Southeast Asia Council (SEAC)

SEAC Members

  • Eunsook Jung, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Political Science (Chair)
  • Michitake Aso, University at Albany, SUNY, History
  • Lynette J. Chua, National University of Singapore and Yale-NUS College, Law and Society
  • Paul Hutchcroft, College of Asia and the Pacific, Australian National University, Politics
  • Doreen Lee, Northeastern University, Anthropology
  • Christina Schwenkel, University of California, Riverside, Anthropology
  • Ardeth Thawnghmung, University of Massachusetts Lowell, Political Science
  • 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.