, Great Britain, and India (Manipur) are the countries of choice for these seven new fellows. We wish them all the best for conducting research there! In this issue
Review 3 Testimony 6 Interview 9 New Fellows at Inya 12 Upcoming Opportunities at Inya 14 Upcoming Events in the U.S. and beyond 15 New Books on Myanmar 16
www.inyainstitute.org
With so much of the current debate rightly focusing on inclusivity, cohesion, and contribution of non-Bamar groups to a federal union, we believe that international audiences ought to have the opportunity to deepen their knowledge and understanding of Myanmar’s linguistic and cultural diversity. Held online in early September 2022, our language courses on Shan - Tai long, Kachin - Jinghpaw, and Karen - S’gaw run separately (yet concurrently) by three groups of language teachers will equip participants with the essential skills needed to communicate confidently and effectively in one of these three languages in a broad range of situations. The language course is open to undergraduate, graduate, postgraduate students, professionals and NGO workers of any nationality. Detailed information is available on p. 12. If you are interested in joining the course, please don’t hesitate. We look forward to your participation!
We wish to dedicate this Summer 2022 newsletter to the memory of Saw Eh Htoo, the late director of the Kaw Lah Foundation and PhD candidate at Payap University (Thailand) who left us far too prematurely. The Inya Institute Team in Yangon
“Learning from past approaches to the study of Myanmar’s historical sources” by Dr. Soe Thuzar Myint “Pursuing admission to U.S. community collegees in post-coup Myanmar” by Zin Wai Yan Snapshot of the situation in Myanmar universities and university departments more than a year into the coup
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Academic Board
Board of Directors
Maxime Boutry, Centre Asie du Sud-Est, Paris Jane Ferguson, Australian National University Lilian Handlin, Harvard University Bod Hudson, Sydney University Mathias Jenny, University of Zurich Ni Ni Khet, University Paris 1-Sorbonne Alexey Kirichenko, Moscow State University Christian Lammerts, Rutgers University Mandy Sadan, University of Warwick San San Hnin Tun, INALCO, Paris Juliane Schober, Arizona State University Nicola Tannebaum, Lehigh University (retd) Alicia Turner, York University, Toronto U Thaw Kaung, Yangon Universities’ Central Library (retd)
President: Catherine Raymond (Northern Illinois University) Treasurer: Alicia Turner (York University, Toronto) Secretary: François Tainturier Jane Ferguson (Australian National University) Lilian Handlin (Harvard University) Nicola Tannenbaum (Lehigh University)(retd) Thamora Fishel (Cornell University)
Re v ie w Learning from past approaches to the study of Myanmar’s historical sources Dr. Soe Thuzar Myint, who obtained her PhD degree in history from Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, discusses the merits of three books on research methods authored by prominent scholars of Myanmar history. These three publications and her discussion offers us a relevant platform upon which the production of our bilingual Myanmar–English volume on historical research methods — currently underway and developed under her editorial coordination — may be pursued. While our bilingual Myanmar-English volume on historical research methods is under development, one of the first steps we took was to look at the references available in Myanmar and examine how the topic of research methods for historical sources had been addressed by Myanmar scholars. I will make below a short review of three books which are directly concerned with these topics and were written by three highly respected and prominent Myanmar historians.
some examples. After that he talks about the distinction between research methods and research techniques and he gives a brief discussion about the four research techniques such as Philosophical, Prognostic, Curriculum and Creative techniques and the seven methods to do research such as Descriptive, Normative, Historical, Experimental and Analytical, Phenomenological Method and comparative Method. In this part, he gives the example of his PhD research titled “The History of Development of Theravada Buddhist Monasticism in the Shan States, Union of Burma, Southeast Asia” obtained in 1961. He defines what history is. Then he demonstrates how historical research methods may be used not only by historians but also sociologists, anthropologists, political scientists and social scientists. In his final chapter, he discusses how to rate research work using Purdue Research Rating Scale.
1. Sat Tun Hmat Win, သုေတသနျပဳစုနည္းအမ်ိဳးမ်ိဳး translated as Different Research Methods, 1st print, Yawgye Press, Yangon, March 1968.
