Agenda

Centres

Chiang Mai

Hô Chi Minh-City

Jakarta

The Centre will be visited by:

- Andrea Acri, teacher-researcher EPHE, throughout March, to work on several projects and to take part in the DHARMA colloquium organised from March 17 to 25 in Trawas.

- Chloé Chollet, EFEO/EPHE doctoral student, from March 9, to work with Arlo Griffiths and take part in the DHARMA colloquium organised from March 17 to 25 in Trawas.

- Salomé Pichon, EFEO/EPHE doctoral student, from March 25, to work with Arlo Griffiths and take part in the DHARMA colloquium organised from March 17 to 25 in Trawas.

Kuala Lumpur

Pondicherry

S.L.P. Anjaneya Sarma will conduct a traditional written and oral examination in grammar (vyākaraṇa) and hermeneutics (mīmāṃsā) at Tenambakam, Kanchipuram, from March 1 to 3. This examination will be organised by the Sri Chandrasekharendra-Janardanananda Sarasvati Swami Dharmika Samstha, a charitable organisation. On this occasion, he will also be honoured by the same institution with an award and with the Sanskrit title padavākyādhyapakapravara, "excellent teacher of grammar and hermeneutics".

From March 8 to 10, S.L.P. Anjaneya Sarma will deliver a paper entitled "Anyadhishthitadhiparane (Bra. U. 3.1.6) Utsargapavadavimarshah" at the Chatuḥśāstra Sabhā, organised by the Sivasundara-Sadguru Shastra Sabha in Tenali, Andhra Pradesh.

From March 13 to 15, S.L.P. Anjaneya Sarma will deliver a lecture on "(Vyakarana-shastre) Bhushanasaare Samasashaktivicharah" at the Brahmasri Maddulapalli Manikyasastri Memorial Shastra Sabha, organised by his disciples in Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh.

S.L.P. Anjaneya Sarma will also take part in the Advaita Sabha, organised by the Kanchikamakoti Peetham, a branch of Mudimondan, in Tiruvarur Mandal, Tamil Nadu, on March 16 and 17. On this occasion, he will give a talk entitled "Kritatyaye'nushayavan drishtasmritibhyam yathetam anevam ca (Bra. U. 3.2.8) iti Brahmasutarthavicharah".

S. Saravanan will give a paper entitled "A Note on Appellative Verbs in Tamil by Caldwell" at the National Seminar Contemporary Dravidian Linguistic Evidence for the Theories of Robert Caldwell, to be held at Tamil University, Thanjavur, on March 28 to 29.

Second doctoral defence at the EFEO, Pondicherry Centre

Sushmita Das will receive her provisional doctoral diploma in March 2025. She conducted her doctoral research at the EFEO Centre in Pondicherry as part of an affiliation with the University of Pondicherry under the direction of S.A.S. Sarma. Her thesis, entitled Roles of Women in Exoteric Śaiva Religious Literature, was submitted last year, and her defense took place on February 21, 2025, in the Library Room at the EFEO Center in Pondicherry.

Seoul

From February 10th to July 2025, the Seoul Centre will be welcoming Oriane Durand-Poussin, a student at the École nationale des chartes-PSL, as part of her end-of-studies internship, followed by an Erasmus stay. In particular, she will be helping to manage the Centre's collections of books, periodicals and documents.

Seoul

The Centre is hosting Anaïs Chazel, a student heritage curator, until March 31, as part of her internship with the Institut National du Patrimoine. Under the supervision of Eric Bourdonneau and Brice Vincent, and in collaboration with the APSARA National Authority, she will be working on the design of the future "Museum of the First Conservation of Angkor".

Until April 8, the Centre will be welcoming Armand Desbat (ceramist) as part of the CERANGKOR project, to work on ceramics recently collected at Phnom Borei.

Taipei

The Centre is welcoming Morgan Kessler, a Master 2 student at the EPHE and recipient of a fieldwork grant from the EFEO, for a research visit from February 28 to March 29, 2025. Her research topic is "Paroles divines ou discours humains: constructions de l'identité des déesses Nüwa et Jiutian Xuannü à Taïwan".

The Centre is also hosting Arielle Noy-Gsell, an AMU-EFEO doctoral student, from March 9 to October 14 2025, for fieldwork on her thesis entitled "Retour d'objet et mise en réseau de biens. Réciprocités négociées entre musées d'ethnologie et communautés autochtones à Taiwan".

Thrissur branch (Kerala)

On March 7, Olga Nowicka, a post-doctoral researcher from the University of Hamburg (DiPiKA project) will be taking part in the international symposium Synergizing Eco Interventions for Achieving Sustainable Development Goals at Amrita University, Cochin campus (Kerala). She will be presenting a paper entitled "Vernacular Knowledge Systems of Kerala: the Importance of Digital Preservation".

