IRASEC

A Vietnamese Le Canard Enchaîné ? The Vịt Đực newspaper and the pursuit of Vietnamese satire in the final interwar years (1938-1939)

Bertrand — 2026-06-22T05:00:59Z

26 June 2026, 5:30pm–7pm (Vietnam Time, UTC +7)
Hosted by EFEO at Ho Chi Minh City
113 Hai Bà Trưng, Bến Nghé, D. 1

This presentation introduces Vịt Đực — a Vietnamese language satirical newspaper published from July 1938 to July 1939.

26 June 2026, 5:30pm–7pm (Vietnam Time, UTC +7)
Hosted by EFEO at Ho Chi Minh City
113 Hai Bà Trưng, Bến Nghé, D. 1

This presentation introduces Vịt Đực — a Vietnamese language satirical newspaper published from July 1938 to July 1939. The presentation will discuss four aspects of the newspaper. First, it will introduce the formation of the newspaper and the biographies of its founders within the intellectual world of colonial Hanoi in the 1930s. Second, it will discuss the influence of Le Canard Enchaîné on Vịt Đực. Third, it will describe how the newspaper successfully localized the verbal and visual humor that its French counterpart espoused. Fourth, it will analyze selected columns that best demonstrate the newspaper's contrarian politics, particularly its critique of polarizing partisanship in colonial Vietnam's domestic politics following the victory of the Popular Front in 1936. As the newspaper was created against the backdrop of failed colonial reform and imperial meltdowns in anticipation of another World War, its commitments to vernacular satire and non-partisanship suggested an alternative vision of a Vietnam beyond the split of monarchism, republicanism, and communism.

Returning from the Field in the Kanekes Indigenous Society: A Multidisciplinary and Multi-Sectoral Team Effort

Bertrand — 2026-06-08T03:23:00Z

On May 30, Gabriel FACAL delivered a presentation in Indonesian titled “Returning to the Field with the Kanekes Indigenous Society : A Multidisciplinary and Multi-Sectoral Team Effort,” as part of a seminar at the Faculty of Social and Political Sciences at Serang Raya University – UNSERA (Indonesia). This presentation was part of a two-week stay involving meetings and field visits conducted at two sites with the ANR AltLife team (Alternative Life Projects in Rural South & Southeast Asia), in collaboration with five faculty members and a dozen students from UNSERA.

Autonomous Social Sciences and Alternative Development in Times of Multiple Crises

Bertrand — 2026-06-07T03:36:00Z

On May 21, 22, and 23, IRASEC co-organized an international conference titled “Autonomous Social Sciences and Alternative Development in Times of Multiple Crises,” in partnership with the Center for Agricultural and Rural Development Studies (PSP3) at IPB University (Bogor) and the Alternative Development Program (AltDev) at the Center for Integrative and Development Studies at the University of the Philippines (UP). The Sajogyo Institute served as the coordinator, with the conference opening coinciding with the centenary of the birth of Mr. Sajogyo, a pioneer of Indonesian rural sociology. The event, which brought together over two hundred fifty presenters and nearly six hundred attendees, benefited from the involvement of two programs for which Gabriel FACAL is co-responsible on behalf of IRASEC : the ANR AltLife, which funded the participation of a presenter, and the IRN RUPTuRS, which funded the discussant of a panel.

Vietnamese mountain resorts: performance spaces for the urban Kinh middle class

Bertrand — 2026-05-07T09:46:55Z

On April 6, 2026, Emmanuelle PEYVEL, an associate research fellow at IRASEC, was invited to the Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM), at the Centre for Research on Territorial Development (CRDT), as part of the Mesopolis chair focusing on small and medium-sized cities in transformation, led by Pham Thi Thanh Hien. On this occasion, she presented part of her research on Vietnamese high-altitude resorts, more specifically in relation to tourist practices linked to matrimonial events.

More informations on the presentation page of ANR URBALTOUR.

