Newsletter

EFEO Paris Seminar

As part of the Master’s Program in Asian Studies, François Lachaud (EFEO) will present: “The Empire of the Blue Gyrfalcons: Research on the History of Falconry in Japan.”

This seminar is part of Sequence 6, titled “Corps et sensibilités : nouvelles approches,” of the Asian Studies Master’s Program’s core curriculum.

From 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. On-site, Madeleine Giteau Room (Grand Salon), at the EFEO.

Three presentations are scheduled:

• Hoang Phuc Nguyen (EPHE, CRCAO), “Voix autochtones et documentation latine en Cochinchine sous l’épiscopat de François Pérez (1687-1728) : corpus et méthodes”
• Liu Weijia (EHESS, CCJ), “Les Missions étrangères de Paris au Sichuan et le baptême d’enfants chinois (XIXe siècle)”
• Li Shuang (EPHE, Histara), “Le rôle de procureur dans le financement des missions (mi-XIXe siècle-début XXe siècle)”

Symposium “Prince Damrong Rajanubhab and George Cœdès: Collaboration and Comparative Approaches of the History of the Kingdom of Siam”

The years 2025 and 2026 mark the 340th anniversary of the first French embassy to the Kingdom of Siam and the 170th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Thailand and France. As part of the commemorations of these events, the École française d’Extrême-Orient, Inalco, the Inalco Foundation, and the Fine Arts Department (Ministry of Culture of Thailand), in association with the French Embassy in Thailand, are organizing an international symposium in Bangkok dedicated to Prince Damrong Rajanubhab and the French historian George Cœdès, two major figures in the historiography of the Kingdom of Siam and in intellectual exchanges between Thailand and France.

This exceptional event will be inaugurated by Her Royal Highness Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn, who will be the guest of honor.

Speaking on behalf of the EFEO will be:

• Gregory Kourilsky, with Thissana Weerakietsoontorn (associate researcher at the EFEO), “From Historiography to History. Intellectual and methodological exchanges between Prince Damrong Rajanubhab and George Cœdès”
• Nicolas Revire (associate researcher at the EFEO), “Prince Damrong Rajanubhab and George Cœdès: Fathers of Dvāravatī Studies”

In conjunction with the symposium, an exhibition dedicated to these two eminent scholars will be open to the public from June 9 to 30. It will feature photographs and documents drawn from various collections in Thailand and France.

Organized in partnership with several public and private institutions (both Thai and French), this symposium follows the one held in 2024 at INALCO and the EFEO in Paris, also attended by Her Royal Highness Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn, to mark the 150th anniversary of Thai language instruction in France. This new initiative is thus part of an ongoing program of scientific and cultural cooperation aimed at sustainably strengthening bilateral Franco-Thai studies.

As part of the ANR AltLife SSEA Project, Xavier Guillot (Professor at ENSA Marseille and project leader at the EFEO) and Jérôme Ballet (UMR Passages) will be at the Center and in the region from June 7 to 13.

From June 17 to 20, the Center is hosting the ANR EVIMOB project’s workshop, “Experiences of Violence and Forms of Mobilization in Myanmar,” organized by Bénédicte Brac de la Perrière (CASE).

Alice Vittrant will be visiting the Center from June 23 to 30 as part of her assignment at the EFEO.

GIS Asia is co-funding, together with the EFEO, a series of lectures and discussions organized by the Saigon Social Sciences Hub (SSSH) for young social science researchers specializing in Vietnamese studies, hosted by the EFEO’s branch in Ho Chi Minh City.

– On June 26, Bùi Khánh Minh, “A Vietnamese, ‘Le Canard Enchaîné’? The Vịt Đực Newspaper and the Pursuit of Vietnamese Satire in the Final Interwar Years, 1938–1939.”

The Center is hosting:

• Véronique Degroot from June 2 through part of July.
• I Gde Agus Darma Putra, a PhD student at the EPHE, from June 19 to 26, to work with Arlo Griffiths, his thesis co-advisor.
• Hedwi Prihatmoko, a PhD student at the EPHE, to work with Arlo Griffiths, his thesis advisor, during the last week of June.

On June 9 and 10, Éric Bourdonneau will participate in the 42nd Technical Session of the CIC-Angkor/Sambor Prei Kuk.

