災害に立ち向かう地域/研究 : 生存基盤持続型の発展に向けた再想像=創造のための素描

Abstract

Area studies were highly promoted in the United States under the shadow of the Cold War, especially during the Vietnam War for Southeast Asian Studies. The ends of the Vietnam War in 1975 and then the Cold War in 1989 and rapid globalization in 1990s caused area studies to face serious problems of budget cuts and declining concerns. Southeast Asian Studies, however, might be able to reclaim its justification for existence thanks to reemergence of ASEAN as a new geobody, which is expected to take an initiative to build make East Asian Community by intermediating Japan and China. Center for Southeast Asian Studies, Kyoto University, have taken an original stile of area studies since its establishment in 1963. Almost half of staff are from natural sciences such as agriculture, forestry, medicine, pedology, etc., natural and social scientists jointly conducted many inter-and-multi-disciplinary researches. This tradition of CSEAS could be a solid foundation of more committed and integrated area studies tackling with disaster. As a first step toward this project, we held a symposium, "natural disasters and area studies" on July 11 and 12, 2008. Eight members of G-COE program red a paper on the topic. This is a revised version of my keynote speech.