Saya Sat Tun Hmat Win, worked as a dean of the Pali department at Kyaut Phyu College and was also a Pali lecturer at the Further (elderly) University, Yangon. He wrote this book while he was serving as the head of the research department of the World Buddha University, Kabaraye, Yangon in 1968. He earned a MA and a PhD in History and Philosophy of Religion at Harvard University as the university had offered him a senior research fellowship to study there. His book is organized into ten chapters: “Research, Science, and Reflection”; “Research Traits and Abilities”; “The Research Problem”; “The Evaluation of Previous Research”; “The Agendum of Procedures”; “Classification of Research Methods”; “The Historical Method”; “Sociological Types of Research”; “The Experimental Method”; and “The Research Reports”. He first discusses the importance of research work and critical reflective thinking and offer some explanations on how to judge the qualifications of a researcher. He also clarifies points on the origin, selection, definition and evaluation of research Book cover of Prof. Than Tun’s Research Methodology issues, and illustrates these points with with inset portrait 3
2. Dr. Than Tun, သုေတသနထုံး translated as Research Methodology, 1st print, Sar Oake Zay Press, Yangon, May, 2003. Dr. Than Tun, the most respected and prominent Myanmar historian, wrote the first version of Research Methodology in English in 1979 (which had remained unpublished) and then he updated and supplemented it with new materials in September 1999. It remained unpublished and was used as a textbook for university students of Myanmar. The book which I review here is the publication of the earlier Englishlanguage document translated into Burmese and printed in 2003. He structures his monograph into fifty five headings which may be grouped, in my view, into five main sections: (1) Introduction: orientation, aim, and the meaning of research; (2) Choosing a topic and organizing one’s research: how to choose a research topic; how to
start research based on the topic selected; creating a reading who attended the 4th Myanmar Lecture and Press Association list; evaluating historical evidence; note-taking systems; (3) Conference). Research writing: draft a research plan; outline; style of writing; Daw Kyan was a well known historian and a full-time memdocumentation; footnotes and endnotes, revising and editing; ber of the Myanmar Language Commission. She was awarded (4) Formatting guidelines covering all items that an academic the National Literature Lifetime Achievement Award and the paper contains (conclusion, bibliography, acknowledgements, National Literature Prize. With the request of the Myanmar headlines, quotation marks, brackets or parentheses, glossary, Literature and Press Association, she wrote this monograph etc...); (5) Appendix: guidance to students for writing a term when she was over 80. Her book is written for a general audipaper and submitting a thesis. ence who wants to conduct historical research. It was produced In the first section, he suggests that students begin by readon the occasion of the Knowledge Bank Symposium which was ing several articles, journals, and books related to the research organized by the Myanmar Lecture and Press Association and topic, then look for some collections of primary sources, evaluheld possibly on 24 July 2005. ate the primary and secondary sources which will be useful Her book is structured into 6 chapters: (1) “Books and for the research work, and then get instructions from research research”; (2) “How to do research”,; (3) “Finding and selecting advisors or senior researchers. Then he discusses the selection evidence”,’ (4) “How to list references”; (5) “List of references; of a research topic and the research process step by step. The appendix”; and (6) “Index or Alphabetical index”. researcher has to make sure that the background knowledge of Her suggestions to researchers is to choose research topthe topic has become familiar and a genuine interest in the topic ics that may also be of interest to other people. Her book was will keep the researcher motivated intended for Myanmar historians to pursue research on it. Also of who study pre-modern Myanmar consideration is the need, accordhistorical writings. She discusses ing to Than Tun, to find primary how to approach the study of sources related to the research kyauk-sa, stone inscriptions, peitopic. According to him, if the topza, palm leaf, and parabaik, paper ic is too broad, the researcher may folding book. Based on her experinot be able to write an in-depth ence, she also addresses the study research during the time available. of legends and historical facts as For the writing process, his advice featured in old sources. Lastly, she to researchers is to start a draft that provides a reading list of references will emphasize data collected from that may be useful to researchers the following methods (the use of studying historical sources. a particular method being subject to the approach to the research topic): historical method, case The scope of these three books study, comparative method, survey, doesn’t really overlap as they excompilation method or questionamine historical research methods naire. Than Tun recommends in different ways based on the researchers to write short sentences authors’ research experience. so that the content remains clear to A common misconception readers and explains that, if readers about historical research papers have to read a sentence more than that was mostly prevalent among once, it is likely that the sentence is students of history in earlier times not properly worded and needs to was that papers should simply be changed. He also explains how compile historical facts. But now to write a paragraph, the structure most students and researchers speof which should include a statecializing in history will agree that ment at the start, the elaboration the purpose of writing a historical Book cover of Ma Kyan’s Research Compilation of this statement, the documentaresearch paper is to interpret the tion offering a justification to this past. statement, and, possibly, additional materials like illustration(s) From the late nineteenth century, when the introduction of about this statement, comparison with other statements, or crit- new methods and rules, primarily, by the German historian, icism by others of this statement, and, lastly, a conclusion. He Leopold von Ranke, was made, the methods and approaches to also emphasizes the importance of using footnotes or endnotes study history have changed dramatically. We should also note that direct readers to references upon which the researcher that, with the advancement of technology today and the use of relies for developing the statement central to the paragraph and the internet which may possibly offer, under certain conditions, which will ensure that no case of plagiarism can be made about an easier access to both primary and secondary sources and the text produced by the researcher. may allow a far greater capacity to store and catalog historical materials available to researchers, today’s historians have, in theory, many more advantages than their predecessors. 3. Ma Kyan, က်မ္းသုေတသနျပဳျခင္း translated as Research ComThere are various historical research methods available to pilation, 1st edition, Myanmar Literature and Press Association, historians when they study history from an academic perspecMinistry of Information Printing and Publishing Corporation tive. Historical research involves identifying an idea, topic or Press, June 2006 (It was used as a leaflet distributed to delegates research question, conducting a background literature review, 4
refining the research idea and question, determining which historical methods will be used, identifying and locating primary and secondary data sources, evaluating the authenticity and accuracy of source materials, and analyzing the data and developping a narrative exposition of the findings. Taking stock of the significance of these books and the approach taken by their authors to the study of historical writings, the volume currently underway will focus on a critical approach to historical sources. Myanmar’s rich corpora of historical sources have a significance of their own that history students ought to examine and assess before engaging with their content. Our volume will include contributions from Myanmar and international scholars specializing in the history/histories
of Myanmar and will thus reflect this approach by featuring specific materials, both written and oral, from different periods and explaining how to proceed with the examination of their contents. It will be the second volume of the institute’s bilingual research methodology series, after the publication of the widely acclaimed bilingual Myanmar–English Introduction to Social Research Methods. Adopting a similar layout in which the English and Myanmar contents are featured next to one another, the volume will, we hope, invite junior researchers to develop their interest in the study of Myanmar’s distant and recent past(s) at a time when a critical approach to the history/histories of Myanmar is needed more than ever.