Valérie Gillet is attending the final conference of the ERC Dharma project, which is being held at the University of L’Orientale in Naples from June 3 to 6. In collaboration with Coline Lefrancq (CNRS/Arscan) and Yohan Chabot (GeoArcheon), she will present a paper titled “Presentation of a new project focusing on the site of Narttamalai (Tamil Nadu)” on June 3.

Arlo Griffiths will be traveling from June 3 to 6 to attend the final workshop of the DHARMA project, which will take place at the University of Naples L’Orientale.

On June 9, Arlo Griffiths will participate in a meeting at the National Museum of Indonesia to outline the general scope of operations scheduled for this year as part of the EFEO’s collaboration with the Indonesian Heritage Agency—he will be accompanied by an EFEO delegation consisting of Alya Zahra Fauzy, Harry Octavianus Sofian, Ilham Nurwansah, Muhamad Alnoza, Garin Pharmasetiawan, and M. Aftharu Mulya.

From June 22 to 25, Andrew Hardy is organizing the international conference Connections with the Hinterland: The Central Region in the Making of a Global Vietna* at the International Center for Interdisciplinary Science and Education (ICISE) in Quy Nhon, Gia Lai Province, Vietnam.

Central Vietnam has prospered for centuries thanks to its networks in a maritime space rich in resources and global connections, and in a mountainous region where high-value forest and animal products were traded for marine and manufactured goods. The region’s rivers and roads—along with the remarkable proximity of the highlands to the sea—facilitated trade links and cultural interactions between highlanders and seafarers, under the auspices of political centers and commercial communities located in the plains. Co-organized by the Harvard Yenching Institute, the People’s Committee of Gia Lai Province, the Hanoi University of Social Sciences and Humanities, and the EFEO, the conference presents new research by archaeologists, anthropologists, and historians tracing the evolution of this region and its links with the hinterland from the 8th century through the Champa, Nguyễn, and French periods, up to the present day.

On June 5, Benoît Jacquet will participate, alongside Michel Wassermann (Ritsumeikan University) and Taji Takahiro (Kyoto University), in a panel discussion on “The 90th Anniversary of the Kansai French Institute Building: History, Architecture, and Legacy.” He will present the architectural features of this building, constructed in 1936 in a modern neoclassical style by a French architect and a Japanese architect.

From June 24 to 26, Benoît Jacquet will visit the Fukui Prefecture, specifically the municipalities of Wakasa, Obama, Tsuruga, and Echizen, to conduct a study on fishing villages and fishermen’s homes funded by the Research Institute for Humanity and Nature (Chikyūken).

On June 22 and 23, François Lachaud will participate in the ChEDiL project’s seminar on history and transcriptions, organized by Michela Bussotti at Campus Condorcet, Room 25-A – Norbert-Elias. He will deliver a presentation titled: “Subtle Hunts and Storms of Steel: Warrior Japan as Reflected in Missionary Lexicographical Sources.”

On June 3 and 4, Frank Muyard is co-organizing the IHP-EFEO international conference From Funan to Lingnan: Material Flow and Regional Connectivity in Southeast Asia and will present a paper titled “Revisiting Olov Janse’s Reports on Glass and Stone Beads in Northern Vietnam.”

On June 15 and 16, Frank Muyard will participate in the conference The Formation of the Social Sciences in Chinese: Historical and Critical Perspectives at the Institute of Modern History of Academia Sinica and will speak at the roundtable “Social Sciences in the Public Sphere.”

On June 17, Frank Muyard will participate in the thesis advisory committee (4th year) for Chao-Hsuan Peng’s dissertation, “Ideas in Democratization: The Taiwanese Student Movements of the 1980s,” supervised by Sebastian Veg, at EHESS.

From June 25 to July 5, Martin Nogueira Ramos is on a research trip to Japan. He is consulting documents on Catholicism in Kyoto during the Meiji era at the National Diet Library (Tokyo), the Kirishitan Bunko (Sophia University, Tokyo), and the Kyoto Institute, Library and Archives; At the Institute of Historical Research at the University of Tokyo, he is also consulting documents from the early 17th century relating to the religious policies of the Ōmura clan.

On June 10, Christophe Pottier will participate in the symposium Creating and Mapping the Heritages of the Ordinary City, organized by ENSA Paris-Belleville, the Center for Southeast Asian Studies (CASE/UMR 8170), and Chulalongkorn University, to be held at CASE. He will give a presentation titled “Mapping Beyond Monumentality: From Monumental Centers to Ephemeral Habitats in Southeast Asia.”

