About the Journal — လွတ်လပ်သော မြန်မာ့ သုတေသန ဂျာနယ် ▽

From 1911 until it was closed by the military in 1980, the Journal of the Burma Research Society covered virtually all subjects pertaining to Burma and functioned as a journal for all comers — archaeologists, linguists, historians, epigraphers, ethnographers, art historians.

Given the Journal’s important role and, for the half century after the 1962 military takeover, the disastrous state of Burmese universities and professional associations, an organizing committee of seven young Burmese scholars and three Western scholars of Burma formed with a mission to re-establish, in both digital and physical format, the old Journal for Burmese scholars in the humanities and social sciences. The term “independent” in our title is meant to emphasize our total independence from any government agency or body in Burma or abroad.

They originally met at Yale University in 2011, well before the political opening in Burma. Once it became clear that political conditions in Burma might allow operation in Burma with open participation, the group added six members based permanently in Burma and planned for a physical (printed) as well as digital version of the revived Journal and eventual operation from Burma.

The project successfully raised funds (from Yale University, Open Society Foundations [formerly the Open Society Institute], and the Luce Foundation) for their simple idea: hold open thematic workshops, then publish the best of the proceedings, in Burmese and English, as a physical and digital journal, the Independent Journal of Burmese Scholarship.

This website introduces the founders of the new Journal, explains their history, provides information about the workshop schedules as they develop, and will eventually allow for real-time feedback on each thematic issue of the journal as it is published.

The Journal and everything on our website will be published in both English and Burmese.

Updated 2023.05.16 18:04:01 (UTC) △