IRASEC

Becoming Infrastructure: Digital Ubiquity, Societal Transformation, and Spaces of Possibility

Bertrand — 2026-06-12T04:57:36Z

Elisabeth PEYROUX, IRASEC researcher, and research fellows from the National University of Singapore (NUS) invites scholars to submit proposals for an interdisciplinary workshop exploring how the digital became infrastructural for the function of society. 🌐

📅 Workshop: 18-19 February 2027 — Singapore
⏰ Submission deadline: 10 July 2026

Digital technologies have significantly transformed our societies. Indeed, the digital has become infrastructural for the function of society. E-commerce, social media platforms, applications, digital payment systems, and AI tools have become deeply embedded in social organization, power relations, and everyday life, and nowhere more so than in Asia. This seminar adopts an infrastructural approach to exploring the profound implications of digital transformation. It defines infrastructure as a ubiquitous organizational means for human and non-human things, exhibiting characteristics such as reliability, invisibility, adaptability, and gateway functions. Infrastructuralization, then, refers to the process through which a digital technology becomes infrastructure.

Using the digital as an entry point, this workshop aims to develop a more comprehensive framework for interdisciplinary enquiry and collaboration. We are broadly interested in work on the digital that addresses the ways that these novel social forms are becoming infrastructural. How do we determine whether a particular digital technology has become infrastructure ? How does the digital constitute new forms of spatiality and shape societies and social life in specific ways ? How does this theorization intersect with processes such as urbanization, territorialization, platformization, and globalization ? What do the organizational, spatial, material, economic, legal, sociocultural, ecological, and ideological processes of infrastructuralization look like ? Given the contextual variability and complexity of digital transformation, this workshop invites scholars to engage with three interconnected themes : agency, contingency, and possibility.

Agency : The infrastructuralization of the digital has put new capacities in play that are not clearly possessed by either states, corporations, groups, or individuals. An infrastructure approach asks what light this may shed on state-making, forms of hegemony, digital access, and infrastructural violence. Which actors are using the digital, and how ? What are the conditions under which the digital serves as enabling or disabling force vis-à-vis certain individual aspirations, collective movements, and national objectives ? How do usage and accessibility constitute hierarchies, inequalities, and forms of exclusion ?

Contingency : The digital produces not only intended, desirable outcomes, but also unintended effects, revealing a pervasive contingency. Throughout the processes of infrastructuralization, what outcomes and effects are produced, and how are they produced ? Do actors, such as governments, enterprises, groups, and individuals, use the digital in the ways they were designed to be used ? Why or why not ? How are these outcomes and effects similar or different across countries and contexts ?

Possibility : An infrastructure approach to the digital foregrounds inherently transnational, interregional, and comparative perspectives, inviting scholars to move beyond the logic of linear progression which often underlies colonist and developmentalist approaches. What other, more diverse perspectives on the ways societies progress today does this make visible ? How can examining the practical, ethnographic, and theoretical implications of infrastructuralizing the digital, allow us to acknowledge the hegemony and violence constitutive of the digital, but also to explore possibilities for a more just and hopeful world ?

SUBMISSION GUIDELINES

This workshop invites contributions grounded in empirically grounded in ethnographic and other forms of qualitative research conducted primarily in Asia. Paper proposals should include a title, an abstract (maximum 300 words), and a brief personal biography (about 150 words), and be submitted by 10 July 2026. Please specify details such as methodology, fieldsites, length of fieldwork, number of participants, and sources of data. Additionally, please include a statement confirming that your proposed paper has not been published or committed elsewhere, and that you are willing to revise the version of your paper presented at the workshop for potential inclusion in a special issue. Please submit your proposal using the form available on the website. An AI-use disclaimer is required for submission.

Authors of selected proposals will be notified by the mid of August 2026. Presenters will be required to submit short draft papers (between 3,000-5,000 words) by 18 January 2027. These papers will be distributed to fellow speakers and chairpersons prior to the workshop and do not need to be fully polished.

This workshop will be held in person. Full or partial airfare funding will be offered to overseas participants, as well as three nights of accommodation in Singapore. Please indicate your funding needs in the proposal form.

CALL FOR PAPERS DEADLINE : 10 JULY 2026
Submit a paper.

WORKSHOP CONVENORS

Dr Xiaoling CHEN | Asia Research Institute, National University of Singapore
Asst Prof Dylan BRADY | Department of Geography, National University of Singapore
Prof Tim BUNNELL | Asia Research Institute & Department of Geography, National University of Singapore
Dr Elisabeth PEYROUX | The French National Centre for Scientific Research & Asia Research Institute, National University of Singapore

Autonomous Social Sciences and Alternative Development in Times of Multiple Crises

Bertrand — 2026-02-11T07:25:47Z

This international conference is organized by the Center for Agricultural and Rural Development Studies (PSP3), IPB University, in strategic partnership with the Program on Alternative Development (AltDev), UP Center for Integrative and Development Studies, University of the Philippines and Institut de Recherche sur l'Asie du Sud-Est Contemporaine (IRASEC), Bangkok as the international partners and Sajogyo Institute as the national partner.