Myanmar historical references published in book format
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Testimony Pursuing admission to U.S. community colleges in post-coup Myanmar Zin Wai Yan, one of our new Yangon-based interns, and Laura Chang, a Cornell University student, investigate the challenges experienced by Myanmar students first in Myanmar when pursuing admission to U.S. community colleges and then in the U.S. when enrolled in their programs. With few educational and job opportunities in post-coup Myanmar, a massive number of young people in Myanmar consider studying abroad, sometimes without being fully aware of the financial, legal, and mental health implications. This is the first part of a two-part feature.
Government educational institutions in Myanmar have not properly functioned since the military takeover of February 2021. The disruptions in the education system caused by the the Covid-19 pandemic and the military coup have led many undergraduate students to look for alternative educational opportunities, and U.S. community colleges have emerged as one of the most sought-after options, even for students who would not otherwise typically see U.S. community colleges as the gateways to a good education and a better future. Not surprisingly, the high demand for admission into U.S. community colleges has led to the development of formal and informal practices in Myanmar that turn college admission into a profitable business.
or are oriented toward a specific college because of the high responsiveness of the international student recruiter there. But students whether they apply to college on their own or use educational services have to factor in criteria such as financial capacity for both tuition costs and living expenses. They sometimes have to consider their safety as well, as explained by some interviewees wary of the gun violence on campuses in the U.S. For those using private educational services, they also have to consider the costs of these services as they vary considerably from one agent to another. They must also be cautious of agents who might exploit them. A brief survey of about ten of these private services shows a very wide range of fees ($300 to
A webportal allowing prospective students to compare colleges across the U.S. and learn more about how community colleges work (source: www.communitycollegereview.com).
As my investigation was to identify the challenges that Myanmar undergraduate students face when preparing for admission into U.S. community colleges and seek possible mitigation procedures, I first investigated the critical steps of the application process based on in-depth interviews with various prospective students. I found potential challenges for prospective students as well as possible solutions. The first challenge is the identification and choice of a suitable college. Many students use word of mouth to identify
$,1200) charged by these agents, the exact amount depending on the type and extent of services offered. Private educational services may also receive commissions from community colleges in the U.S. as recounted by an international student recruiter although such a case is probably rare. The second challenge, which is specific to Myanmar’s postcoup period, is the students’ difficulty of retrieving transcripts from Myanmar universities to which they went. It is now more challenging than ever for a student to obtain university tran6
scripts due to the present political unrest. Some universities in Myanmar refuse to provide students with transcripts and other essential documentation that may be required for studying abroad. However, not all colleges require such documentation. Therefore, this challenge is not equally experienced by prospective students. The third challenge is the increasing difficulty in obtaining a visa appointment at the U.S. Embassy in Yangon. In order to schedule their visa interview in the embassy on time, preferably before the start of the school term, students have to secure the I-20 ‑ ‘Certificate of non-immigrant student status’ form from the colleges they have applied to. Students usually apply to two or three colleges in order to maximise their chance of obtaining an I-20 form from one of these colleges in time for their visa appointment. Although there are a few colleges that do not charge any application fee, the majority do. As a consequence, prospective students have to consider the cost of this fee if they apply to many colleges at which the fee is mandatory.
Prospective students are charged differently by agents who issue fake bank statements. Typically, for a bank statement showing 100 lakhs (around $5,000) held in the accout, the fee is 1.5 lakh. And a fee of 9 lakhs ($450) will have to be paid to obtain a bank statement showing 600 lakhs (around $30,000) held in the account. This means that potential students, even if they have sufficient funding for their education, will still need to spend additional money on this. Another challenge is that, if they prepare all the documentation for the visa interview with private educational services, some students may be duped by these agents into thinking that issuing a business licence will add credibility to their application even though there is no such requirements anywhere in the documentation checklist for college admission or visa appointment. Agents seem to conflate this ‘requirement’ with the scrutiny made by the embassy on the sponsors prospective students may have, especially if they are from military families. And they do insist on helping students obtain such a business licence for the visa interview. All the agents ‘specializing’ in issuing a fake In addition to the three chalbusiness licence reminded us that lenging steps mentioned above a student would need a business in the college admission process, licence for a visa interview: “You obtaining a student visa also remust present evidence of your quires overcoming three issues. sponsor’s work. You can’t just say One of the requirements for what their business is,” one agent obtaining the visa is a proof that said. Students are then scammed students have sufficient funds for by these agents who charge them living in the U.S. This proof will 3 to 4.5 lakhs ($150 to $225) for take the form of a bank statement issuing a business licence from 2022 fast facts about community colleges which shows a certain amount Source: American Association of Community Colleges (www.aacc.nche.edu) the local City Development considered ‘sufficient’. However, Council (CDC) and a proof of in this time of banking crisis, it is difficult, even for students tax return, both documents being declared by the agent as who have sufficient funds, to have a bank statement provided by mandatory documents for the visa interview. It is worth noting their bank. One of the interviewes explained that the military that the business licence is issued by the local CDC and not by coup has undermined the trust people had in Myanmar banks the Directorate of Investment and Company Administration and pushed some to invest in land or cars using the cash held in (DICA) which has a web-based platform where any company’s bank accounts. As a result, some parents of prospective students current status may be checked. Local CDCs are known for a were no longer able to show a bank statement with sufficient high