IIAS research is carried out under the aegis of the three programmatic thematic clusters: Asian Cities, Asian Heritages, and Global Asia. IIAS also welcomes research in other areas.
Characteristics
IIAS is involved in research programmes that address and seek to solve societal questions relevant to present-day Asian societies while paying attention to both current and historical trends. Moreover, by bringing scholars and practitioners together IIAS stimulates a multi-sector, pluridisciplinary approach to the study of Asia, and strives to enable both "full blooded science" and "science for society".
IIAS research is characterised by the facilitation for researchers and the thematic flexibility regarding long-term programmes, welcoming different academic disciplines and regional specialisations. The institute’s network provides researchers and their projects an opportunity to ‘embed’ in an international, academic and non-academic, environment.
IIAS maintains a balance between humanities and social sciences, and between ‘full-blooded’ science and ‘science for society’. On the one hand, IIAS supports programmes that unravel complex processes and provide points of impact for renewal and improvement, such as research in linguistics, literature, music and arts, media, history, and so on. On the other hand, IIAS is involved in research programmes that address and seek to solve societal questions, such as in research on regulation and governance, civil society, sustainable development, etc. All research programmes are jointly funded by IIAS and partner organisations within the Netherlands and abroad.
Fellows
In addition to those scholars visiting IIAS as part of agreements, a large number of researchers come to Leiden or Amsterdam to work on their individual projects as affiliated fellows. This provides an opportunity to make use of the extensive collections in Leiden (KITLV, Kern Library, and other specialised libraries), The Hague (National Archive) and Amsterdam (International Institute of Social History, for example). Others use their time to write up research findings or finish a manuscript.
Thematic research clusters
Most IIAS research is carried out under the aegis of programmatic thematic clusters in phase with contemporary Asian currents and all built around the notion of social agency. The aim of this approach is not to exclude anyone or any topic, but to cultivate synergies and coherence between people and projects and to generate more interaction with Asian societies. IIAS also welcomes research in other areas.
Asian Cities
The "Asian Cities" cluster deals with cities and urban cultures with related issues of flows and fluxes - of ideas and goods, cosmopolitism, “métissage”, and connectivity at their core, framing the existence of vibrant “civil societies” and political micro-cultures.
More than 60 percent of Asian populations today live in cities. This trend is bringing tremendous changes in the social, cultural and political economy of Asian societies and cities. Modern urban planning and management has to take into account the challenges of a diversity of urban societies of unmatched size and global connectivity with their heterogeneous populations, cultures and identities. The central role of the city in many regions of Asia is not new. Cities and urban cultures have long been a feature of Asian history. While some present-day metropolises have made use of Western models, they have also retained their indigenous development paradigms.
The social-spatial dynamic follows different models associated with political, economic but also religious configurations. In the present context of Asia’s assertion Asian cities are cradles of new forms of modernity.
AimWith a special eye on contemporary developments, the cluster aims to explore the longstanding Asian urban “tradition”, by exploring the origins of urbanism and urban culture in different parts of Asia and linking the various elements of city cultures and societies, from ancient to modern (colonial and post-colonial) times.
Through an international knowledge-network of experts, cities and research institutes it seeks to encourage social scientists and scholars in the humanities to interact with contemporary actors including artists, activists, planners and architects, educators, and policy makers. By bringing together science and practice, IIAS wishes to initiate a productive dialogue where each participant can contribute his or her own expertise with the potential to evolve into a broad multi-disciplinary corpus contributing to the actual development of Asian cities today.
Research topicsTopics of interest include, but are not limited to, shelter/housing and the quality of the neighborhoods where people live, infrastructural developments, the impact of urbanization on the natural environment, the question of urban heritage, etc.
Global Asia
The "Global Asia" cluster addresses contemporary issues related to transnational interactions within the Asian region as well as Asia’s projection into the world, through the movement of goods, people, ideas, knowledge, ideologies and so forth. Past and present trends will be addressed.
Today’s globalization processes have brought about a global integration of regional economies, cultures and political systems with consequences in the social, political and cultural realms. However, globalization is not an exclusively contemporary phenomenon. Through trade and the spread of religions large parts of the world became intertwined long before the modern era. Chinese inventions reached Europe overland through Central Asia, and the Indian Ocean functioned as a commercial and intercultural gateway connecting Europe, Asia and Africa. Western colonial domination had its own effects on the transformation of local culture and knowledge systems. Today, this legacy is still impacting the relation between Europe as a global partner and her former colonies, with new forms of hegemony on the rise, including from Asia (e.g. China in Africa).
Aim The cluster wishes to contribute to a better academic understanding of the phenomenon by challenging the Euro-centricity of much of its current literature, acknowledging the central role of Asia as an agent of global transformations. It also wishes to explore new forms of non-hegemonic intellectual interaction in the form of South-South and East-West dialogue models. By multi-polarizing the field of Asian studies, an enriched comparative understanding of globalization processes and the role of Asia in both time and space will be possible.
Targeted research In principle, any research which deals with Asian global projection is of interest. Possible topics include, but are not limited to: the migration of peoples and their diasporas, religious trans-national pilgrimages and networks, forms of economic expansion, cultural dissemination, geo-strategic projections and engagement, etc. Also of interest are issues that are central to the contemporary discussion on knowledge production and its circulation in a globalized world.
Asian Heritages
The "Heritage and Social Agency in Asia" cluster explores the notion of heritage as it evolved from a Europe-originated concept associated with architecture and monumental archaeology to incorporate a broader diversity of cultural forms and values. This includes the contested distinctions of ”tangible” and “intangible” heritages, and the importance of cultural heritage in identity construction.
The notion of heritage
Whether viewed from a Western or Asian perspective, at a nation-state or local community level, different meanings and strategies may be assigned to “heritage”. In Asia, the notion is often associated with the construction of post-independence nation-state models, the definition of national “traditions” and “authenticity,” and the idea of a pre/post-colonial historical national continuity. Discussions about heritage are often state-dominated, and this leaves little room for local views.
But who decides what heritage is, how it should be managed, and what rules should apply? Having an understanding of the notion of heritage in a given situation is a powerful instrument in any discussion of “ownership” and social agency. For example, the listing of a site or building as “national” or “world heritage” may very well expose the object of conservation to the negative side-effects of increased tourism. This is relevant when the object involved is of special importance to the local community (for example a temple with its significance for the local inhabitants). In that case the local community may justifiably fear dispossession by conservationist zealots from outside. In order to stand up to this threat, local communities should be aware of the mechanisms and consequences of heritage recognition and of the benefits and dangers of heritage exploitation. AimThe cluster will address the variety of definitions associated with heritage and their implications for determining who benefits or suffers from their implementation. It aims to engage with a broad range of concepts including the issues of “authenticity,” “national heritage,” and “shared heritage”, and, more generally, issues pertaining to the political economy of heritage. It will also critically address the dangers involved in the commodification of perceived endangered local cultures/heritages, including languages, religious practices, crafts and art forms, as well as material vernacular heritage. The cluster aims at directly engaging Asian and European scholars, artists, intellectuals, and other social educators in a constructive postcolonial civil-society-to-civil-society dialogue, in a spirit of genuine, mutually beneficial Europe-Asia collaboration.
Research topicsTopics of interest include, but are not limited to: the different concepts of “heritage” to be found in various social groups, the ownership of heritage, the uses and problems associated with colonial heritages, national and international aspects of heritage management, heritage and sustainable development, “modernization,” endangered forms of heritage and their conservation, and participatory forms of heritage politics.