Aguman Ning Belwan 2026

Bertrand — 2026-03-18T05:14:46Z

2^nd International Multidisciplinary Research Conference
Tarlac State University (Philippines), hybrid format
25 March 2026

As part of the Aguman Ning Belwan 2026 conference, Gabriel Facal will present a plenary talk entitled “Agroecology in Southeast Asia : Harnessing Interdisciplinarity to Study a Strong Driver of Sustainability”.

Tarlac State University (Philippines), hybrid format
25 March 2026

Download the programme :

Unwriting Academia

Bertrand — 2026-01-13T07:17:25Z

5 February 2026, 9h-17h
Room 2B, Research Center for Humanities and Social Sciences, Academia Sinica, Taipei

An event co-organised by the French Center for Research on Contemporary China (CEFC Taipei) and the Research Institute on Contemporary Southeast Asia (IRASEC)

5 February 2026, 9h-17h
Room 2B, Research Center for Humanities and Social Sciences, Academia Sinica, Taipei

An event co-organised by the French Center for Research on Contemporary China (CEFC Taipei) and the Research Institute on Contemporary Southeast Asia (IRASEC)

Download the programme :

Across the social sciences, scholars are increasingly engaging with creative and multimodal forms of knowledge production. At this workshop, participants will discuss their work with comics, video-making, film programming, artists' residencies, literary ethnography, podcasts, and other inventive approaches to research and writing. These practices open possibilities that exceed the boundaries of traditional academic prose—not only methodologically, but also epistemologically—by offering new ways of apprehending and conveying social experiences. The aim of this workshop is to explore how such alternative forms of writing and representation can meaningfully coexist with, and even enhance, conventional scholarly outputs. Rather than treating creative modalities as add-ons or outreach tools, we seek to understand how they can transform the very processes through which we analyze, interpret, and communicate research. What do these forms allow us to know, sense, or reveal that standard academic texts cannot ? How might multimodal experimentation reshape our analytical practices, ethical commitments, and engagements with wider publics ? By bringing together scholars who are already experimenting with these practices, the workshop invites a collective reflection on the methodological and epistemological contributions of creative research. Our goal is to imagine how a richer plurality of writing modes can deepen our understanding of the social world and broaden the ways we participate in scholarly conversation.

Organisers

Jérémy Jammes, IRASEC
Corrado Neri, CEFC Taipei
Beatrice Zani, CNRS

Speakers

Valentine Boucq
Yin C. Chuang, Taiwan Normal University
Alex Desmules, Tianma Project
Morgan Fraisse-László, French Office in Taipiei (BFT)
Emilie ‘Emy' Garcia
Wafa Ghermani, National Central University (Taiwan)
Jérémy Jammes, IRASEC
James Lee, Academia Sinica
Corrado Neri, CEFC Taipei
Chang Wen-chin, Academia Sinica
Beatrice Zani, CNRS

The Vietnam War: Ethnic minority, Conflicts, and Legitimacy

Bertrand — 2025-12-15T08:54:19Z

We are pleased to announce that the IRASEC website hosts the Saigon Social Sciences Hub (SSSH), an English-speaking group of young researchers in the humanities and social sciences working on Việt Nam. You can find details of the events they organize as well as a history of past conferences.

The next conference will be held at EFEO in Ho Chi Minh City and online via Zoom on Friday, 19 December 2025.
Khang Do, PhD Candidate at University of Leeds (UK), will present his research on the Republic of Vietnam's policies toward ethnic minorities from 1955 to 1975.

For more details about this conference.

Au coeur des détroits : l'évolution des infrastructures et leurs rôles dans les réseaux globaux

Bertrand — 2025-12-09T10:42:00Z

From December 9 to 11, Christine Cabasset attended the conference “Au cœur des détroits. L'évolution des infrastructures et leurs rôles dans les réseaux globaux : ponts, tunnels, câbles et ports” [At the heart of the straits. The evolution of infrastructure and its role in global networks : bridges, tunnels, cables], and ports, organized by the ANR DéCoDé at the Université du Littoral Côte d'Opale in Dunkirk. Her presentation focused on “Quelles gouvernance et sécurisation des détroits d'Ombai et de Wetar ?” [Governance and security of the Ombai and Wetar Straits].