Ushus K. Unnikrishnan (DiPiKA project) will be giving a lecture on codicology at the Sameeksha Association in Kalady on March 8.

Ushus K. Unnikrishnan and M.S. Sreeja (DiPiKA project) will be taking part on March 16 in a study day organised by the Sevadhi Museum & Indological Research Institute in Kumaranalloor, Kottayam, devoted to the work of the Kerala historian M.G.S. Narayanan. They will be presenting papers entitled "The Cēra Perumāls of Mahodayapuram, based on M.G.S. Narayanan's book" and "Kauṭilya's Arthaśāstra, as depicted in M.G.S. Narayanan's book" respectively.

Vientiane

Researchers

Michela Bussotti

On March 24, Michela Bussotti will be giving a lecture at Hong Kong Polytechnic University on the printing of Chinese in Paris in the early 18th century, as part of the "China and the World: Historical Interactions" Talk Series.

Élisabeth Chabanol

Hugo David

Guillaume Dutournier

Guillaume Dutournier is resuming his teaching at Inalco as part of a doctoral seminar that he is co-organising with Zhe JI (PU, Inalco), following on from the seminar begun in the first half of 2022-2023. The aim is to revisit some of the founding moments of Western academic sinology (particularly French) insofar as they accompanied the emergence of a comparative "social science" with a universal vocation. Several authors following in the footsteps of Edouard Chavannes will be discussed, in particular Marcel Granet and his disciples, who will be the subject of several sessions. Materials from this pivotal period will be examined in order to document how, between a colonial approach, a claim to scientificity and a concern for heritage, the ways in which European scholars interacted with their local counterparts were constructed. Conversely, we will be looking at the way in which these "Chinese studies", which were in the process of being institutionalised at the time, are perceived by today's Chinese specialists. This reflexive survey of the history of sinology should make it possible to revisit the points of transition between universalising and differentiating approaches to the Chinese fact, and ultimately to question the meaning of sinology as the archaeology of European consciousness applied to a distant civilisation. Each talk will be followed by a discussion led by the organisers.

Frédéric Girard

On March 7, Frédéric Girard will present, in Japanese, "Ikebana and Zen in France" at Kōnan University, International Institute for Language and Culture, Kōbe, Japan.

On March 17, Frédéric Girard will present "L'Ikebana de l'école Ikenobō et son arrière-plan conceptuel bouddhique" at the Oriental Research Institute of Tōyō University, Tōkyō, Japan.

Dominic Goodall

On March 4, Dominic Goodall will be a member of the jury for the defence of Seang Sokha's thesis, submitted to SOAS, London, entitled "Producing Sovereignty: A Study of tenth-century Angkorian iconographic programmes".

Fabienne Jagou

Fabienne Jagou will be the reporter and a member of the jury for the habilitation to supervise research "Understanding the sources of modern Chinese Buddhism in the 20th century" by Daniela Campo, lecturer at the University of Strasbourg, at the Institut National des Langues Orientales, on Wednesday March 5, from 9.30 am.

Gregory Kourilsky

Gregory Kourilsky will be speaking at the conference "Commemorating 340 years of Franco-Thai relations", to be held on Friday, March 21 at the Vithes Samosorn (Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Bangkok).

François Lachaud

Michel Lorrillard

As part of the Manusastra project, Michel Lorrillard will be giving a 19-hour lecture entitled "Presentation of ancient and modern historical sources in the Thai-Lao world" from March 10 to 14 at the Royal Faculty of Archaeology in Phnom Penh.

Costantino Moretti

Costantino Moretti will be taking part in the second workshop, organised by the University of Edinburgh, on the theme of Concertina-Fold Books, on  March 31 (by videoconference).

Hélène Njoto

Daniel Perret

Daniel Perret will be in Ho Chi Minh City from March 17 to 21 to give a lecture on the archaeological sites of Barus and Kota Cina (North Sumatra) at the EFEO Center on March 20.

He will be a member of the jury for Sébastien Clouet's thesis defence on "Les mines d'Angkor, étude archéologique et archéométallurgique des sites de production primaire de cuivre de la région de Chhaep, province de Preah Vihear, Cambodge (IXe-XIVe siècle)", to be held at Sorbonne University on March 31.

Projects

CHAMPA Project

The LIDAR team led by David Bazin is continuing to survey the areas of urban concentration recently mapped by Adam Wijker (EFEO doctoral student - Archaeoscape.ai). Five Laotian engineering students (Sounita Phimmasenh, Visiene Savangsy, Bounvilai Vongsy, Vilanam Saiyasan and Sokxay Sivongsa) from the University of Thangon in Vientiane will be spending part of their end-of-studies placement with the LIDAR team, from February to June 2025, on archaeological survey and topographical survey activities, using the digital tools and equipment in the geomatics laboratory.

