Laura Bui

I was drawn to IIAS and its work that emphasised innovative interdisciplinary and collaborative ways to advance knowledge in Asian Studies. Many scholarly initiatives claim they are innovative, interdisciplinary, and collaborative, but few actually are. IIAS is rare in that it is what it says it is. This matters because the time spent there engaging and working together with the multitude of disciplinary approaches and diverse perspectives, even ones unfamiliar and beyond academia, was indeed enriching.

My scholarly research is mainly situated in criminology and psychology, and my training reflects that, approaching social inquiry through quantitative scientific methods, in which measurement and identifying likely causes are of focus. But my work often drew comparisons with what was understood about crime and justice in Japan, and so larger issues of knowledge-making, the role of culture, and the influence of sociohistorical context on the topic of interest, but also the conducting of that research, led me to IIAS.

IIAS was responsive and thoughtful in working with me to find ways to support and enhance my scholarly thinking and work when I was Affiliated Fellow there. It supported a fellowship application, and when it was unsuccessful, IIAS still supported me in visiting. During my time there, I was exposed to different intellectual perspectives, coming primarily from the humanities but inflected with particular traditions and experiences, so that sometimes I felt out of my comfort zone. But this was very much appreciated as I was challenged intellectually in a welcoming environment. I appreciate the critical and thorough reasoning IIAS approached all of its activities and endeavours. At the heart of the staff and members’ considerations seemed always to be: what else have we yet to consider? Because of this questioning, all of their activities waste no time and create thoughtful exchanges, even going into unconventional territory. For example, a discussion on a documentary set in Vietnam and Senegal became one on the politics of migration and of organising a conference in Dakar; a workshop on applying for funding countered my expectation that it would deliver generic information. Instead, it gave me a new way of seeing applying for funding. IIAS tries to make all of its work meaningful. This has influenced me to more deeply consider the larger context in which my work is situated but also affirms the importance of being thoughtful so to create rigorous and ethical work.  

Laura Bui, Senior Lecturer in Criminology, University of Manchester, UK
Affiliated Fellow, October to November 2024