Abstract Deadline : 28 February 2026
Full Paper : 30 April 2026

The event is designed as an international forum to address the multiple crises—a convergence of ecological collapse, rising authoritarianism, and structural inequality—that currently afflicts Southeast Asia. While mainstream development models have failed to solve this “poly-crisis, this conference brings together experts to champion “Autonomous Social Sciences” and “Alternative Development” as pathways toward more just and sustainable futures.

It will be an academic forum to foster dialogue on autonomous social sciences—theory rooted in the realities of the Global South—and to share alternative development visions and practices emerging from the ground.

We invite academics, researchers, students, practitioners and activists, and to participate and submit their best papers to this international conference.

Abstract Deadline : 28 February 2026
Full Paper : 30 April 2026

Topics include :

Decolonizing social science & alternative knowledge
Participatory development & governance
Digital politics & the threat of authoritarianism
Solidarity economy & community innovation
Gender & inclusive futures
Climate crisis & alternative development
Trans-regional migration & solidarity
Agroecology & food sovereignty
Ecologically just agrarian reform
Religious philanthropy for socio-ecological justice

🔗 Info & submission : https://psp3.ipb.ac.id/conference/ and download the program.

The ecological shift in Southeast Asia. Competing norms, national policies, local practices

Bertrand — 2025-04-28T05:19:32Z

The ASEAN-China Norms Summer School 2025 seeks to explore these shifting through an interdisciplinary lens, bringing together leading scholars, practitioners, and graduate students. The Summer School will provide a critical space to reflect how ecological norms are constructed, contested, and institutionalized across Southeast Asia. Participants will assess the contemporary challenges and identify emerging trajectories for future research.

Southeast Asia's ecological landscape is undergoing profound transformation, driven by the intersection of transnational environmental agendas, national policies, and local adaptations. While some states embrace green deal and carbon neutrality, some prioritize extractive industries. Meanwhile, philosophical and religious traditions offer alternative ecological ethics, while investigative journalism and social movements challenge official narratives on conservation. These competing forces leads to competing norms that shape the region's broader trajectory toward ecological resilience or crisis.

Organised in Malaysia by the Institute Pondok Perancis for the ASEAN-China Norms international research network.

Download the programme.

Call for Applications

The ASEAN-China Norms Summer School 2025 has 25 spots available for post-graduate, PhD and Post-doctoral students working on issues related to.

A contribution fees of 180 euros will be collected to cover 7 nights of accommodation in Terengganu (Kuala Terengganu and Mangkuk), site visits, lunch and registration. Travelling costs will be borne by participants.

Applicants should submit a scientific CV (2 pages) along with a motivation letter (300–500 words) providing a brief explanation of how their research interests align with the focus and overall goals of the Summer School. Accepted students will be expected to submit some written work—either a work in progress or a more finalised piece—that will form the basis for peer review discussion during the Summer School.

All applications will be evaluated by the organising committee based on the quality of the curriculum vitae and letter of motivation. The results will be communicated by 1 May 2025.

Application email : aseanchinanorms19 gmail.com

Application deadline : 25th April 2025.

Programme

Keynotes

Philippe Le Guern – PTAC, Université de Rennes, France & Pierre Lagrange – LIER-FYT CNRS-Ehess, Paris, France
Gilles Lhulier – ENS Rennes & IUF, France
Danial Yussof - ISTAC-IIUM, Kuala Lumpur & David Delfolie – Sciences Po Lille, France
Eduardo Tadem – Université des Philippines, Diliman, Philippines (à confirmer)
Laure Siegel - Mediapart, Bangkok, Thaïlande

Speakers & Moderators

Virginie Arantes (ULB, Belgique) ; Nora A. Bakar (Kuala Lumpur) ; Beverly Besmanos (AFRIM, Mindanao) ; François Xavier Bonnet (Irasec-CNRS, Manille) ; Cher Hui Yun (ARI, NUS, Singapour) ; Flavia Fabiano (CIRAD, Montpellier) ; Allim Jamalludin (ECOSWED Initiative, Mangkuk, Setiu) ; Jarina Jani (Université Malaysia Terengganu, Kuala Terengganu) ; Mohd Azlan Jayasilan bin Abdul Gulam Azad (UNIMAS, Sarawak à confirmer) ; Elsa Lafaye de Micheaux (CASE, Inalco, Paris) ; Rohani Longuet (Bibliothèque Rohani, Pulau Duyung) ; Pablo Ouziel (The Temple Foundation, Barcelone) ; Fahmi Panimbang (LIPS, Indonésie) ; Louise Perrodin (Institut Convergences Migrations, Cnrs, France) ; Nurul Huda (JMG, Malaisie, à confirmer) ; Baptise Salmon, (CEARC, U. Saclay, France), Tanguy Sandre (CEARC, U. Saclay, France) ; Gurdial Singh (Kuala Lumpur, Malaisie) ; Aude Vidal (Paris) ; Karen Yen (Canpoeti, Barcelone).