level of corruption that the practices developed by private funds in their account. educational services continue to sustain well with the forgery of One option arranged by some agents for obtaining this proof such business licences. In fact, a prospective student is only reof sufficient funds (an average of $30,000) entails issuing a fake quired to provide a business licence at a visa interview in a very bank statement that these agents will charge an average of 9 few cases; and this will mostly depend on what the prospective lakhs ($450) to students. Even though it is presented by the students’ sponsors do. agent as a fake bank statement, it is nonetheless a document issued by the banks themselves, exactly like the real ones. When contacting the brokers that provide students with services such There is also a number of misconceptions among prospecas issuing a fake bank statement, business licences, and income tive students about the visa interview. It is partly true that, tax receipt, one agent said: “Although they are faked, they are if a student has already completed their bachelor’s degree in issued by banks using authentic paper and official stamps.” To Myanmar or plans to enroll in a ‘English as a Second Language’ create a fake bank statement, students must provide an agent (ESL) program, it will be difficult for the student to have their with the passbooks of the persons who would fund their study. visa approved. However, a student will have a higher probThen, by cooperating with those agents, bank staff enter a fake ability of obtaining a student visa if he/she can confidently and record of transactions for the preceding six months, one year, truthfully demonstrate, during the visa interview, a real desire or two years on those passbooks, along with a paper statement to study in the U.S. There is also conflicting information about that validates the amount and is signed by a bank manager. whether declaring that one has a relative in the U.S. increases 7
or decreases the chances of prospective students of obtaining a visa. Some students assume they will be denied a visa if they mention that they have relatives in the U.S. However, according to some of our interviewees, there have been cases where prospective students did receive their visa despite having stated they had relatives in the U.S. Overall, the ability to clearly convey their genuine desire to study in the U.S. during the visa interview seems to be the most significant element for prospective students to get their visa application approved.
To sum up, Myanmar prospective students seeking admission to community colleges in the U.S. encounter a multitude of obstacles, even more so since the military coup of 2021. From the difficulty of obtaining transcripts from educational institutions in the post-coup period, the fees charged by private educational services, to the scams students may be victims of, and the stress associated with the visa interview, the pressure is intense. And yet this is only half of the story.
2022 fast facts about community colleges Source: American Association of Community Colleges (www.aacc.nche.edu)
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Inter v ie w Snapshot of the situation in Myanmar universities and university departments more than a year into the coup What changes have occurred in government universities in Myanmar since classes were officially reopened on 2 June 2022 by the junta? We asked colleagues involved in some of our programs to gather information from their former university departments. What they were able to collect (sometimes with difficulty) offers us a snapshot of a Myanmar higher education system in a situation unlike any other.
1. After being closed for a year due to the COVID-19 pandemic and then shortly reopening during 2021 under SAC administration, Myanmar universities opened the new academic year in June 2022. How do you feel about it?
and distance students. I felt upset by this announcement. Starting university classes is good for all students because students had their studies disrupted in 2020; but, during this crisis, there will be no benefits for students who attend illegal, unskillful academic programs. We need to be still CDM (Civil Disobedience Movement) against the junta.
International Relations Department, Dagon University: Yes, they re-opened in May, 2021 but then closed again soon after due to the Covid third wave. At first, I felt this unstable political situation would end sooner and we could re-attend our university. But after much time passed, our hope faded and the difficulties I faced in job hunting made me feel unsure about the decision we made earlier. I also feel both angry and guilty watching a large number of students happily going back to school while others students die or suffer in the battles against SAC forces.
2. How is the situation in your university and department? Did the administration recruit new teaching staff? If so, do you know how this new staff was recruited? I.R. Dept., DU: There are few old teachers while there are many new recruited teachers. A classmate told me they are too young but their teaching is quite okay. However, I have no information about the recruitment procedures.
Geography Department, Yangon University: I don’t have that much feeling about the reopening of the university since the military government will try to normalize as much as they can and most of the students will not attend the universities even if they reopened. More than 80% of the students have already decided not to attend any of the classes from my department.
Geo. Dept., YU: Most students have opted not to return to the university if it reopens, thus I doubt there will be students at my university or other universities. My department does not recruit tutors, yet there are numerous transfers of staff between universities, with or without promotion. There are five parttime tutors (previously ten) in the department who were master students at that time even before the coup.
Anthropology Department, Yangon University: SAC reopened the universities for final year, honors and master students on 5 May 2021, but only 10% actually attended in the whole country. Though SAC announced reopening of distance education universities on 1-9 November 2021, the reopening period was extended to 5 December 2021 as too few students joined the universities. After the announcement of the opening of the new academic year, I feel nothing special because I had firmly decided not to go back to my university under a SAC administration.
Anthro. Dept., YU: In my university, over 420 CDM teachers and 81 personnels were removed by SAC in May 2021. According to the Student’s Union, only 5.36% of students registered for the May 2021 enrolment at YU. In other universities, there are also few people who go back to their universities. I am not hearing about recruitment of new staff, but some teachers from other universities are transferred here and there for promotion. Most non-CDM teachers get promotions in my university easily.
Archaeology Department, Mandalay University: When I hear this news, I feel disappointed. Firstly, I don’t understand why they want to reopen during this situation. But I know most of the students will not go to university. I decided not to attend the MA class. I don’t want to get an MA degree under the junta.
