| ID | 133783 |
| Title Proper | Context, concepts and comparison in Southeast Asian studies |
| Other Title Information | introduction to the special issue |
| Language | ENG |
| Author | Huotari, Mikko ; Ruland, Jurgen |
| Publication | 2014. |
| Summary / Abstract (Note) | Debating the challenges of comparisons in Southeast Asian studies, the objective of this Special Issue is to advance the agenda of context-sensitive and methodologically reflected Comparative Area Studies (CAS). As a deliberate attempt to infuse new meaning into the embattled genre of area studies, CAS seeks to overcome increasingly rigid (sub-)disciplinary barriers often constructed around methodological arguments. Moreover, through stepping up the inclusion of non-Western regions in the research agenda, CAS also makes a decided bid to transcend the usually strongly Western-centric theory-building in most social science disciplines. This introduction locates the following articles in the broader context of the area studies-discipline divide. It highlights how the challenges of comparative research practice on different layers of social reality are at the heart of this divide but at the same time provide a productive ground for exchange in interdisciplinary Southeast Asian studies. We expand on the contributing authors' arguments by providing a typology of comparative research practice that captures the value of various forms of area studies comparisons and by reflecting on the conceptual preconditions for fruitful comparisons |
| `In' analytical Note | Pacific Affairs Vol.87, No.3; Sep.2014: p.415-440 |
| Journal Source | Pacific Affairs Vol.87, No.3; Sep.2014: p.415-440 |
| Key Words | Southeast Asian Studies ; Area SE Asia Mapstudies ; Comparative Area Studies ; Comparative Research ; Context Sensitivity ; Concept Formation ; Southeast Asia ; Agenda ; Politics |