Agenda

Centres

Chiang Mai

Chamawee Kitcharoenying, a recent graduate in Information Studies from the Faculty of Arts at Chulalongkorn University, has been staying at the Centre since 20 October. She has joined the team at the Chiang Mai Centre library for a mission that will continue until the end of the year and is dedicated to cataloguing the collection of exhibition catalogues in Thai. These rare documents, collected from second-hand bookshops or directly from art galleries during exhibitions, are not available through traditional publishing channels and are now impossible to find.

Scott Hawken, Director of the Landscape Architecture and Urban Planning programme at the School of Architecture and Civil Engineering at the University of Adelaide, Australia, is in residence at the Centre from 8 November to work with Christophe Pottier on several articles and the development of collaborative projects as part of the Archaeoscape programme.

From November 10 to 30, the Centre is hosting David Wharton (associate researcher at the EFEO) as part of a research mission conducted with Gregory Kourilsky in northern Thailand. Phongsathorn Buakhampanh (EFEO Chiang Mai) is also participating in this mission, which is part of the project "The Law Codes of the Ancient Kingdom of Lanna (Northern Thailand): a preliminary survey" funded by the British Library's Endangered Archives Programme.

Hô Chi Minh-City

Jakarta

On November 25, the Centre is organising a lecture entitled "The Nganjuk Bronzes: A Case Study of Esoteric Buddhist Art in Medieval Maritime Asia". The speaker, Dr. Imann Lai, is a research associate at the National Palace Museum in Taipei, specialising in esoteric Buddhist art of medieval monsoon Asia, with a particular focus on examining the rise of vernacular esoteric Buddhism and its art in East Asia.

In November, the Centre welcomes:

- Dana Rappoport, ethnomusicologist at the CNRS, from November 10 to 16, to present a film and two websites. She will speak at the Badan Riset dan Inovasi Nasional/National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN) on 13 November and will present a film on the Toraja people in several circles.

- Hélène Njoto, from November 14 to 16, will accompany the director of ALIPH to visit the Kaitetu gallery (Ambon) and present the results of the EFEO-ALIPH-Ambon project: "Preserving the oldest Islamic heritage structure on the spice route: the Wapauwe Mosque in the Moluccas". She will then travel to Yogyakarta for a meeting with the Kraton (the Palace) and colleagues from BRIN.

Pondicherry

S.L.P. Anjaneya Sarma gives a lecture on Sanskrit grammar entitled "Nājānantaryē bahiṣṭvaprakḷptiḥ iti paribhāṣāvicāraḥ iti sūtravicāraḥ" at the Jñānānandanātha Chatuśśāstrasabhā, organised by the Jñānānandanāthavidyānilayam, Chennai (TN), from November 14 to 16.

Thrissur

The EFEO branch in Thrissur (DiPiKA project) is launching a new series of lectures this month entitled "DiPiKA Lectures on Manuscript Cultures", which will be held at its premises. Each month, a guest speaker will present the results of their research on South Indian manuscript cultures, particularly those of Kerala, to an audience of researchers and students.

Researchers

Éric Bourdonneau

On November 28, Éric Bourdonneau will begin a new series of seminars entitled The Study of "Images" and the Writing of Ancient Cambodian History / សិក្សាអំពី "ប្រតិមា" និងការសរសេរប្រវត្តិសាស្ត្រកម្ពុជាបុរាណ at the Faculty of Archaeology of the Royal University of Fine Arts.

Élisabeh Chabanol

Véronique Degroot

Luca Gabbiani

From October 24 to November 1, Luca Gabbiani will be on mission in Taipei. He will participate in a working meeting with the Taiwanese team of the Crisolic programme on the statistical processing of collected criminological data. He will then participate, on October 31 and November 1, in the international symposium organised by Taiwan Central University in Zhongli, Coastal Cities, Urban Life and Migration from the 16th to the 19th Century: International Symposium on Ming and Qing History. He will present a paper entitled "Macao's urban real estate in the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries: the view from the Chinese archives".

From November 5 to 8, Luca Gabbiani will be in Albi to participate in the Noblesse oblige. 2e Colloque transpériode sur la notion de "dérogeance", organised by Clément Bur of the Jean-François Champollion National University Institute of the University of Toulouse. He will present a paper entitled "Derogation in the late Chinese empire: preliminary observations on the Qing dynasty (1644-1911)".

Valérie Gillet

Valérie Gillet will participate in the Journées Archives de l’archéologie française à l’étranger, to be held at the Maison des Sciences de l'Homme in Lyon on November 3 and 4.

Yves Goudineau

Benoît Jacquet

On November 5, Benoît Jacquet will participate in Taji Takahiro's research seminar for students from the École Nationale Supérieure d'Architecture de Paris-La Villette at the Department of Architecture of Kyoto University, Katsura Campus.

On Saturday, 29 November, Benoît Jacquet will participate in the seminar of the research group (Collaborative Research Project) on "The City and the Monument: Urban Planning and Memory from the Perspective of Visual Culture History," led by Timon Screech at the International Research Centre for Japanese Studies (Nichibunken) in Kyoto.