Archaeo. Dept., MU: No information available. Eng. Dept., TU: The rate of students who attended the university last year was very low. But for this year, the rate may increase. The university is still running with non-CDMers. Some of my classmates continue their studies. From last year’s data, 13 teachers from the English department are non-CDM. Some CDM teachers face difficulties such as being removed from their positions or
English Language Department, Taung-gyi University: Taunggyi University had already opened last October in 2021. For this year, the entrance form is opened in January for both in-person 9
I.R. Dept., DU: As far as I could investigate, there is no one who rejoined the department after joining CDM.
having to hide somewhere. The administration replaces positions with non-CDM teachers from other universities and tutor teachers who pass the exam. I don’t know who the new teachers are.
Geo. Dept., YU: One of the instructors I spoke with stated that one of her acquaintances (not from our department) had chosen to return to school. Her salary would be suspended for six months, and her promotion will be postponed for two years.
3. How many teaching staff did your department have before the coup and now? I.R. Dept., DU: Before the coup, there were 34 teachers in total. 22 of them joined CDM and 12 of them are still working under SAC. That data is according to the data from April 2021 and I have been unable to investigate recent numbers.
Anthro. Dept., YU: There are 2 CDM teachers who turned into non-CDM. Most of the reasons they give are due to the family situation. On 3 September 2021, the official letter of their promotion from ‘associate professor’ to ‘professor’ appointment was released by SAC’s Ministry of Education. I have heard that CDM people who return to work get discrimination and less salary for some time. But I am not sure about that.
Geo. Dept., YU: There were a total of 25 teachers before the coup: 6 professors, 4 associate professors, 11 lecturers, 4 assistant lecturers, and 10 part-time tutors. Of the 25 teachers, 11 of them (2 professors, including the head of a department, 3 associate professors, 4 lecturers, 2 assistant lecturers) participate in CDM. Among the 14 non-CDM teachers, 3 of them transferred to other universities with and without promotion, 1 of them retired, and 3 of them were promoted without having to transfer. In total, 3 teachers from other universities transferred to our department, and in total, it is estimated that there are a total of 13 teachers currently in the Department of Geography, University of Yangon. Among the 10 part-time tutors, five of them participated in CDM and were later reinstated. I am not sure if they were promoted and became permanent teachers.
Archaeo. Dept., MU: From what I heard no one decided to return to university teaching in my department. Eng. Dept., TU: The CDM teachers that I know decided not to re-enter. They are dismissed from the university. Now, they change their contact numbers and stay in a safe place. 5. Regarding the students at your department, have you heard about some going back to studies? If so, did they mention their reasons to go back to studies?
Anthro. Dept., YU: There were 15 teaching staff and 9 parttime tutors at my department before the coup. After the coup, 2 associate professors and 1 assistant lecturer remain there as non-CDM.
I.R. Dept., DU: Only three classmates out of 58 attended the past academic year. One of them told me there is no way to regain democracy or an elected government. She said the military regime will not withdraw the power easily and there is no guarantee or future opportunity for a CDMer. After graduation she plans to sit for the officer examination at the SAC Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Archaeo. Dept, MU: Before the coup there were 20 teaching staff and 7 part-time tutors in my department. After the coup all the part-time tutors joined CDM. 5 teaching staff are still doing CDM until now. So 15 teaching staff remain there.
Geo. Dept., YU: Among the students who did not participate in CDM, some of the students decided to attend the class since they were from a military background. Some of the students were forced by their family members to attend the class, and some decided to go to the class since they only needed one year or one semester to finish their degree. Among my friends, three students (two of them are part-time tutors) chose to go to the class because they are from Arakan and the Arakan Army had announced that they did not need to take part in CDM.
Eng. Dept., TU: The number of teachers is around 35 which include tutors and professors. 4. Have you heard about teachers or professors who were CDMs, have decided to re-enter universities and had to go through the process of reinstatement? Do you know anything about this process?
Anthropology Department Yangon University
International Relations DepartmentDagon University
Aechaeology Department Mandalay University
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Geography Department Yangon University
Anthro. Dept., YU: There are nearly 15 out of 144 students in total who went back to studies at our department under the coup. The reasons are mostly linked to family’s pressure.
7. In your opinion, what might happen in the future if it continues like this? I.R. Dept, DU: In my opinion, it could lead to the failure of the whole education system and also the country might lose the human resources as most of the youth (students and graduates) are leaving the country.
Archaeo. Dept., MU: In my MA class there are two students who have returned to university. The reason is that, for one, the student is from a military background. For the other, it is linked to her parents’ pressure. For those students who return to class, it is because of their parents and grandparent’s pressure.
Geo. Dept., YU: I believe it will take at least four or five years for this revolution to succeed. People will strive to adjust as much as they can during that period. With weak management, inexperienced workers, and bribery, the entire system (including education) will fail. Only those with strong ties to military higher-ups will be able to take advantage of this chance.
Eng. Dept., TU: Yes, students especially freshers and final students go to university. Their main reason for doing so is family’s pressure and the need to graduate, get a job and not to waste time.
Anthro. Dept., YU: From my point of view, I think the curriculum might not change and become even less relevant than before since we didn’t have enough teachers and times even in the partial democratic era. If it continues like this, the whole education system and the future of Myanmar will drop to the bottom again. Our generation was like a guinea pig in the lab for a new better education system in recent years. Anyway, we hope this will end by this generation and these may lead to better changes for the next generations. In contrast, the junta military has destroyed it again. For me, the main reason to eradicate the dictatorship is that the next generations will be late for centuries (not even decades) in the slavery education system compared to other countries if we lose again.
