33.2585, FYI: Write to support Burmese scholarship at SOAS

[The LINGUIST List]

LINGUIST List: Vol-33-2585. Wed Aug 24 2022. ISSN: 1069 - 4875.

Subject: 33.2585, FYI: Write to support Burmese scholarship at SOAS

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Date: Wed, 24 Aug 2022 02:44:08
From: Justin Watkins [jw2 at soas.ac.uk]
Subject: Write to support Burmese scholarship at SOAS

 
Dear Colleagues and friends in Burma Studies -

With concern and sadness I'm sharing the news that the post of Professor of
Burmese at SOAS, University of London, has been scheduled for termination and,
if things go as SOAS plans, more than a century of scholarship and research in
the lanɡuaɡes and linɡuistics of Myanmar and mainland SEAsia will draw to an
end in just over a month. Some very limited Burmese language teaching may
continue for now, but not by me, even after 23 years of service. It is some
comfort that the late ဆရာကြီး John Okell is not alive to see his legacy being
dismantled.

It's not clear why the Professor of Burmese post has been selected for
removal, now that SOAS is under new leadership and recovering well from the
financial meltdown of 2020. It seems particularly at odds with the ethos of
SOAS to be cutting UK scholarship in Burmese at a time when Myanmar is in such
an awful position, and also at odds with the founding charter of SOAS "to
accept a special commitment to language scholarship relating to Asia, Africa
and the Middle East."

I call upon colleagues, former students and all those who would wish SOAS to
reverse this decision to write to the Director or Deputy Director of SOAS in
the most persuasive and supportive way you can, making the case for keeping
the Professor of Burmese post. Do share this news with others who may wish to
voice support, and feel free to email me privately for further information if
you would like.

yours
Justin Watkins
Professor of Burmese
SOAS, University of London
 



Linguistic Field(s): General Linguistics

Subject Language(s): Burmese (mya)

Language Family(ies): Tibeto-Burman





 



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