Fabienne Jagou

Gregory Kourilsky

Christophe Marquet

Frank Muyard

Martin Nogueira Ramos

From November 27 to December 6, Martin Nogueira Ramos will be in Tokyo to continue his research on interreligious competition during the Meiji era. At the National Diet Library, he will consult Protestant, Orthodox, and Buddhist (‘transsectarian’) journals, and at the Kirishitan Bunko (Catholic collection) at Sophia University (Jōchi Daigaku), he will examine anti-Catholic polemical works written by Protestant pastors. In the latter collection, he will also examine several pamphlets written by Noel Péri while he was a missionary in Matsumoto, in Nagano Prefecture (1890s).

Daniel Perret

Daniel Perret is a member of the jury for Alexandre Longelin's thesis defence on ceramics from the royal palace of Angkor Thom, which will be held at the University of Tours on 7 November.

Daniel Perret & Hélène Njoto

From November 20 to 22, Daniel Perret and Hélène Njoto are participating in the 14th Borobudur Writers and Cultural Festival, held in Cirebon, Indonesia.

Daniel Perret is giving a presentation on the theme of ancient Islamic tombs in the state of Johor (Malaysia) and Hélène Njoto is giving a lecture on the theme of Islam in Indonesia. Her lecture is entitled "Kepada Uka Tjandrasasmita: Membaca Kembali Sendang Duwur dan Masjid-masjid Kuno Nusantara (To Uka Tjandrasasmita: Rereading Sendang Duwur and the Ancient Mosques of the Indonesian Archipelago)".

Christophe Pottier

Christophe Pottier is in Laos from November 16 to 26 as a member of UNESCO's Expert Advisory Group (EAG) to prepare for and participate in the 8th International Coordination Meeting (ICM) on Vat Phu-Champasak, which will be held on 25 November in Pakse. On the sidelines of the EAG, Christophe Pottier will meet with colleagues from the CHAMPA project, which he coordinates, and the doctoral students he supervises.

Charlotte Schmid

Saarthak Singh

Brice Vincent

Brice Vincent will speak on November 6 at SOAS in London as part of the seminar "South and Southeast Asian Religious Bronzes: A Multi-Faceted Exploration", on the following topics: "11th century royal bronze casting workshop at Angkor Thom’ and ‘West Mebon Viṣṇu: technical investigation and conservation-restoration".

Brice Vincent, in collaboration with David Bourgarit (C2RMF), will speak on November 13 at the Minneapolis Institute of Art in the United States as part of the exhibition Royal Bronzes: Cambodian Art of the Divine (26 October 2025 – 18 January 2026) on the following topic: "Curator talk: West Mebon Vishnu".

Brice Vincent will speak on November 27 at the University of Artois in Arras as part of a joint seminar for the Master's in Cultural Heritage Management and the Master's in Antiquity and Medieval Research, co-organised by Amélie De Las Heras and Adrien Bayard (University of Artois / CREHS), on the following theme: "Archéologie et muséographie : retour sur l’exposition Bronzes royaux d’Angkor, un art du divin".

Projects

CHAMPA Project

As part of the programme to monitor administrative bodies, Clément Dufour and Zohra Soltani are in Champasak to monitor the EFEO/AFD CHAMPA administrative body from November 11 to 15.

The eighth International Coordination/Cooperation Meeting (ICM) of Vat Phou/Champasak will take place on 25 November in Pakse, funded by the Korean Cultural Heritage Foundation for the conclusion of their programme in Champasak. The ICM will be preceded by visits by the Expert Advisory Group (EAG) to the various projects led by the EFEO or in which the EFEO is involved as part of the CHAMPA project. Maric Beaufeist, Bertrand Porte, Nicolas Nauleau and Vissa Chanthaphasouk will be in Champasak from the week before the ICM to present the various projects in which they are involved: the development of Houa Sa Houa 2 and the archaeological sites of the ancient city, the restoration of the Vat Meuang Kang library building, and the expansion and redevelopment of the Vat Phou museum. They will also participate in the International Coordination/Cooperation Meeting (ICM) on 25 November.

The EFEO/Vat Phou geomatics laboratory is continuing its work to optimise LiDAR data (structure, coding, archiving). Five young Laotians who had been interns at the laboratory from March to May 2025 have been called back to reinforce the LIDAR prospecting team for five months and accelerate the acquisition of field data, which will resume at the end of the rainy season. Until March 2026, field surveys will focus on the area of the ancient city at Vat Phou and the plain in the south-southeast part of Vat Phou.

Lucie Harterau is continuing her internship from September to December 2025 with the LIDAR team at the Vat Phou geomatics laboratory in Champasak. A third-year student at the École Supérieure des Ingénieurs Géomètres du Mans (ESGT), she will complete the topographical mapping of the Tomo archaeological site and update the topography of the Vat Phou site.

The conservation work on the pinnacle of the Vat Meuang Kang library by Bounsouang Senphaseuth, a Laotian engineer from the Vat Phou division, and two Laotian technicians, Vansouk Keophan and Kommalien Sivilay, is entering the final phase of reconstructing the pinnacle and its original decoration based on available traces and evidence.