6. Have you heard anything about the curriculum being changed? I.R. Dept., DU: The curriculum of the honor classes has not changed. But the curriculum of final/fourth year’s classes seems to have changed. A classmate said last semester, he attended a final/fourth years class although the modules are not the same. The module entitled ‘Research Methodology’ of the final/fourth years was dropped. Geo. Dept., YU: According to the information from a CDM teacher, there is no curriculum change for higher education. There is a curriculum development team at the department, but they are working on the curriculum development of primary education, which was already underway before the coup.
Archaeo. Dept, MU: In my opinion, the education sector could be ruined. I think most educated young people will go abroad and work there.
Anthro. Dept., YU: One of my CDM professors says that the curriculum might not change because there are no qualified teachers to change it anyway. In my opinion, the curriculum will be drastically shortened because SAC announced a 6-week course and degree in May. From my experience, even 4 months for a semester couldn’t even allow teachers to cover the whole curriculum at all.
Eng. Dept, TU: If it continues like that, some students will decide to go back to universities, some will go abroad for work or studies, some are still missing their goals, some will still continue as CDM students, then the rest will have to find a job in a workplace whether they like or not.
Archaeo. Dept., MU: One of the non-CDM tutors told me that the curriculum has not changed. She says the module names do not change, but the text seems to change. Eng. Dept., TU: The curriculum does not change.
Entrance to the Universities’ Central Library - Yangon University credits to www.yangongui.de
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New Fellows at Inya
Dr. Jangai Jap is a Post-Doctoral Fellow at the University of Texas at Austin. Her project, “Experiencing the state: street-level bureaucracy and ethnic politics in Myanmar” examines how citizens routinely encounter the state, via street-level bureaucracy. They may need to renew their government-issued
ID, register their household, or obtain other official documents necessary for their everyday life. What are the political implications of these mundane encounters with the state? In what ways do they shape citizen-state relations? This project addresses these questions by examining citizens’ experiences with various forms
Dr. Billie Thoidingjam Guarino, an independent scholar who obtained her PhD degree from Jamia Millia Islamia (JMI) University, Delhi, describes her “Biopolitics and Precarity: The Refugee Crisis and Gendered Resistance in Myanmar” project as an examination of the multidimensional precarity that frames Burmese refugees’ lives due to restrictive asylum and migration regimes of Myanmar and its neighboring countries. The investigation will center on the biopolitical regime, the Tatmadaw’s strategy of ‘slow genocide’ through surveillance, biopower, and counter-protests initiatives leading to a spiraling refugee crisis. She will interrogate the inescapable ontological condition of displacement and vulnerability of bodies. A second trajectory of the project will examine dissent and gendered protest using bodies as artistic and political conduits. Performances of dissent/protest and artistic performances by 3AM (Yadanar, Ma-Ei, and Ko-Latt) will be her case studies. The research fieldwork for the project will be conducted in Imphal and Moreh in Manipur and Champhai and Cherhlun in Mizoram.
Dr. Andrea Malji is an Assistant Professor of International Studies at Hawaii Pacific University in Honolulu. Of her project titled “Climate and Community: The Challenges Facing Rohingya Refugees in Bangladesh”, she says: “Over one million Rohingya refugees currently live in Bangladesh. Over 80% of Rohingya refugees have entered
of the state in Myanmar. It advances a theoretical argument that encounters with the state has a profound impact on minority-state relations but not on majority-state relations. This argument is evaluated with empirics from Myanmar. Her field research will take place in Thailand.
Dr. Matthew Bowser is an Assistant Professor of Asian History at Alabama A&M University. His project titled “Containing Decolonization: British Governance and the Politics of Race in Late Colonial Burma” examines the emergence of the newly independent state of Burma from British colonial rule, tracing the process of decolonization from the turbulent 1930s through World War II to independence in 1948. In the literature on the colonial Burma and the British Empire, there is a rupture between the seemingly unrelated processes of “divide-and-rule” undertaken during colonial rule and the post-colonial “containment” policies of the Cold War. He argues that these processes are one-and-the-same, and that British colonial officials actively attempted to “contain” the internationalist left while amplifying the ethnonationalist right during the process of decolonization in Burma. His field research will be conducted in the British Library, London UK and National Archives of the United Kingdom, Kew UK.
Bangladesh since 2017 following forced displacement by government and militia forces in the Rakhine state of Myanmar. Most refugees currently reside in Cox’s Bazar and receive limited services and support. Refugees are subject to violence, poor living conditions, and marginalization within Bangladesh. Additionally, Cox’s Bazar is highly prone to climate
disasters. This project will investigate the multiple challenges facing Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh and identify how Bangladesh and the international community are effectively addressing these needs and where they are falling short.” She will conduct her field research in Bangladesh.
This program is funded by CAORC through a grant from the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs at the U.S. State Department. 12
Congratulations to our fellows!
