Overview

The pandemic continued to affect the Centre when it came to travel restrictions to China and Japan, which has affected both students and staff. The aim after the initial first months of the year was to return to working from the office and teaching in person in accordance with the Lund University policy. In September, the researchers at the Centre had a writing retreat that also provided time to socialise and welcome the two new PhD students. Student fika has also been re-instated and the MA graduation ceremony could once more be held in person in June.

Staff changes and developments

During the year the study counsellor Sidsel Hansson retired and some of her work duties were taken over by Paul O’Shea. Elizabeth (Izzy) Rhoad’s position as postdoctoral fellow ended in August, but she got a vacancy position as lecturer to partly cover for staff who are on parental leave or have received research funding. The Centre has expanded its staff with the recruitment of two PhD students, Kimhean Hok with faculty funding and Benjamin Davies with funding from the Centre’s surplus (myndighetskapital).

Events and workshops/conferences

In 2022, the Centre largely returned to in-person events, apart from the first two months when zoom was used. It organised in total 21 public lectures, webinars and panels on a variety of topics. Among the topics were China-Russia relations and the impact of the war in Ukraine on Asia. Other topics included the Zainichi in Japan, Chinese minorities in Indonesia, food in South-East Asia and aid to North Korea. The Centre also organised several workshops and other events, including a workshop and PhD course on visual methods, a workshop on gender, labour and religion in Asia, a network meeting with representatives from Asian studies centres from different parts of the world, and a workshop on Chinese youth.

https://www.ace.lu.se/calendar?date=2022-01-01

Networking and participation at other events in Lund

The Centre co-organized one event with the Foreign Policy Association on Global China, as well as an event on sustainability issues in China as part of the Lund University Sustainability Week. Apart from supporting the Foreign Policy Association, the Centre is also supporting the East Asia Student Association and several of the staff has also given lectures or taken part in different events that the association has organised. Several of the Centre staff are also part of the recently established Human Rights Profile Area at Lund University.

Swedish, Nordic, and international networking

Nicholas Loubere serves as a board member of the European Association of Chinese Studies, and Astrid Norén Nilsson serves as board member of the European Association of South-East Asian Studies. Marina Svensson is a member of the advisory board of the Swedish National China Centre.

Visiting researchers at the Centre

During the year the Centre has had two visiting PhD students, Jiang Yehong from the Communication University in Beijing since January, and Chen Wenwen from Zhejiang University since October.

Research projects and outputs

During the year individual researchers were active in different research projects (see www.ace.lu.se). They published a total of nine journal articles, four book chapters, two books/edited volumes, nine popular science articles and blog posts, three articles in the media, and two reports.

During the year regular research seminars have been held where staff have presented their current research and new project ideas.

Several larger project grants were submitted with three being successful. Elizabeth (Izzy) Rhoads received a Starting Grant within development research from the Swedish Research Council to lead a four-year collaborative research project on new forms of statelessness and displacement in Myanmar. Paulina Kolata received a two-year Marie Curie postdoctoral fellowship on religion in Japan. The Centre with Marina Svensson as coordinator received funding from the Swedish Research Council to establish a national Graduate School in Asian Studies. The Centre also received funding from the Korea Foundation which will enable it to announce a position in Korean studies. Several staff got smaller grants for fieldwork and conference participation.

Conference participation and participation in university committees, professional associations, and other contributions to the academic community

Staff took part in several conferences such as those organised by the Association of Asian Studies, the European Association of Chinese Studies, and the European Association of South-East Asian Studies. Marina Svensson was a member of a PhD committee at the Department of Political Science at Lund University.

Education

The fall semester saw 28 new students begin the masters programme in Asian studies. During the year three BA level courses were also given at the Centre. Unfortunately, it continued to be impossible for students to go to China and Japan for either studies or fieldwork, although students were able to go to Korea and to Thailand.

Visibility

During the year, the Centre published three newsletters and maintained its social media presence on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. The Centre was also visible through Nicholas Loubere’s co-editorship of the online journal Made in China that was also co-financed by the Centre. The Centre also took over the Asia in Focus Journal from NIAS with a first issue expected in 2023.

Several of the staff has written about their research and current affairs in the region in newspapers and on blogs. Staff from the Centre also held public talks outside of the university and were invited to give lectures at other universities or for government agencies and other actors.

Financial report

The financial result for 2022 was positive and ended with a surplus of 1 million SEK. The total accumulated surplus is around 5,5 million SEK. The Centre received a cut in its budget for 2023 and it is estimated to run a planned minus of around 1,5 SEK in 2023. Part of the surplus capital is used to finance the two Ph.D. students and the two postdoctoral fellows whose positions however will end by the summer.