By Jean-Pierre Drège
It is impossible to forget the paradox that the foundation of the Asia Committee in the ESF took place at nearly the same time as the demise of the Committee of Oriental Studies of the French "Centre National de la Recherche scientifique". This committee had been in charge of the major part of national research in the field of Oriental Studies in France, but since French universities were not in favour of Oriental Studies, particularly not of East Asian studies, it had to go. After the disappearance of the Committee, Oriental Studies were divided up before being connected to other research fields such as history, archaeology, and so forth. It is interesting to note that this new deal took place exactly at a time when other European countries were making the opposite choice. In fact, the reorganization of Oriental Studies was probably a necessity: Orientalism was considered an antiquated concept of overlaid with shades of exoticism and colonialism. Oriental Studies were believed to be strong enough to confront Western Studies. It is unfortunate that this decision was not followed by stimulating exertions to promote Asian Studies in universities. Asian Studies will not be strong before the history of Asia is a standard subject in most universities. Therefore, if no important effort is made to strengthen Asian Studies at a national level, there is a very great danger that the coordination between national reality and European efforts will prove difficult. The Asia Committee has a major role to play in this battle, notably in providing information on the situation of Asian Studies in other European countries.
Collective research
Among the divergent tasks in which the Asia Committee is engaged, some projects are more
concrete than others: support for workshops; post-doctoral fellowships; support given to
regional associations; and the European database for Asian studies. The last is an initial step
on the way to promoting European cooperation. Its compilation requires serious thought. This
database must be comprehensive and should emphasize major activities. It now depends on
individual questionnaires, which may well leave room for some deficiencies. The regional
associations, European or national, could probably help the Committee in collecting
information which should be just as extensive for individuals as for institutions, research
teams, or research topics.
Fellowships are an important way to promote Asian Studies. One can only hope that these
fellowships might be more numerous. They might sometimes be awarded to candidates who
would agree to engage in a collective research project. This kind of project is usually
developed at a national level. One of the tasks of the Asia Committee could be to support
research projects including an element of European cooperation.
There is plenty of room for thought about the role the Asia Committee might play in the
future of Asian Studies. Looming prominently is the question of the clarification of the ties
between the Asia Committee and the regional associations, European and national, and even
with the "Asiatic societies", to which board members are all
elected. It might be just as well to clear this question up before the founding of a European
Association for Asian Studies. A superimposition of organizations, if its missions are not
clearly defined, could finally go against the very studies which we have to strengthen.
Jean-Pierre Drège is a member of the ESF Asia Committee. He is attached to the École Pratique des Hautes Études in Paris, France.