Handbook of Southeast Asian Studies: Pioneers and Critical Thinkers

This handbook presents an overview of the wide range of scholarly endeavors and thinking of prominent pioneers and critical thinkers in Southeast Asia.It includes renowned personalities - both local and foreign - who have made significant contributions to knowledge of the region, politically, economically, It includes renowned personalities - both local and foreign - who have made significant contributions to knowledge of the region, politically, economically, socially, culturally, religiously, or militarily.. The global focus of the 21st century has progressively, and predictably, shifted to the Asia-Pacific realm, and Southeast Asia has found itself at centre stage, particularly given the increasing prominence of The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and its dialogue with its Asian neighbours and the West. In tandem with the region’s increasing importance, Southeast Asian studies have expanded rapidly during the past 25 years. This book offers a primary source which summarises the important works in the field. It meets a vital need for specialised knowledge of the region to be made more available, accessible, comprehensible, and user-friendly to both specialists and the wider public. Compiled by two widely-known and respected scholars with long-standing academic careers focused on contemporary Southeast Asia, this book is the first of its kind. Spread across four sections, this comprehensive work will be an indispensable companion to scholars and students in archaeology and early history, geography and the environment, history, anthropology, sociology, religious studies, politics and international relations within the broader framework of Southeast Asian Studies.

Professor Ooi Keat Gin is currently a Professor of History in the School of Humanities at Universiti Sains Malaysia. He is the Editor-in-Chief of the International Journal of Asia Pacific Studies and the coordinator of the Asia Pacific Research Unit. He has decades of experience in research and teaching on East Asian and Southeast Asian history, historical theory and methodology.

Victor T. King is Emeritus Professor of Southeast Asian Studies at the University of Leeds, and Professor of Borneo Studies at the Institute of Asian Studies at the Universiti Brunei Darussalam, conducting research and teaching on Borneo and Southeast Asia more widely. He is also Senior Editorial Advisor in the Regional Center for Social Science and Sustainable Development (RCSD) at Chiang Mai University, Thailand, and a Professorial Research Associate at the School of Oriental and African Studies at the University of London. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts (FRSA), London.