The 2008 International Burma Studies Conference
at Northern Illinois University (USA) from 3-5 October 2008
by Naw Liang (London, UK)

Mai soong kha. Once again, I am playing catch-up. So, rather than another sentence or two of apologies, let's get straight into it. Enjoy.

Northern Illinois University's Burma Studies Center held its Eighth International Burma Studies Conference in early October, a momentous occasion for Burma and Burma-related academia worldwide. NIU was handpicked in 1986 by the Burma Studies Group of the Association for Asian Studies to be the US' national centre for scholarly work on Burma, and it has impressed ever since. With a stunning faculty and world-renowned collection of Burmese materials, the interrelationship that has developed between the Burma Studies Group and NIU is second to none.

This year's conference has, like previous years, exceeded the scope and depth of expertise from Burma-specific and Burma-related experts from a range of disciplines, including art history, linguistics, anthropology and religious studies to name, but a few. A quick view of this year's programme (see link here) reveals the rapid growth in investigation and research brought about by keen academia and interested parties worldwide; it is now so big that it is impossible to take it all in. This is a problem that, at least from All about Shan Studies' perspective, we are happy to have to deal with. Of particular interest to me and Shan Studies readers is the increasing expansion of 'Burma Studies' into Burma's ethnic minorities, especially the Shan. Below is a brief list of presentation abstracts made at the conference that were distinctly Shan:

A BOOK FOR THE DEAD: A SHAN BUDDHIST TRADITION BEING A MEANS FOR THE PRESERVATION OF THEIR CULTURAL IDENTITY by Jotika Khur-Yearn

BEING SHAN ON THE THAI SIDE OF THE BORDER: CONTINUITIES AND TRANSFORMATIONS IN SHAN CULTURE AND IDENTITY IN MAEHONGSON, THAILAND by Nicola Tannenbaum

WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE SHAN? SHIFTING ETHNIC MARKERS FOR SHAN IN NORTHERN THAILAND by Nancy Eberhardt

PORT POLITIES IN THE HILLS: SHAN STATES AND TRADE IN THE CHINA-BURMA (MYANMAR) BORDER REGION by Chit Hlaing (F.K. Lehman)

These name but a few of the intriguing and insightful papers presented at the conference. It is my hope that a volume will be in publication soon.

So, despite missing the conference outright, it is great to see that research and consideration for Burma and Shan Studies is not only continuing, but steadily growing. This is very encouraging.

Gyan cha tha ba seh.

Naw Liang