Rights of Nature and Human Rights in Southeast Asia

Bertrand — 2025-11-12T11:15:49Z

Monday, 1st December 2025,
Alumni Association Meeting Room, 12th floor
Faculty of Political Science, Chulalongkorn University

Coorganized by the Research Institute on Contemporary Southeast Asia (IRASEC), the Faculty of Political Science, Chulalongkorn University, and the Asian Research Institute for Environmental Law (ARIEL), with the support of Norwegian People's Aid.

Monday, 1^st December 2025, from 9am to 5pm
Alumni Association Meeting Room, 12th floor
Faculty of Political Science, Chulalongkorn University

Coorganized by the Research Institute on Contemporary Southeast Asia (IRASEC), the Faculty of Political Science, Chulalongkorn University, and the Asian Research Institute for Environmental Law (ARIEL), with the support of Norwegian People's Aid.

Watch the video of the morning session

Watch the video of the afternoon session

Our planet and humanity are confronting multiple, interconnected ecological crises, from climate change and biodiversity loss to rising levels of pollution. Despite the proliferation of policies, laws, directives, and international treaties intended to protect the environment, the planet's health continues to decline. In this context of faltering environmental governance, one emerging proposal is to embrace a new legal paradigm : the recognition of the rights of nature.

This approach challenges the dominant, human-centered view that treats nature primarily as an object, rooted in anthropocentric assumptions of a separation between humans and the rest of the natural world. Instead, the rights of nature movement advances an alternative perspective : one that sees the natural world as an interconnected system of diverse, interdependent forms of life, encompassing the biosphere in its entirety—both human and non-human.

In light of recent progress in debates and decision-making aimed at bringing human rights and the rights of nature closer together, Southeast Asia has witnessed the emergence of several initiatives. While the formal recognition of the “rights of nature” has not yet taken shape at the regional level, multilateral dialogues (ASEAN, OHCHR/ESCAP) are increasingly opening up to these issues. In this respect, the ASEAN Declaration on the Right to a Safe, Clean, Healthy, and Sustainable Environment (ADER), adopted at the 47^th ASEAN Summit in Kuala Lumpur in October 2025, marks a historic step in integrating environmental rights into ASEAN's human rights framework.

Nevertheless, civil society organizations have voiced serious concerns about the drafting process, citing short public input periods, limited translation, and minimal consultation. Indigenous representation is particularly lacking, despite references to the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP). Also, progress toward formal recognition of the Rights of Nature remains uneven and slowed by institutional inertia and limited inclusivity. Sustained pressure, reform, and meaningful participation—especially from indigenous and grassroots voices—will be essential to transform current momentum into lasting rights recognition.

Challenges thus remain, particularly regarding the drafting of texts and their legal force. Potential advances include stronger recognition of Environmental Human Rights Defenders (EHRDs), the establishment of binding mechanisms, and enhanced accountability. These legal and governance efforts can be further enriched by political, geographical, and anthropological perspectives. Against this backdrop, this conference will bring together governance actors, civil society representatives and researchers, to share recent progress and explore future challenges for the development of legislative frameworks linking nature rights and human rights.

Conference Approach and Objectives

This conference will focus on the triptych of conventional human rights, the right to a healthy environment, and the rights of nature—analyzing their interdependence and exploring how development actors can approach these issues from an ecocentric perspective.

The conference will first examine how development policies intersect with the incorporation of the rights of nature into national environmental regulations. Particular attention will be given to the challenges of articulating human rights and the rights of nature in Southeast Asia, especially the “inter-legalities” arising from the coexistence of diverse normative systems and the potential conflicts between these categories of rights. Such conflicts may be analyzed both at a theoretical and normative level—for instance, through questions of hierarchy of norms—and at a practical level, notably in relation to territorial dynamics such as green colonialism or land grabbing, often at the expense of the customary or informal rights of local populations.

