The Center for South and Southeast Asian Studies record group dates from the 1960s to the 1990s, but is strongest for the 1960s and 1970s. There are many gaps in the record group, and little information is available regarding the Center's establishment or a general overview of the Center's activities. Even so, there is much material on some Center activities, especially conferences and summer programs.
The Center for South and Southeast Asian Studies (CSSEAS) was founded in 1961 with a grant from the Ford Foundation as part of a new American effort following World War II to study Asian languages, history and cultures. In 1959 the College of Literature, Science and the Arts (LS&A) had proposed the expansion of "area studies" at the University of Michigan. This proposal included the establishment of four "area centers": the Center for Chinese Studies, the Center for Russian and Eastern European Studies, the Center for Near and Middle Eastern Studies as well as CSSEAS, using the Center for Japanese Studies as a model. Special emphasis was placed on the mastery of foreign languages and field research abroad. CSSEAS soon became a distinguished "area center," an institution within the American university system supporting interdisciplinary study on a specific cultural and geographic region of the world.
Throughout the 1970s and 1980s CSSEAS sponsored and hosted many conferences and summer programs, bringing together scholars, students and South and Southeast Asians from around the world. Associates are drawn from the faculty and students of existing University of Michigan departments and programs, especially history, political science, anthropology and linguistics to work together and share ideas about South and Southeast Asian topics. Many students do dual concentrations in South and Southeast Asian studies and other subjects, especially business and linguistics. In 1993 CSSEAS became part of the International Institute, which administers the university's area centers.
In 1999, two new independent units emerged from the Center: the Center for South Asian Studies and the Center for Southeast Asian Studies.
Directors of the Center for South and Southeast Asian Studies
| Date |
Event |
| 1960-1962 | Richard Park |
| 1962-1965 | L.A. Peter Gosling |
| 1965 | Russell Fitfield (Acting) |
| 1966-1968 | Gayl D. Ness |
| 1969-1971 | John H. Broomfield |
| 1971-1972 | L.A. Peter Gosling |
| 1972-1975 | Alton Lewis Becker |
| 1975-1977 | Thomas R. Trautmann |
| 1977-1980 | L.A. Peter Gosling |
| 1980-1983 | Madhav Deshpande |
| 1983-1987 | Karl L. Hutterer |
| 1987-1989 | Rhoads Murphey |
| 1989-1992 | Victor B. Lieberman |
| 1992-1995 | Nicholas B. Dirks |
| 1995-1998 | Hemalata Dandekar |
Directors of the Center for Southeast Asian Studies
| Date |
Event |
| 1998-2005 | Judith Omans Becker |
| 2006-2008 | Linda Lim |
| 2008-2009 | Allen Hicken (Interim) |
| 2009 | Linda Lim |
| 2010-2013 | Allen Hicken |
| 2013- | Christi-Anne Castro |
Directors of the Center for South Asian Studies
| Date |
Event |
| 1998-2000 | Pradeep Chhibber |
| 2000-2003 | Sumathi Ramaswamy (Interim) |
| 2003-2007 | Sumathi Ramaswamy |
| 2007-2009 | William Glover |
| 2010-2011 | Juan Cole |
| 2012- | Farina Mir |