Hasta Colman, a PhD student at Johns Hopkins University, describes her project titled “Karen and Karenni across the Thai-Myanmar border: identity and political aspirations in the post-coup context” as follows: “The purpose of this research project is to investigate the links between Karen and Karenni communities in Myanmar and Karen and Karenni
communities in Thailand in their responses to the coup and the refugee crisis it triggered on the Thai-Burma border. By conducting fieldwork in Northern Thailand, including interviewing members of both communities, as well as members of the NUG and NUGCC, I will investigate the shifting meaning of these ethnic identities in the context of
Brendan Flanagan, a PhD student at the University of Hawaii at Manoa, titles his project: “Place and Displacement: Conservation from Below in a Time of Exile”. He seeks to investigate how a politics of place is articulated under the difficult conditions of uncertain exile. Working at the intersection of political ecology and phenomenology, the intention is to highlight how the experience of displacement and the constant memory of place shape and inform actions of Karen environmental activists from Myanmar, currently in Thailand, who seek to sustain acts of ecological care against the odds of enforced distance and looming state violence. Of central importance will be an investigation of the Thai/Myanmar border as a material and discursive presence in the lives of Karen exiles. His field research will be conducted in Mae Sot, Kanchanaburi, Sangkhlaburi, Chiang Mai, Mai Seriang, Phuket and Bangkok in Thailand.
the Myanmar resistance movement’s new federalist aspirations. I will also investigate the impact of shared ethnic identities across national boundaries during times of crisis.” She plans to carry out her fieldwork in Bangkok, Chiangmai, Chiang Rai and border towns in Thailand.
Michael Dunford, a PhD student at the Australian National University, explores “Ta’ang Lifeworlds Across the Thai-Myanmar Border”. In doing so, he describes his research as follows: “How do the Ta’ang maintain community connections in the face of political conflict and intensive migration, and when are those connections lost or erased? Situating myself on the Thai-Myanmar border, I will answer this question by analyzing Ta’ang religious networks and ethno-political projects (e.g., the Ta’ang Culture and Literature Committee). This project is an attempt to connect the extensive research on Ta’ang communities in Thailand—where maybe ten percent of the global Ta’ang population in lives—with the goals and projects of the Ta’ang communities inside Myanmar, which play an integral role in the socio-politics of Shan State.” He will conduct field work in Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai Provinces in Thailand.
This program is funded by CAORC through a grant from the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs at the U.S. State Department. 13
Upcoming Opportunities at Inya 2022 ‘Languages of Myanmar’ Course Series September 5 – 17, 2022
Karen – S’gaw
Kachin – Jinghpaw
Shan – Tai Long
Applications Now Open!
What
https://www.inyainstitute.org/2022-languages-of-myanmar-course-series/ The Inya Institute is pleased to announce its inaugural language course series on three prominent languages spoken in Myanmar: (1) Kachin – Jinghpaw; (2) Karen - S’gaw; and (3) Shan - Tai long. The two-week language course series will equip participants with the essential skills needed to communicate confidently and effectively in one of the three languages in a broad range of situations. Our three teams of language teachers were trained by the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s SEASSI current Burmese language instructor.
When
Who
No prior knowledge of these languages is required. The language course is open to undergraduate, graduate, postgraduate students, professionals, researchers, and NGO workers of any nationality, wherever they are based in Myanmar, Southeast Asia or the U.S. The language of instruction will be English. Language classes will be held online: • U.S. Eastern Daylight Time: from 9:00pm to 2:00am, Mondays to Fridays, September 5-16, 2022; • Thailand Time: from 8:00am to 1:00pm, Tuesdays to Saturdays, September 6-17, 2022; • Myanmar Time: from 7:30am to 12:30pm, Tuesdays to Saturdays, September 6-17, 2022. As language classes will be held concurrently by our three teams of language teachers, applicants can choose only one language. To apply, please go to the following link and fill in the Google Form:
How
https://forms.gle/3AxDxj2fQw65jzng6 Application deadline: July 29, 2022, 4pm, Myanmar Time. Course participants will be notified by August 26, 2022. For this inaugural session, the language course will be offered for free; in return, we will seek feedback from course participants on how to improve its content and organization. We have a limited number of seats for this inaugural course and priority will be given to candidates who demonstrate how they hope to apply the learning gained from the language course for their research or professional work. The language course is funded by the U.S. Department of Education under Title VI of the Higher Education Act. 14
Upcoming Events across the U.S. and beyond June Events 1. Protest and Digital Repression: Repercussions and Pushback in Myanmar and Thailand Location: ISEAS Yusof Ishak Institute,
webinar Date: June 28, 2022, 3:00 pm (Singapore Time) Speaker: Thinzar Shunlei Yi, Janjiira Sombatpoonsiri Recent protest movements in both Myanmar and Thailand have met with digital repression meant to deter or curb the movements’ activities and to undermine their support. In an era when on- and off-line mobilization frequently intersect, that repression has been instrumental in attempts to suppress pro-democracy activism. In Myanmar, online campaigning against the State Administration Council regime that seized power in February 2021 has been met with Internet shutdowns, blocking and removal of online content, and digital surveillance. Ownership changes in the telecommunications sector threaten to increase the junta’s control of the Internet. In Thailand, military-backed regimes have long blocked contentious online content, weaponised computer-related lawsuits against dissidents, consolidated surveillance infrastructure, and deployed cyber troops to manipulate social media. Digital repression has intensified in the aftermath of the country’s 2020-2021 youth-led protests. This webinar will address digital repression in Myanmar and Thailand, the intertwining of digital and traditional approaches to repression, and its impact on protest movements. It will consider how Myanmar and Thai protest movements have countered regime efforts to stifle digital activism. More info here Register here