Another focus of the conference will explore how the rights of nature are defined and constructed, the actors driving this process, and the legal strategies employed—whether through case law, regulation, or constitutional reform. Particular attention will be given to territorial contexts, especially those marked by conflict, where narratives and power dynamics between actors crystallize into the legal recognition of new rights for natural entities.

Finally, a third axis will address the epistemological generativity of the rights of nature by examining the personality and identity of their objects. The discussions will ask : to what extent does granting rights to a natural entity foster the creation of new ecosystemic, landscape, territorial, and cartographic assemblages, thereby contributing to an ontological transformation of the entity itself ?

Download the poster

Download the programme

One Health ASEAN-France Scientific Conference

Bertrand — 2025-10-30T10:23:24Z

The French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS), the Embassy of France in Indonesia, Timor-Leste and to ASEAN, the Indonesian Ministry of Health, and ASEAN, are organizing with the Research Institute for Sustainable Development (IRD) and with the support of the Indonesia National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN) and of the French Agricultural Research Centre for Sustainable Development (CIRAD), an ASEAN-France One Health Conference on 25-26 November 2025.

Registration required.

This conference aims to support ASEAN and France's efforts in the collective and synergised measures in the prevention, detection and response to communicable and emerging infectious diseases, public health emergencies and pandemics.

This two-day event will bring together stakeholders linked to the One Health approach applied in research, policy, education and country development, with a focus on building synergies between ASEAN, French institutions and other key stakeholders in the region.

The conference serves as a platform for addressing the myriad health challenges detailed below under the One health approach, which integrates the health of humans, animals, plants, and the wider environment. It will highlight how environmental health factors ultimately impact human health, particularly in terms of increased vulnerability to emerging infectious diseases and public health emergencies.

The conference will be organized in four thematic sessions :

One Health Systems (at the Global, Regional and National levels) ;
Planetary Boundaries ;
Climate Change ;
Protected Areas.

As part of Session 4 – Protected Areas (Day 2, afternoon), Gabriel Facal will present, together with Arif Kirdiat (Director of the NGO Sahabat Relawan), a paper entitled “Healthcare in the Kanekes Customary Territory (Banten) : Challenges of Time and Trust.”

IRASEC

A Vietnamese Le Canard Enchaîné ? The Vịt Đực newspaper and the pursuit of Vietnamese satire in the final interwar years (1938-1939)

Returning from the Field in the Kanekes Indigenous Society: A Multidisciplinary and Multi-Sectoral Team Effort

Autonomous Social Sciences and Alternative Development in Times of Multiple Crises

Vietnamese mountain resorts: performance spaces for the urban Kinh middle class

Aguman Ning Belwan 2026

Unwriting Academia

5 February 2026, 9h-17h Room 2B, Research Center for Humanities and Social Sciences, Academia Sinica, Taipei

An event co-organised by the French Center for Research on Contemporary China (CEFC Taipei) and the Research Institute on Contemporary Southeast Asia (IRASEC)

Organisers

Speakers

The Vietnam War: Ethnic minority, Conflicts, and Legitimacy

Au coeur des détroits : l'évolution des infrastructures et leurs rôles dans les réseaux globaux

Rights of Nature and Human Rights in Southeast Asia

Monday, 1st December 2025, from 9am to 5pm Alumni Association Meeting Room, 12th floor Faculty of Political Science, Chulalongkorn University

Coorganized by the Research Institute on Contemporary Southeast Asia (IRASEC), the Faculty of Political Science, Chulalongkorn University, and the Asian Research Institute for Environmental Law (ARIEL), with the support of Norwegian People's Aid.

Conference Approach and Objectives

One Health ASEAN-France Scientific Conference

5 February 2026, 9h-17h
Room 2B, Research Center for Humanities and Social Sciences, Academia Sinica, Taipei

Monday, 1^st December 2025, from 9am to 5pm
Alumni Association Meeting Room, 12th floor
Faculty of Political Science, Chulalongkorn University