The Asia History Working Group at the Department of History, Yale University seeks to go beyond existing regional and national boundaries that define the study of the continent and condition its research priorities to forge greater dialogue between scholars of the region on themes of common interest. Focusing on both thematic and geographic points of connection and departure, this group serves as a platform for scholars of Asia to find new grounds for conversation and engagement.
In this regard, the Asia History Working Group seeks to provide a setting in which graduate students can present and receive feedback on works-in-progress and research ideas in a setting that allows for diverse scholarly engagement with scholars from across the intellectual continent present. We aim to organize regular workshop sessions in which paper and chapter drafts, as well as early-stage essay ideas can be presented for constructive feedback. We aim to also organize discussion sessions focussing on myriad aspects of historical research in Asia, including archives, writing strategies, and research ethics. Throughout, we seek to include as wide a body of scholars as possible to advance goals of methodological and intellectual heterodoxy as against the current framing of social science and humanities research in and on Asia.
The Working Group aims to meet at least four meetings a semester. Interested students and faculty are encouraged to reach out to Marcus Yee (marcus.yee@yale.edu) and Xinyue Zhang (xinyue.zhang@yale.edu) for more information.