As part of the conservation work planned this year at Huay Sa Houa 2 by the CHAMPA project, the Lao engineer in charge of the Vat Phou division, Bounsouang Senphaseuth, and two Lao technicians, Vansouk Keophan and Kommalien Sivilay, are continuing their training in the conservation and restoration of ancient bricks. The training is being provided by the Wat Chaiwatthanaram Conservation Project of the World Monuments Fund in Ayutthaya, Thailand, from February 10 to April 6.

ChEDiL Project

On March 7, a working meeting of the project members will take place in Paris, on the Campus Condorcet.

On Monday, March 10 from 9.30 am to 12.30 pm, Eugenio Menegon (Boston University) will chair a session devoted to presentations by Li Rui (Guangdong University), "Tracing the References and Re-dating Abel-Rémusat's Chinese-French Dictionary Manuscript" and Antonio De Caro (University of Zürich), "Art, Dictionaries, and Fear: Unfolding the Cross-cultural Encounters of Italian Jesuit Missionaries in Zi-ka-wei during the late Qing dynasty". The event will take place in the Grand Salon of the Maison de l'Asie, 22 av. du Président Wilson, 75016 Paris, and online.

Michela Bussotti and other members of the ChEDiL project are taking part in the Early Linguistic Encounters between Europe and Asia conference (12th International Conference on Missionary Linguistics), which will be held at the National Tsing Hua University (Hsinchu, Taiwan) from March 28 to 30.

DHARMA Project

Lectures

Alain Arrault and Michela Bussotti
- EHESS seminar in the framework of the Master's degree in Asian Studies, Histoire culturelle de la Chine impériale tardive : textes techniques et prescriptions du quotidien

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

Hugo David
- EPHE seminar in the framework of the Master's degree in Asian Studies,  Implicite, ambiguïté, polysémie. Introduction à la philosophie linguistique de Bhartṛhari

Valérie Gillet & Saarthak Singh
EPHE/EHESS seminar in the framework of the Master's degree in Asian Studies, Histoire de l'Inde précoloniale : enjeux et sources (with Coline Lefrancq et Margherita Trento)

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 1 seminar, Japanese Architecture, Kyoto Consortium for Japanese Studies, Columbia University (NY) / université Dōshisha (Kyoto)

- Master 1 seminar, Les enseignements de l'espace au Japon, ENSA Paris-La Villette – ENSA Paris-Val de Seine

On March 4, Benoît Jacquet will talk on "Le charpentier et l'architecte: une histoire de la construction en bois au Japon"
On March 11, Yann Nussaume (ENSA Paris La Villette) will talk on "Tadao Andō: nature made abstract"
On March 18, Yamamoto Asako (Osaka Institute of Technology) will talk on "Overlapped Architecture: Projects in Kyoto"
On March 25, Florence Lipsky (ENSA Paris La Villette) will talk on "The campus in Japan: between city and nature"

Fabienne Jagou
- EHESS seminar in the framework of the Master's degree in Asian Studies, Nationalisme tibétain et mongol à partir du début du XXe siècle

François Lachaud
- EPHE seminar in the framework of the Master's degree in Asian Studies, Vies de Ryōkan : bouddhisme, poésie et érémitisme dans le Japon d'Edo

Martin Nogueira Ramos
- EPHE seminar in the framework of the Master's degree in Asian Studies, Sources et histoire du christianisme japonais (XVIe-XVIIe siècles)

- EPHE seminar in the framework of the Master's degree in Asian Studies, Histoire religieuse et intellectuelle du Japon (1600-1900) : Atelier de lecture de textes

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, Faire de la recherche sur le terrain : contraintes, contournements, engagements en Asie du Sud-Est

On March 13, Clémence Le Meur will present "Genre, âge, statut, vocabulaire : des difficultés dans la collecte de données archéologiques au Vietnam"
On March 27, Wolfram Schaffar will present "Field research in an increasingly polarized world: social movements and political ethnography in Southeast Asia"

- 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

Introductory session on 6 March
On March 20, François Robinne will present "L'évolution de la notion bouddhique de gratitude dans la Birmanie post-coup d’Etat"

Publications

The Paṇḍitarājaśataka is an anthology of Sanskrit poems composed by poets, both famous and unknown, from all over India. This first nāgarī edition includes dozens of poems never before published, as well as unique versions of well-known classics. The introduction provides a cogent argument about why the work was composed, showing how, by selection and alteration, specific poems were made to fit the anthologist’s overarching goal: to provide poets with a collection that will help them impress rulers and win patronage. The critical apparatus traces each poem’s origin and includes their variations down through history. Lovers of kāvya literature will be glad to add this translation of highly alliterative verses to their shelves.