Visited Sites

Kuala Terengganu ; Pulau Duyung ; Mangkuk ; Setiu Wetland ; Redang Island (Terengganu, Malaysia).

Partnerships

Centre for Southeast Asia (CASE, CNRS-Ehess-Inalco), Sciences Po Lille, Institute Universitaire de France, ARI, NUS-Singapore, Inalco, French Embassy in Malaysia ; French Ministry of European and Foreign Affairs.

Call for Applications: International Summer School “Southeast Asia at the Heart of Indo-Pacific Strategies”

Bertrand — 2024-04-08T20:21:10Z

Applications are now open for the international summer school “Southeast Asia at the Heart of Indo-Pacific Strategies” hosted by the German-Southeast Asian Center of Excellence for Public Policy and Good Governance (CPG), in cooperation with the CÉRIUM Chair in Asian and Indo-Pacific Studies, University of Montreal, and the Asian Studies Centre (CETASE), University of Montreal, as well as the Institute for Research on Contemporary Southeast Asia (IRASEC).

To be held from June 19 to 27, 2024, at the Faculty of Law, Thammasat University (Tha Prachan), Bangkok, Thailand, the nine-day certificate course will offer an in-depth introduction to and deeper understanding of the multifaceted significance of Southeast Asia within the Indo-Pacific region and explore how this is addressed in Indo-Pacific strategies of various countries. The Summer School will combine classroom teaching, off-campus activities, and a simulation.

Download the program / Application form

CDD Postdoc H/F

Bertrand — 2021-05-06T17:00:00Z

The role of Chinese actors
in the urban transition in Laos

Proposal for a part-time FTC Scientist contract in Laos for a period of 6 months.

Read the job offer

The postdoctoral researcher shall conduct fieldwork activity in Laos in order to examine the role of Chinese actors and capitals in contemporary urban production. He/she will collect and analyse relevant documents, undertake fieldwork observations, interviews, and maps that allow to measure and describe the characteristics of Chinese involvement in the urban transition of Laotian cities, especially when in relation to the Belt and Road Initiative. Special attention will be granted to the capital city of Vientiane ; however, the researcher may also want and will be welcome to conduct research on other cities where Chinese involvement proves to be important, including Luang Prabang, Vang Vieng, and Boten. Her/his will mainly engage with the academic fields of urban studies, urban geography, political economy, and urban sociology.

The postdoctoral researcher will join the team of the research program "The cities of the New Silks Roads in Southeast Asia" which is funded by the French National Research Agency (ANR). This research program is coordinated by Adèle ESPOSITO, CNRS Researcher, currently affiliated to the Research Institute on Contemporary Southeast Asia (IRASEC). The research program questions the role of the Belt and Road Initiative in (re)shaping secondary cities in Southeast Asia. It is interdisciplinary and comparative in scope : case studies have been selected in Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, Malaysia, Burma, and Laos. The postdoctoral researcher will be directly supervised by Adèle ESPOSITO.

Doing Fieldwork in Social Sciences

Bertrand — 2021-03-18T17:00:00Z

In partnership with IRASEC, that is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year, the University of Văn Lang (HCM-city) is organizing on June 9 and 10, 2021 a methodology research seminar for young PhDs and PhD students working in and with Vietnam. The aim of the event is to support fieldwork training in social sciences, particularly in geography, anthropology, ethnology, sociology, economics, tourism and architecture.

This seminar will include a one-day presentation and exchange at Văn Lang followed by a documentary film in the evening and a field visit during which researchers will present their work on site. These two days will be guided by researchers' fields, from construction and preparation to processing and dissemination in the context of scientific productions.

The seminar will focus on the following suggested topics:

What does it involve to do fieldwork? What constitutes a field?
How to (un)make a field notebook?
What is a field survey in geography and architecture?
From micro to macro: statistical and cartographic tools for objectivizing the field.
Contributions and challenges of qualitative in situ methods.
Reflexivity and field practices.
Data is not given: construction and processing of information from the field.
To be or not to be: field practices, activism and intimacy.
To speak and to make speak: recording, translating, transcribing, interpreting.
Participatory fields and action research: serious games, interactive mapping and theater.
Individual practices and collective research projects, how to share a field?
Between ethics and open source: how to disseminate field data?