Lectures

Alain Arrault & 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, since 10 October

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), since 21 October

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, since 28 October

Andrew Hardy
- EHESS seminar in the framework of the Master's degree in Asian Studies, Histoire de la colonisation du Vietnam : approches micro-biographiques ?, since 14 October

Benoît Jacquet
- Master's 1 Seminar, Japanese Architecture, Kyoto Consortium for Japanese Studies, Columbia University (NY) / université Dōshisha (Kyoto)

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, since 14 October

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], from 4 November

- 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],  from 4 November

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), since 14 October

Christophe Pottier
- Master's seminar at Sorbonne University, Actualités et pratiques de l'archéologie en Extrême-Orient, since 16 September

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, since 16 October

On November 6, Kati Basset (Inalco) presents "Bali et Java (1982-2023). Observation participante (quotidien, rituels, musique et formes théâtrales): un parcours initiatique"

On November 20, Bénédicte Brac de la Perrière (CNRS, CASE) presents "Histoire de terrain et réflexivité de long terme. Ce que la fréquentation prolongée d'un terrain peut nous apprendre"

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, since 9 October

- On November 13, Johan Levillain (Groupe de recherches en Études Indiennes, EPHE) will give a lecture on Jain representations of Sarasvatī, and Asif Mahmood Rana (University of Peshawar [UoP], Department of Archaeology) will give a lecture on representations of Tīrthaṅkara in Pakistan (Tīrthaṅkara Images in Pakistan)

- On November 20, Ingo Strauch (University of Lausanne) will give a lecture on birch bark manuscripts from the Gandhāra region, which are now the oldest known manuscripts in the Indian world in the strict sense of the term.

Publications

All EFEO publications are available on the publications website.

Researchers' publications

Éric Bourdonneau, "Le 'Cambodge ancien', avec ou sans Moyen Âge", Bulletin de l’Association d'Échanges et de Formation pour les Études Khmères n°26, October 2025.

Jacques P. Leider, "Arakan from the 1760s to the 1840s: From Dynastic Decline to Colonial Subjection" in Rohingya Stories. History and Geopolitics in a Multipolar World, edited by Mohammad Zaman, Robert Anderson and Kawser Ahmed, Singapore,Springer Nature, 2025.

R. Sathyanarayanan, "Rāmeśvaram Sacred Sand and Gaṅgā Holy Water: The Pilgrimage to Prayāga Starts from Rāmeśvaram", in Routes, Patterns, Ideologies: Navigating Sacred Sites in India, Ewa Dębicka-Borek and Ofer Peres (éds), Heidelberg Asian Studies Publishing (HASP), Ethno-Indology: Heidelberg Studies in South Asian Rituals 18, Heidelberg, 2025, pages 35-57.

Research Services

Recipients of allocation on mission

- Violette Dolin is based at the Hanoi centre for a study on "Les Écoles d'enfants de troupe 'indigènes' dans l'Empire colonial français : l'Indochine, exception impériale ?"

- Sett Paing Myo is based at the Chiang Mai centre for a study on "Perspectives traditionnelles, transitionnelles et contemporaines de la masculinité et la situation du genre au Myanmar"

- Anna Pineda is based at the Jakarta centre for a study on "Technological Comparison of Palaeometallic Period Anthropomorphic Burial Jars and Pottery in Island Southeast Asia through Indonesia and the Philippines"

- Xinyue Wang is based at the Beijing centre for a study on "Nouveaux modèles agricoles, mobilités inter-régionales et vies économiques en ruralité. Étude d’une exploitation avicole en Chine contemporaine (Jiangxi-Sichuan)"

- Victor Wright is based at the Beijing centre for a study on "Restaurer le lac Poyang, interventions écologiques et devenir d’une société lacustre"

- Pratiwi Yuwono is based at the Jakarta centre for a study on "Mortuary practices, health, and diet of insular Wallacean populations since the Austronesian expansion: The case of the Kolana site on Alor Island, East Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia"

- Shuting Zhao is based at the Beijing centre for a study on the "Récits privés, mémoires partagées : Ethnographie des photos et des vidéos de famille en Chine de la période post-maoïste à l’ère pré-numérique (1980-2010)"

Direction

From November 10 to 15, Nicolas Fiévé will travel to Hanoi to meet with the president of the Hanoi University of Social Sciences, along with Olivier Brochet, the new French ambassador to Vietnam, with a view to establishing a new collaboration agreement.

From November 15 to 18, Nicolas Fiévé will be in Shanghai to help prepare for the inauguration of the new EFEO Centre, the "Fudan-EFEO Centre for Humanities", which will take place on 17 November.

Library

The EFEO library in Paris will be closed on Tuesday, 11 November 2025.

Katia Juhel, Director of Libraries, will be on assignment from November 28 to December 16: at the Chiang Mai Library from Monday 1 to Friday 5 December, then at the Siem Reap Library during the week of 8 December. She will present the CollEx IndexAngkor project at the CIC Angkor.

Photo Library

Of particular note

Réseau des Écoles françaises à l'Étranger

News from PSL Université Paris

News from EURICS