On June 29, Catherine Scheer will participate as a discussant in the workshop “Inscribing Nature of Southwest China,” organized by Ming-Zong Chen, Paula Suméra, and Qingfeng Li at the Maison de l’Asie.

Saarthak Singh is participating in the defense of the M1 master’s thesis titled “Water Architecture and Urban Development: The Role of the Bai Harir Complex in Ahmedabad (1499),” presented by Baptiste Fernandes and supervised by Johan Levillain (GREI), with Thierry Zéphir (Guimet Museum) and Mael Bellec (Cernuschi Museum), at the École du Louvre on June 10 starting at 9 a.m.

Saarthak Singh will give a lecture with Andrew Ollett (University of Chicago) titled “Memorializing Bhoja at Dhar” at the final conference of the ERC DHARMA project organized by Florinda De Simini, Antonella Santoro, and Luca Piscopo at the University of Naples L’Orientale, June 3–6.

The EFEO is a partner of the international conference “Global Perspectives on the Anthropology of Vietnam,” organized by the University of Social Sciences and Humanities in Ho Chi Minh City, which will take place from June 17 to 19 in Da Lat. Olivier Tessier will chair the session titled “Migration from Vietnam to Europe: The Aspirations for a Good Life on Credit.”

Starting June 3, Bertrand Porte will continue to oversee activities at the Vat Phou Museum, working alongside the museum staff to complete inventory records, item checks, and repackaging in preparation for the future museum’s exhibits.

From June 8 to 12, Vissa Chanthaphasouk and David Bazin are in Savannakhet and Champasak to participate in an AFD monitoring mission for the CHAMPA project. While there, they will attend the official launch of the renovation work on the Savannakhet Museum on June 9.

A symposium titled “Identifying, Preserving, and Promoting the Archaeological Landscapes of Vat Phou: Results and Prospects of the CHAMPA Project” is being organized on June 24 by the EFEO and the Vat Phou Office. Presenting on behalf of the EFEO are:

• Nicolas Nauleau on “Archaeological Research of the CHAMPA Project: Challenges in Preserving and Enhancing the Ancient City,”
• Vissa Chanthaphasouk on “Architectural Surveys of Vat Phou: Techniques and Data Processing,”
• David Bazin on “The Use of LIDAR Data: Current Status.”

The Vat Phou Office presents the development and enhancement project for the Houay Sa Houa 2 archaeological site, developed with the assistance of the EFEO. This event brings together provincial and district authorities, village chiefs from the main archaeological zones, and invited private individuals.

As part of the NATURAL_FORESTORE project, the LiDAR team continues to assist the research team at the National Biobank of Thailand (NBT), the National Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (BIOTEC), the National Science and Technology Development Agency (NSTDA), and the French Research Institute for Development (IRD), who are continuing to conduct detailed surveys of fifteen study areas, each approximately one hectare in size, in the forests of Champassak and Phontong districts.

The final workshop of the DHARMA project will be held from June 3 to 6 at the University of Naples L’Orientale.

From June 7 to 30, Véronique Degroot will travel to the BRIN-EFEO site in Bumiayu (South Sumatra) where, as part of the DHARMA project, she and her colleague Agustijanto Indradjaja will collaborate, among others, with a team of researchers from BRIN and colleagues from the University of Jambi. After this fieldwork, she will travel to Palembang and Kayu Agung to collect clay samples from the lower reaches of the Musi River.

As part of the DHARMA project, Arlo Griffiths is conducting a joint epigraphic survey with colleagues from BRIN. The mission will take place from June 30 to July 9 in various districts of East Java province: Sidoarjo, Sampang, Sumenep, Gresik, Mojokerto, Malang, Lumajang, Probolinggo, Jember, Bondowoso, Situbondo, and Pasuruan. His team consists of Titi Surti Nastiti (BRIN), Lisda Meyanti (BRIN), Luh Suwita Utami (BRIN), Hedwi Prihatmoko (BRIN), Eko Bastiawan (EFEO), and Garin Pharmasetiawan (EFEO).

The Kerala Manuscript Preservation Centre (KMPC) in Kerala, which is administratively under the jurisdiction of the Pondicherry Centre, will reopen on Monday, June 1, following the annual leave in May.

