Distinguished Lectures in Humanities: China and Southeast Asia: A Contemporary History

Abstract
The emergent Asian region formed by and around ASEAN drew upon the dense history of trade, migration and cultural networks that have intersected this region and its hubs from well before the second millennium to the present.  Until recently, Southeast Asia was seen to be loosely in the ambit of the Chinese tributary order. As the ASEAN regional formation developed in the late 20th century, it received a fillip from the PRC’s cooperation. However, the rise of China in the last decade has significantly re-shaped the integration and enmeshment strategies of ASEAN. Problems in the South China Sea and the dam building rage have created significant ruptures and led to collective popular action. While BRI projects have certainly added weight to China’s engagement in the region, the global rhetoric and responsibilities of BRI also presents new opportunities and concerns in the region.   

About the speaker
Prasenjit Duara holds the Oscar Tang Distinguished Chair of East Asian Studies at Duke University. He received his PhD in Chinese history from Harvard University. He was Professor and chair of History at the University of Chicago (1991-2008) and Raffles Professor and Director of Asia Research Institute at the National University of Singapore (2008-2015). His latest book is The Crisis of Global Modernity: Asian Traditions and a Sustainable Future (Cambridge 2014). He was awarded the doctor philosophiae honoris causa from the University of Oslo in 2017 and was elected President of the American Association for Asian Studies (2019-2020).

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