About CSAS

The University of Michigan is proud of a long history of involvement in Asian studies. Since the 1870s, scholars from the University have been engaged in research, education, service, and politics relating to South and Southeast Asia. The Center for South Asian Studies emerged in the fall of 1999 from the former Center for South and Southeast Asian Studies, which was established in 1961. Formally constituted five decades ago, the Center for South and Southeast Asian Studies soon became a national center for language training and area-related studies in a wide range of disciplines.

Over the past forty-five years, the Center has fulfilled an important role in the United States by educating outstanding South Asia experts. On average, there are 40 MA and PhD students in residence each year. The Center's MA program is a Horace H. Rackham School of Graduate Studies program.

Since 1993, the Center has been administratively affiliated with the University's International Institute. The Institute is responsible for the coordination of research and training in international, comparative, and area studies with the College of Literature, Science, and the Arts (LS&A), as well as between LS&A and schools and colleges across the University. This affiliation increases significantly the Center's ability to draw on new funding and programmatic resources for its own activities.

CSSEAS:  The Origin of the Center for South Asian Studies.

Outstanding Faculty

One of the largest programs devoted to South Asia in the U.S., the Center seeks to promote a broader and deeper understanding of this region, its people and their cultures. CSAS programs are supported by over 45 South Asia specialists who teach and pursue research in the University's various departments and professional schools. CSAS coordinates and promotes the area-related teaching and research of faculty holding appointments in many departments and schools, and has thus been instrumental in focusing attention on South Asia within the context of many fields.  In the traditional liberal arts disciplines, specialists on South Asia at the University of Michigan are found in anthropology, archeology, art history, economics, history, languages and literatures, linguistics, music, political science, religious studies, and sociology.  Among the professional schools and programs, South Asia specialists are present in architecture, business administration, law, natural resources, public policy, population planning, public health, and urban planning.

Traditionally, our faculty associates have also been engaged in a wide range of service activities, including consulting for the U.S. government, foundations, and international agencies; assisting economic development, public health, population planning, and refugee relief programs; collaborating on faculty exchanges with South Asian academic institutions; conducting workshops and institutes for educators in primary and secondary schools; and advising various business communities.

Library Resources

The South Asia Division collection of the U-M library is strong in the humanities and the social sciences, with notable secondary collections in other fields--including law, medicine, public health, architecture, natural sciences, and mathematics. As with the other Area Divisions of the Graduate Library, the South Asia Collection is defined both geographically and culturally. Our division focuses on the following South Asia countries: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and Tibet. In addition, we are concerned with South Asian diasporic communities, be they in the United States, Europe, Africa, or elsewhere.

In all, the South Asia collection consists of over 300,000 titles in various formats, including over 70,000 monographs in South Asian languages, over 1,500 current serial titles, and a growing collection of feature films. Notable holdings of the collection include complete runs of newspapers extending over one hundred years; complete Census of India reports going back to the 19th century; imperial and district gazetteers; archeological surveys and epigraphical reports; a Linguistic Survey of India; missionary archives on microfilm; extensive sets on religious literature (including Buddhist Tripitaka--120 and 72 volume sets published in the U.S. and Taipei respectively); various vernacular bi-lingual and multilingual dictionaries, and more.

Languages

Languages taught by Center faculty include Hindi, Urdu, Pali, Punjabi, Sanskrit, Tamil and Tibetan. All languages are taught by the Department of Asian Languages and Cultures. In addition, Persian is offered by the Department of Near Eastern Studies.

Community Connections

From its inception the Center has been aware of its responsibilities in promoting a broader and deeper understanding of South Asia and its peoples. Because such understanding is well achieved through personal experience, we seek opportunities for faculty and students to engage with the South Asia region. We encourage students to go to the field for study, service, temporary employment, or independent research, advising them on securing resources to sponsor this work. Students participate in faculty research projects in the field, and usually conduct field research in connection with the Ph.D. dissertation. We provide support to our faculty to secure grants for research in South Asia, and to bring South Asian scholars to Michigan.

CSAS hosts its evening Scholarly Lecture Series on most Fridays, sponsors lectures on historical and current issues and sponsors performances of music, dance, drama and film throughout the year. All events are open to the public.

The Center also undertakes significant outreach efforts throughout Michigan and outlying areas. With particular focus on businesses, media relations and the K-14 community CSAS has contributed to the knowledge and understanding of the South Asia region though classroom visits, teacher training workshops, participation at state and national educator conferences as well as holding numerous events on the University of Michigan campuses. Please visit the "For K14 Teachers" portion of this web site for our outreach information.