THE 1ST NORDIC-EUROPEAN WORKSHOP IN ADVANCED STUDIES (NEWAS)

Collaboration between CASA and NIAS


Between 14-17 October, the first in a series of Nordic-European
Workshops in Advanced Studies (NEWAS) was held in Copenhagen. It
focused on South and Southeast Asia studies form social science
perspectives. Eight selected Nordic post-graduate students
discussed their Ph.D.-projects with three professors from the
Centre for Asian Studies Amsterdam (CASA) and six Dutch students
discussed with three professors from Nordic countries. In
addition to talks about the student's projects, inspirational
lectures were held by Prof. Peter van der Veer, CASA, on
"Nationalism and the Discourse of Modernity" and by Prof. Stein
Tonnesson, NIAS, on "Occidentalism, Orientalism and Cultural
Imperialism".
The evaluation made during the final session of the workshop was
very positive : intensive and constructive intellectual
discussions rewarding for both students and teachers in
combination with a critical but constructive climate and a lot of
socializing during the night. This is promising for the five
NEWAS-workshops which will follow.
The 2nd NEWAS has been planned for the spring of 1994 in London
on Japanese Studies. It will be a collaborative effort between
SOAS, the Nordic Association for Japanese and Korean Studies, and
NIAS. The 3rd NEWAS has been planned for the autumn of 1994 and
is to be held in Aix-en-Provence. The focus will be placed on
Islamic Studies, in a co-operative effort between Institut de
Recherches et d'Etudes sur le Monde Arabe et Musulman (IREMAN),
the Centre for Middle Eastern Studies, Bergen, and NIAS. 

(source : NIASnytt 1993 no.4)