On June 19, the first meeting of the KAYA project—“Preservation of Khmer Archaeological Heritage through Large-Scale Satellite Mapping and the Reconstruction of Artifact Provenance”—will be held at the EFEO. The project was selected under the ANR’s 2025 Call for Proposals for Specific Themes in Artificial Intelligence (TSIA). This meeting will bring together the project’s partners and collaborators: Jean Ponce (Department of Computer Science, DI ENS), Clément Mallet, Alexandre Hippert-Ferrer, and Elliot Vincent (Laboratory of Geographic Information Sciences and Technologies, LASTIG / IGN), and those from the EFEO: Christophe Pottier (coord.), Dominique Soutif, Valérie Gillet, Vladyslav Sydorov, and Sophie Biard.

Alain Arrault & Michela Bussotti
– EHESS seminar in the framework of the Master’s degree in Asian Studies, Archives et société locale en Chine

Éric Bourdonneau
– Seminar, « Depuis la marge ». Étude des images et écriture de l’histoire du Cambodge ancien, Phnom Penh Faculty of Archaeology

Hugo David
EPHE seminar (« Philosophie et Philologie sanskrite ») in the framework of the Master’s degree in Asian Studies,  Autour de l’énonciation : linguistique et métaphysique (introduction à la philosophie linguistique de Bhartrhari 2)

Véronique Degroot
– EHESS seminar in the framework of the Master’s degree in Asian Studies, Introduction à l’histoire de l’art et à l’archéologie de l’Indonésie occidentale: protohistoire et période hindo-bouddhique

Luca Gabbiani
– EHESS seminar in the framework of the Master’s degree in Asian Studies, Histoire sociale, économique et institutionnelle de la Chine moderne (XVe-XXe siècle)

Valérie Gillet et Saarthak Singh
– EPHE seminar (« Histoire et enjeux de l’Inde pré-coloniale ») in the framework of the Master’s degree in Asian Studies, Histoire de l’Inde précoloniale : enjeux et sources. La gestion de l’eau : aménagements hydrauliques, enjeux politiques, programme

Andrew Hardy
– EHESS seminar in the framework of the Master’s degree in Asian Studies, Histoire de la colonisation du Vietnam : approches micro-biographiques ?

Benoît Jacquet
– Master 2 Seminar, Paysages : architectures, villes et territoires en transition (PFE), École nationale supérieure d’architecture de Paris-La Villette

Fabienne Jagou
– EHESS seminar in the framework of the Master’s degree in Asian Studies, Le nationalisme tibétain à partir du début du XXe siècle

François Lachaud
– EPHE seminar (« Bouddhisme et civilisation japonaise ») in the framework of the Master’s degree in Asian Studies, La Guerre et ses fantômes: les pièces à Asura (shuramono) dans le théâtre nō [Le Heike monogatari et ses héritages 1]

– EPHE seminar (« Bouddhisme et civilisation japonaise ») in the framework of the Master’s degree in Asian Studies, Le prélat et les guerriers : lectures du Gukanshō (Mes Vues sur l’Histoire) [Penser la guerre au moyen âge I]

Martin Nogueira Ramos
– EPHE seminar (« Histoire du fait religieux dans le Japon prémoderne et moderne (XVIe-XIXe s. ») in the framework of the Master’s degree in Asian Studies, Sources et histoire du catholicisme japonais moderne (XIXe siècle)

Christophe Pottier
– Master’s seminar at Sorbonne University, Actualités et pratiques de l’archéologie en Extrême-Orient

Catherine Scheer
– EHESS seminar in the framework of the Master’s degree in Asian Studies, Anthropologie comparée de l’Asie du Sud-Est. Marges et pouvoirs locaux : ethnographies et histoire régionale

June 4, Dominique Dillabough-Lefebvre (The London School of Economics and Political Science): “Spirit Displacement in the Karen Hills of Southeast Myanmar: Ritual Transformation in Times of War.” Workshop, discussion of: Steinmüller, Hans, 2021, “Pioneers of the Plantation Economy: Militarism, Dispossession and the Limits of Growth in the Wa State of Myanmar,” Social Anthropology, vol. 29 (3), pp. 686–700.