July Events 1. The 7th International Conference on International Relations and Development (ICIRD) Location: Chiang Mai University Date: July 22 to 23, 2022 The 7th International Conference on In-
ternational Relations and Development (ICIRD) under the theme “Disruption, Challenges and Resilience in Contemporary Southeast Asia” will be held virtually and onsite from 22-23 July 2022 in Chiang Mai, Thailand. More info here
September Events 1. Myanmar in a Changing World: Myanmar Conference 2022
Location: Humboldt-University Berlin and via Zoom Date: September 1 to 3, 2022 Hosted: Humboldt-University Berlin and the Heinrich Böll Foundation Organized by: the Myanmar-Institut e.V. The ongoing pandemic and a severe ethical and legal uncertainty about possible ways of conducting research in and about Myanmar after the coup, Myanmar scholarship is also set to change. The conference invites considerations about how to engage with Myanmar now. We want to examine various ways of keeping Myanmar research vibrant. This includes the challenge to decolonise it.. More info here
2. ASEAS(UK) Conference 2022
Location: Association of Southeast Asian Studies (ASEAS UK), via Zoom Date: September 8 to 10, 2022 Organizers: ASEAS(UK) ASEAS(UK) invites scholars and PhD students from all academic disciplines to submit panels or papers on any research topic within the field of Southeast Asian Studies. As an international and multi-disciplinary scholarly organisation, ASEAS particularly welcomes submissions from Southeast Asia-based scholars and proposals that would develop cross-disciplinary collaboration. Multimodal presentations suitable for the online environment are also welcome and we invite proposals for screenings of documentaries or fiction films, from Southeast Asia. More info here
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October Events 1. New York Conference On Asian Studies
Location: Syracus University Date: October 7 to 8, 2022 We invite submissions from scholars across all disciplines on all topics related to Asia and Asian Studies. We are particularly interested in topics related to our main theme: “State and Society in Asia: Past and Present.” Recent events such as the successes and failures of states at mitigating the Covid-19 pandemic; the targeting of religious, racial, and ethnic minorities; widespread protests against military regimes; the possibility of a new cold war between China and the US; and the dramatic takeover of Afghanistan by Taliban forces have highlighted the evercrucial role of the state in Asian societies, both in its presence and absence. In bringing scholarly perspectives to these current events, questions that interest us include: What historical legacies of the state persist in contemporary Asia? What roles do technology and urban development play in extending state power to unprecedented degrees? Conversely, how does a vacuum in state infrastructure in countries like Afghanistan create conditions for regime change? Can countries like Myanmar continue to isolate themselves and not suffer social and economic hardships? More Info here
New Books On Myanmar give material form and presence to otherwise invisible entities, and sometimes these objects are understood to be enlivened, agentive on their own terms. This book explores how magical images are expected to work with the shamans and spirit mediums who tend and use them in contemporary South Korea, Vietnam, Myanmar, Bali, and elsewhere in Asia. It considers how such things are fabricated, marketed, cared for, disposed of, and sometimes transformed into art-market commodities and museum artifacts.
The Wa of Myanmar and China’s Quest for Global Dominance Bertil Lintner University of Washington Press, 2021 The United Wa State Army (UWSA) is a non state armed group that administers an autonomous zone in the difficult-toreach Wa Hills of eastern Myanmar. As China expands its geopolitical interests across Asia through the Belt and Road Initiative, the Wa have come to play a pivotal role in Beijing’s efforts to extend its influence in Myanmar. In a book relevant to current debates about geopolitics in Asia, the illicit drug trade, Myanmar’s decades-long civil wars, and ongoing efforts to negotiate a settlement, Bertil Lintner, the only foreign journalist to visit the Wa areas when they were controlled by the Communist Party of Burma, traces the history of the Wa Hills and the struggles of its people, providing a rare look at the UWSA.
Mediums and Magical Things: Statues, Paintings and Masks in Asian Places
Sea Nomads of Southeast Asia: From the Past to the Present
Bérénice Bellina, Roger Blench, and Jean-Christophe Galipaud National University of Sigapore Press, 2021 For many years, the sea nomads were assumed to be without history, and even without archaeology. This has proven far from the case, and recent archaeological findings allow us to more closely describe sea nomadism from the Pleistocene through the early Holocene up to the present. Integrating these findings with the latest in historical research, linguistics, ethnography and historical genetics allows us to better understand sea-nomad ways of life over a scale of millennia and to appreciate the diversity and flexibility of this sea-nomad world. This in turn enriches our understanding of nomadism and mobility as a way of life, and the sea not only as a landscape of resources, but as a home and spiritual landscape as well.
Laurel Kendall University of California Press, 2021 Statues, paintings, and masks—like the bodies of shamans and spirit mediums— 16
Repossessing Shanland: Myanmar, Thailand and a NationState Deferred
Jane M. Ferguson University of Wisconsin Press, 2021 “An outstanding, unique contribution. Vividly recounts the lives of former Shan soldiers, who have managed to survive, preserve, and reconstruct their cultural identities within and along the perimeters set by two neighboring nation-states. Comparative, yet nuanced; informative, yet lively and fun—Repossessing Shanland will appeal to a wide range of audiences.”
Colonizing Animals: Interspecies Empire in Myanmar
Jonathan Saha Cambridge University Press, 2021 Animals were vital to the British colonization of Myanmar. In this path breaking history of British imperialism in Myanmar from the early nineteenth century to 1942, Jonathan Saha argues that animals were impacted and transformed by colonial subjugation. By examining the writings of Burmese nationalists and the experiences of subaltern groups, he also shows how animals were mobilized by Burmese anticolonial activists in opposition to imperial rule.