Asian Studies Association of Australia

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The Asian Studies Association of Australia (ASAA) is the peak body of university experts and educators on Asian Studies in Australia.

Established in 1976, the ASAA promotes and supports the study of Asia in Australian universities and knowledge of Asia among the broader community. [1] Membership is primarily drawn from the university sector and includes academics and students engaged in teaching or research on Asia across a wide range of disciplines, including language teaching. The ASAA takes a strong interest in promoting knowledge about Asia in schools and in contributing to state and Commonwealth government policies related to Asia. [1]

The ASAA is administered by the Executive, which consists of the President, Vice-President, Secretary, Treasurer, Asian Studies Review Editor, and Publications Officer. The Council comprises the members of the Executive, one member each representing five regions of Asia as well as a Postgraduate Representative, Library Representative, Women's Forum Representative, Conference Representative and Teacher's Representative. [2] Executive and Council members are elected by secret ballot every two years. [3]

In addition to hosting a biennial national conference, the ASAA facilitates a range of publications. The ASAA's flagship journal is the Asian Studies Review , a multidisciplinary journal of contemporary and modern Asia. [4] The ASAA's flagship blog is Asian Currents, which aims to connect Australia's academic experts on Asia with journalists, policymakers, business people, artists and other educators. [5] The ASAA also publishes four monograph series in collaboration with international publishing houses. [6]

The ASAA is active in making submissions to governments and universities on matters relating to Asian studies, the professional interests of its members, tertiary and secondary education about Asia, and Asia-Australia relations. [7] Periodically, the ASAA commissions a review into the state of Asian studies education in Australian universities. [8] One such report published in 2002, 'Maximizing Australia's Asia Knowledge', argued for increased government investment in Asian Studies. [9]

In 2022, the ASAA launched a new report 'Australia's Asia Education Imperative: Trends in the Study of Asia and Pathways for Reform', authored by Edward Aspinall and Melissa Crouch. The report focuses on trends in the promotion of Asia literacy in Australian universities from 2000 to 2022, outlining both achievements and challenges. The report identifies a decline in government and, in many cases, university support, pointing to growing challenges in Australia's efforts to promote Asia literacy among Australian graduates at a time that Asia's global prominence and influence is more obvious than ever. The report proposes a set of recommendations to the government and to universities to renew and strengthen national commitment to Asia literacy.

The ASAA offers a wide range of grants, prizes and awards to recognise and support scholarship on Asia. The John Legge Prize is awarded annually for the best thesis in Asian studies completed at an Australian university. The ASAA Event Grant funds events related to Asian studies in Australia biennially. The Wang Gungwu Prize is awarded annually for the best article in the Asian Studies Review . The Reid Prize is awarded for the most significant book contributing to the understanding of Asia. Other prizes include the Postdoctoral Writing Grant and Early and Mid-Career Book Prizes. [10]

The following have served as ASAA presidents: 1976–78 John Legge; 1979–80 Wang Gungwu; 1981-2 Anthony Low; 1983-4 Stephen FitzGerald; 1985-6Jamie Mackie; 1987-8 & 1989–90: Elaine McKay; 1991–92 John Ingleson; 1993–94 Colin Mackerras; 1995–96 Beverly Hooper; 1997–98 Anthony Reid; 1999–2000 Robert Elson; 2001–02 Tessa Morris-Suzuki; 2003–04 Robin Jeffrey; 2005–06 Robert Cribb; 2007–08 Michael Leigh, replaced by Robert Cribb; 2009–10 Kathryn Robinson; 2011–12 Purnendra Jain; 2013–14 Louise Edwards; 2017–18 Kent Anderson; 2019–20 Edward Aspinall; 2021–22 Kate McGregor; 2023– Melissa Crouch. [11]

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The Australian Society for Asian Humanities is the oldest academic society in Australasia dedicated to the study of Asia and to the promotion of "the knowledge of Asia in Australia by providing a meeting-place where scholars could present their work to their peers and to the community at large." Founded in 1956 by A.R. Davis as the Oriental Society of Australia, in its early years it was "open to subscribers across the country but the bulk of its members were in Sydney." It acquired its present name in 2021. The focus on Sydney ultimately resulted in the establishment of the Asian Studies Association of Australia (1975) and the New Zealand Asian Studies Society (1974) rather than a geographic expansion of OSA membership. The society also hosts regular seminars, the annual A.R. Davis Memorial Lecture as well as an Emerging Scholars Award.

Asian Studies Review is the journal associated with the Asian Studies Association of Australia. Published with Taylor & Francis, the journal is indexed with Scopus and the Bibliography of Asian Studies. ASAA ran a newsletter from 1975, switching to journal format in 1977, and called the ASAA Review. It acquired its present name in 1998. Editors have included Anthony Reid, Kam Louie, Jamie Mackie and Anthony Milner. The current editor is David Hundt. The best article of the year, as judged by a panel, is awarded the Wang Gungwu Prize.

The following is a list of works by or about the historian Wang Gungwu, an Australian historian, sinologist, and writer specialising in the history of China and Southeast Asia.

References

  1. 1 2 "About". Asian Studies Association of Australia. Retrieved 10 July 2023.
  2. ↑ "Council". Asian Studies Association of Australia. Retrieved 10 July 2023.
  3. ↑ "Organisation". Asian Studies Association of Australia. Retrieved 10 July 2023.
  4. ↑ "Asian Studies Review". Asian Studies Association of Australia. Retrieved 10 July 2023.
  5. ↑ "Asian Currents". Asian Studies Association of Australia. Retrieved 10 July 2023.
  6. ↑ "Book Series". Asian Studies Association of Australia. Retrieved 10 July 2023.
  7. ↑ Australian Senate Standing Committee on Education and the Arts, Report on a National Language Policy (Canberra: Australian Government Publishing Service, 1984), p. 179
  8. ↑ "Reports". Asian Studies Association of Australia. Retrieved 10 July 2023.
  9. ↑ http://www.murdoch.edu.au/ALTC-Fellowship/_document/Resources/Maximizing_Australias_Asia_Knowledge.pdf Maximizing Australia's Asia Knowledge
  10. ↑ "Grants & Awards". Asian Studies Association of Australia. Retrieved 10 July 2023.
  11. ↑ http://asaa.asn.au/about/organisation/ Past presidents, secretaries, and treasurers
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