On June 11, Emile Soupa (EHESS, CASE): “The Protective Spirit of the Locality (phi ban) and the Absence of Migrants. Reflections from an Isan Village.” Laetitia Levy (EHESS, CASE): “The Protective Spirits of the Territory. New Perspectives in Contemporary Southern Laos.”

Charlotte Schmid & Saarthak Singh
EPHE seminar (« Épigraphie et iconographie du monde indien ») in the framework of the Master’s degree in Asian Studies, Écrire, inscrire et mettre en scène : la culture matérielle des textes dans le monde indien

All EFEO publications are available on the publications website.

Fabienne Jagou co-edited, with Uradyn E. Bulag, the special issue of the journal Inner Asia (vol. 28, no. 1, 2026) titled Inner Asia Sovereignty in the Post-Imperial ‘Problem Space’: International Law, Border-Making, and Survival. In addition to the introduction, co-authored with Uradyn E. Bulag, she is the author of the following article: “Transforming Conflict into Independence: the 1912 Tibet-China Agreements,” pages 36–54.

Christophe Marquet, “L’art du livre illustré japonais de l’époque d’Edo (XVIIe-XIXe siècle) à travers le fonds Georges Marteau à la Bibliothèque nationale de France”, Nouvelles de l’estampe, Comité national de l’estampe, n° 275, sous la dir. de Philippe Sénéchal, 15 mai 2026, 25 pages, 18 figures.

– Job De Bolle is based at the Beijing centre for a study on “Temple Reconstruction on Mt. Gezao”

– Nguyen Hai Binh is based at the Ho Chi Minh City centre for a study on “The transformation of traditional salt making in Sa Huynh (Quang Ngai): A Study on the impact of natural and social environments”

– Jennifer Su is based at the Hanoi centre for a study on “Wasted Rites: Ritual Consumption and Rational Destruction in Hanoi’s Flower Trade”.

Nicolas Fiévé, Director; Philippe Le Failler, Head of the Hanoi Center; and Isabelle Poujol, Head of Communications and the Photo Library, are participating in the conference “EFEO Photographic Collection – A Potential Photographic Collection,” organized by the Vietnam Institute of Social Sciences Information (IISS) in Hanoi. The conference aims to prepare the IISS’s application for inclusion in the UNESCO Memory of the World Register (UNESCO/MoW) of the EFEO’s historical photographic collection held by the institution.

The conference brings together researchers and administrators from the IISS as well as experts on UNESCO registration. Nicolas Fiévé’s presentation (via video conference) focuses on the partnership between the EFEO and the IISS, which enabled the online publication of this historic EFEO collection on a joint website in 2023; Isabelle Poujol’s presentation (via video conference) traces the history of this collection; and finally, Philippe Le Failler concludes by highlighting the scientific and heritage value of this collection.

Her expertise in European frameworks and compliance requirements; her ability to coordinate, organize, and ensure the success of complex projects; and her international background in the humanities are perfectly aligned with the EFEO’s needs. This is a newly created position that will help strengthen the excellence and competitiveness of research projects within the EFEO.

Her role involves overseeing the institution’s overall human resources management as well as outsourced payroll operations, in coordination with the DGFiP and the DSFiPE. As part of the efforts to professionalize and streamline HR processes in collaboration with the centers in Asia, Ms. Anissa Dohoai’s responsibilities also include managing locally hired staff, in support of existing local employees.

On June 12, the Paris Library will host a delegation from the Institute of European and American Studies (IEAS), affiliated with the Vietnamese Academy of Social Sciences and a former partner of the European CRISEA project (2017–2021).

From June 18 to 20, Bernadeta Sardjono, head of the Southeast Asia collection, wil attend the SEALG conference online.

On June 22, the Paris Library will host a delegation of five curators from the Lao Cai Museum, accompanied by Mickaël Augeron, a lecturer at the University of La Rochelle.

The Archives and Documentation Committee will meet on June 23.

Consult the catalogues and digital tools :
– Catalogue of books and periodicals
– Catalogue of Archives and Manuscripts
– Digital heritage library

Check the EFEO’s Facebook page and Bluesky account regularly for any updates on the terms and conditions of the public reception service.

The presentation given by Brice Vincent, under the auspices of Franciscus Verellen and Alain Thote, titled “The Copper of the Kings of Angkor: A Look Back at the LANGAU Research Program in Cambodia (2016–2026),” delivered during the AIBL’s Friday Sessions on April 24, is available on the AIBL website.