The IIAS-FMSH Short-Term Intra-European Fellowship Program
Created in 1963 by the historian Fernand Braudel, the Fondation Maison des Sciences de l’Homme (FMSH) continues the original project, while adapting it to contemporary circumstances. The Fondation supports innovative and international research in humanities and social sciences, and it disseminates knowledge to the greatest number of people in order to respond to the major challenges facing our society. By supporting nearly 400 researchers from around the world each year and ensuring the dissemination of a wide range of scientific resources, the FMSH is the largest humanities and social sciences foundation in France.
The FMSH has established a successful partnership with IIAS and since 2019, the IIAS-FMSH program is open to IIAS fellows whose work will benefit from spending a short-term residency in Paris. Selected IIAS fellows are hosted by the Fondation for a period of two months in the heart of Paris. We offer accommodation in the central Maison Suger, networking opportunities, exposure with the French academia in Asian and other area studies, publishing services, access to academic libraries such as the Bulac with one of the richest collections on languages and civilizations that are not those of the Western world, as well as administrative support.
Thanks to the high-level profile of invited fellows from IIAS, the program has equally benefited the French research community of Asian Studies and beyond, which includes well-known institutions such as Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales, Institut National des Langues et Civilisations Orientales, Université de Paris, Ecole Pratique des Hautes Etudes and Collège de France. Designed to further enhance the intra-European circulation of researchers in Asian Studies, the IIAS-FMSH partnership contributes to decompartmentalizing knowledge and multiplying perspectives to enrich the field of knowledge.
“The FMSH provided an excellent milieu to connect with the wider academic community in Paris through South Asian, Himalayan, and Burma/Southeast Asian research centers, where I presented papers and attended seminars. It has been a good base for me to connect with archives and museums for research materials. At the FMSH, I could meet scholars beyond Asian Studies, working on ethnomusicology in Northern Africa or Eurasian Semiotics, which was refreshing. Finally, the lovely FMSH staff, working facilities, and accommodation, all located in the heart of Paris, have made the experience of work and research here very pleasurable.” –Aditya Kiran Kakati, Associate Research Fellow, International Institute for Asian Studies, IIAS, Leiden and FMSH 2023 Research Fellow. He is also Early-Postdoctoral Mobility Fellow, Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) at the University of Amsterdam (UvA) and SOAS, London University.
FMSH is proud to partner with IIAS on this joint program and looks forward to continuing to host IIAS scholars in Paris.
Marta Craveri, FMSH, France
Fabiana Di Paola, FMSH, France