All EFEO publications are available on the publications website.

Researchers' publications

Saarthak Singh, "Urbanisme médiéval et écologie culturelle : au fil de l'eau en Inde centrale au XIe siècle" pages 303-334 and Olivier Tessier, "La politique hydraulique des empereurs de la dynastie des Nguyễn (XIXe siècle) dans le delta du fleuve Rouge (Vietnam) : entre interventionnisme et fatalisme" pages 405-470, in J.-M. Mouton et N. Grimal (ed.), La gestion de l’eau dans les civilisations de l’Asie, Paris, Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres, 2025.

Catherine Scheer, comptre rendu, "Astrid Norén-Nilsson, Amalinda Savirani & Anders Uhlin, éd., Civil Society Elites: Field Studies from Cambodia and Indonesia", Moussons. Recherche en sciences humaines sur l’Asie du Sud-Est, no. 44 (2024), pages 235–238.

Research Services

Recipients of allocation on mission

- Clémence Aïtout is based at the Beijing centre for a study on "Un imaginaire géographique : étude du mouvement littéraire de l'ouest chinois de 1980 à 2000".

- Ulysse Barthel is based at the Pondicherry centre for a study on "Les religions dans l’empire des Kuṣāṇas (début du Ier siècle – milieu du IIIe siècle de notre ère) : divinités, sanctuaires, cultes"

- Léonie Brissiaud is based at the Hanoi centre for a study on "L'extraction de métaux critiques en Indochine. Histoire environnementale des techniques et sanitaire de l'extraction de l'étain, du zinc, du tungstène et de l'or pour les approvisionnements français en contexte colonial. 1890-1955"

- Abel Camhaji is based at the Ho Chi Minh-City centre for a study on "Cholon, un quartier chinois en plein cœur d’Hô Chi Minh-Ville : étude de la citadinité des populations chinoises à travers les réseaux commerciaux"

- Vissa Chanthaphasouk is based at the Ventiane centre for a study on "Le Vat Phou au Laos : de l'archéologie d'un temple à l'architecture d'un site"

- Cansu Gurkaya is based at the Pondicherry centre for a study on "Utopie réelle, travail subalterne et récupération capitaliste : Le cas d’Auroville (Inde)"

- Morgan Kessler is based at the Taipei centre for a study on  the "Analyse des sources anciennes qui fondent l'identité des déesses Jiutian Xuannü et Nüwa"

- Léo Mugneret la Gravière is based at the Hong Kong centre for a study on "(Re)construire une diaspora : l’État-Parti chinois et la communauté hakka de Polynésie française"

- Akarsh Raghunath is based at the Jakarta and Bangkok centes  for a study on  the "Mapping Synchronism in the Visual Arts of Tamiḻakam and Śrīvijaya (7th—12th century CE) - with special reference to Buddhism"

- Wenjing Yu is based at the Beijing centre for a study on "Travailler avec les savoirs vernaculaires face au changement climatique : enquête dans une ONG chinoise du Yunnan"

- Ye Yuan is based at the Beijing centre for a study on "La (re)production de l'espace religieux avec les dieux territoriaux, dans le centre du Hunan XVIIIe-XXe siècles"

Director

Nicolas Fiévé, Director of the EFEO, was in Cambodia from February 11 to 27 to attend the inauguration by His Majesty King Norodom Sihamoni of the renovated premises, after eight months of work, that house the Institute for the Study and Conservation of Cambodian Manuscripts, formerly the FEMC, which Olivier de Bernon has directed since 1990. Nicolas Fiévé also met Her Excellency Mrs Phoeurng Sakona, Cambodia's Minister of Culture and Fine Arts, and Mr Jacques Pellet, France's Ambassador to Cambodia.

He then visited the EFEO Centre in Siem Reap and the Koh Ker and Preah Vihear sites, for talks with the EFEO's official partners.

Library

On March 6, Katia Juhel, Director of Libraries, will be attending the general meeting of the BULAC, and on Thursday, March 27, the Journée des responsables des bibliothèques universitaires et de l'information scientifique des organismes de recherche (DIRBUIST).

From March 9 to 17, Sovannara Mey, Archivist, will be in Columbus, Ohio, in the United States, to represent the EFEO at the annual conference of the Association for Asian Studies, to be held at the Greater Columbus Convention Center from March 13 to 16.

Photo Library

Of particular note

Réseau des Écoles françaises à l'Étranger

News from PSL Université Paris

News from EURICS