Proposals should be no more than 250 words and should be adressed to the the organizers, Dr. Trần Cẩm Thi (Văn Lang) and Dr Emmanuelle Peyvel (IRASEC) at fieldworkSHS.seminar[at]gmail.com. The proposal can be written in Vietnamese, French or English and should also include a short biography of the author.

Deadline: Monday April 20, 2021

All details in the attached PDF document translated in 3 languages: Vietnamese, French and English.

Asie·S "en care"

Bertrand — 2020-12-07T07:23:00Z

Appel à communication pour les journées scientifiques du GIS Asie

Le GIS Asie organise les 2 et 3 juin 2021 deux journées scientifiques sur la thématique du « Care » : AsieS « en care » : Le souci d'autrui au prisme des études asiatiques. Ces Journées se tiendront au Campus Condorcet en présentiel pour les participant.e.s qui le souhaitent et en distanciel via une application logicielle.

L'appel à communication est désormais lancé et ouvert à l'ensemble des chercheur.e.s, enseignant.e.s-chercheur.e.s, jeunes chercheur.e.s du domaine des études asiatiques en France et à l'étranger.

Date limite de soumission : 15 janvier 2021

Soumettre une proposition de communication

Information Soutien à la mobilité internationale de l'InSHS CNRS

Bertrand — 2020-09-22T07:23:00Z

Les campagnes de Soutien à la mobilité internationale sortante et entrante pour l'année 2021 pour les chercheurs et enseignants-chercheurs, seront très bientôt ouverte :

Soutien à la mobilité internationale sortante (SMI) : ce dispositif permet d'accompagner des chercheurs, enseignants-chercheurs et ingénieurs de recherche des unités du CNRS en France, pour une mobilité de moyenne durée à l'étranger (entre 3 et 9 mois), possible dans les unités à l'étranger comme l'IRASEC (clôture des candidatures début novembre 2020)

Soutien à la mobilité internationale entrante (SMI entrant) : ce nouveau dispositif lancé en 2020 a pour objectif d'aider à l'accueil, au sein des unités de recherche dont le CNRS est tutelle ou cotutelle, des chercheurs / enseignants-chercheurs étrangers souhaitant développer une collaboration avec une unité de recherche du CNRS (y compris les unités à l'étranger). Pour 2021, une quinzaine d'universités seront ciblées, dans le but d'accompagner le développement des partenariats stratégiques identifiés par le CNRS.

Make Our Planet Great Again

Bertrand — 2020-04-06T07:23:00Z

L'initiative Make Our Planet Great Again propose 2 programmes en 2020 pour favoriser l'accueil d'étudiants et de chercheurs internationaux en France.

1/ Bourses d'excellence de Master
Le MEAE) et le MESRI en collaboration avec Campus France mettent en place un programme pour accueillir des étudiants en master dans les établissements d'enseignement supérieur français, afin de suivre un parcours sur les sciences du système terre, sur les sciences du changement climatique et de la durabilité, sur la transition énergétique ou sur les enjeux sociétaux des questions environnementales.

Des bourses de master seront financées dans le cadre de ce programme à partir de la rentrée 2020.
DATE DE FIN DE CANDIDATURES : 26 AVRIL 2020

2/ Financement de contrats pour les post-doctorants
Le MEAE et le MESRI en collaboration avec Campus France mettent en place un programme pour accueillir des chercheurs post-doctorants souhaitant effectuer leurs recherches en France sur les sciences du système Terre ; les sciences du changement climatique et de la durabilité ; la transition énergétique ; les enjeux sociétaux des questions environnementales.

DATE DE FIN DE CANDIDATURES : 5 JUILLET 2020

Urban Mobilities in the 21st Century

Bertrand — 2020-04-02T17:00:00Z

The Fondation France-Japon de l'EHESS is presently calling for applications for the 2021 FFJ/Michelin Foundation Fellowship, "Urban Mobilities in the 21st Century".

The aim of this Fellowship, is to give the fellow an opportunity to broaden his or her research activities through a long-term stay in Paris, taking advantage of a vast network in social sciences and humanities in France and Europe, as well as a new collaboration with the research and development teams at Michelin, a major French industrial group and a partner of the FFJ since 2010.

The deadline for applications is 15 May 2020. Applications are to be submitted by email to applications_ffj ehess.fr.
The fellowship may last 5 or 10 months, between 1 January 2021 and 31 March 2022, depending on the fellow's availability.

The fellow will be provided with administrative support for his or her arrival in Paris, and access to facilities such as conference rooms and libraries. The FFJ team will host him or her in an office space shared with other visiting researchers and located on the new Campus Condorcet. Europe's largest campus for social sciences and humanities, this international and interdisciplinary environment offers many opportunities for collaboration and access to scientific events. In particular, the fellow will be able to collaborate with the Géographie-Cités laboratory.

https://ffj.ehess.fr/chaire_fondation_michelin.html