Southeast Asia Council (SEAC)

SEAC Members

  • Eunsook Jung, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Political Science (Chair)
  • Lynette J. Chua, National University of Singapore and Yale-NUS College, Law and Society
  • Ehito Kimura, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Political Science
  • Erik M. Kuhonta, McGill University, Political Science
  • Doreen Lee, Northeastern University, Anthropology
  • Jonathan Padwe, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Anthropology
  • Christina Schwenkel, University of California, Riverside, Anthropology
  • Faizah Zakaria, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Southeast Asian Studies
  • Taomo Zhou, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, History

SEAC Committees


Book Prizes

  • The Harry J. Benda Prize, given annually to an outstanding newer scholar from any discipline or country specialization of Southeast Asian studies for a first book in the field.
  • The George McT. Kahin Prize, given biennially to an outstanding scholar of Southeast Asian studies from any discipline or country specialization to recognize distinguished scholarly work on Southeast Asia beyond the author’s first book. 
  • The A.L. Becker Southeast Asian Literature in Translation Prize, to recognize an outstanding English translation of a work of Southeast Asian literature from any country of the region (Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Viet Nam). 

The Pattana Kitiarsa SEAC Prize for Best Graduate Student Paper

The AAS Southeast Asia Council’s annual prize recognizes emerging scholarship in the field of Southeast Asian studies, from any disciplinary perspective.