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Name: Aleksandra Malska Semester: WS18/19 Institut: IAAW Veranstaltung: regionalwissenschaftliche Debatten Dozentin: Dr. Anandita Bajpai

Keywords: physical space, symbolic space, institutional space, marginalisation, regional dispensation

Summary of van Schandel, W. (2002). Geographies of knowing, geographies of ignorance: jumping sacale in Southeast Asia.

In his work “Geographies of Knowing, Geographies of Ignorance: Jumping the Scale in Southeast Asia” Willem van Schendel, who is a Dutch historian, researcher, anthropologist and sociologist of Asia deals with areas that have difficulties in being included in regional studies. As an example, he uses areas of Southeast Asia, such as Zomia a region that has been divided into four parts and thus is a part of East Asia, Southeast Asia, South Asia and Central Asia.

The core thesis of the text crystallizes the problem of marginalization. This is a process whereby something or someone is pushed to the edge of a group and accorded lesser importance. According to the author, the empires in Southeast Asia are clearly defined in their centres, but overlap at their geographical borders, which presents a considerable problem for the regional sciences. First, van Schendel tries to clarify the meaning of a region and explains that there are three different ways of analysing a region academically. The first method is named “physical space” and describes a region with geographical boundaries based on the (alleged) similarities of the inhabitants within the region or based on “geographical obviousness” (e.g. the fact of being a continent). Furthermore, there is the principle of “symbolic space”. Here, a region is understood as a space and a place of production of theoretical knowledge.

The last method is named the “institutional space” the affected region owns a network of knowledge that is mutually supportive and protects and promotes kinds of expertise.

The author uses the region he calls Zomia to illustrate his theory of different types of spaces. Zomia is an inland area on the edge of the four named zones of Asia mentioned above and a representative of the respective border regions of these parts of Asia. This puts Zomia out of the reach of external influences. Van Schendel arguments that even though Zomia is a clear example of a coherent physical space it lacks to fulfil the criteria of a symbolic space to qualify as a region. Moreover, while Zomia was relevant to the study and research of some anthropologists by the mid-20th century, it has not developed since then and has not raised new questions and methods. Another point is that the studies were more aimed at specialists with a focus on precise regions like Tibet or Yunnan. Zomia misses a strong interest group of colonial experts. Since the universities are located on the edge or outside Zomia, the region itself has hardly any educated specialists and therefore does not meet the criteria of institutional space. In addition, according to the author, there is an absence of imparting specialist knowledge. The reason for this was the lack of influence from capitalism or communism, which made Zomia irrelevant from a political point of view, as well as the fact that this area does not comprise any important centres of authority but only political peripheral regions of individual states. Ultimately, the author draws attention to the need to break away from the views of “regional dispensation” that emerged after the Second World War and instead to develop new concepts of regional space.

In his text, William van Schendel offers a series of solutions to how to approach this topic in an uncomplicated manner. He points out that regional studies provide a wide range of potential research areas and emphasizes in the case of Southeast Asia how relevant it is not only to focus on the four main regions, but to pay closer attention to their respective peripheral regions.

From the concepts of process geographers, it becomes clear that Zomia represents a border region in the shadow of other regions. In addition, the author at the end recommends a focus on the study of flows and borderlands....