Centre for Khmer Studies (CKS)
Founded in 1999, the
Centre for Khmer Studies (CKS) is an international, non-governmental, not-for-profit membership-based consortium of universities, organisations and individuals dedicated to study, teaching and research on Khmer civilisation and the cultures of the Mekong region.
Incorporated under US and Cambodian law, the Centre’s goal is to promote scholarly interest in the region and to bring Khmer scholars into contact with their international counterparts for the purpose of fostering understanding of Cambodia and its place within South East Asia.
CKS’s programmes aim to support Cambodian students, scholars and artists in the social sciences and humanities. Now a fully-fledged member of the CAORC (Council of American Overseas Research Centers) network, CKS is recognised as part of the US academic network, the first institution of its kind to achieve this status in the whole of South East Asia. Linked to institutions and individual scholars worldwide, CKS seeks to provide a recognisable, common point of exchange, as well as an in-country logistical resource for scholarly undertakings.
The Centre’s objectives are: (i) to contribute to the development of Khmer studies as a large and all-encompassing field of study - CKS projects foster an interdisciplinary approach that takes South East Asia as its analytical framework; (ii) to assist US, international and Cambodian scholars in the conception and execution of research projects, and especially to promote collaborative international undertakings; (iii) to promote integration of Cambodian higher education into the international academic network by training a new generation of young Cambodians to interface with international scholars sharing similar academic interests; and (iv) to bring to the attention of the American, international and Cambodian publics the value of Cambodian cultural heritage.
CKS is active in supporting individual and team research projects in the humanities and social sciences. It began to develop its research and training programmes following the success of the inauguration conference in January 2001, which brought various scholars in 11 inter-disciplinary panels. With its focus on three thematic research programmes, specific fields were identified that especially needed training of Cambodians - these were architecture, anthropology and Pre-Angkor archaeology, with all funding provided from the Rockefeller Foundation.
In addition to these programmes, CKS developed vocational training in Culture Resource Management, with funding from the Sainsbury Family Charitable Trusts (Monument Trust and Linbury Trust), United Kingdom.
CKS encourages foreign scholars working in Cambodia to collaborate with local scholars in order to develop Cambodian human resources and transfer knowledge and expertise. To this end, whenever possible, CKS has tried to initiate collaboration between Cambodian university students and researchers from international universities such as the University of Hawaii at Manoa, the National University of Singapore and the
École Française d’extrême-orient (EFEO).
CKS now offers a growing range of fellowships and training opportunities, both for Cambodian and international scholars. These include Senior Fellowships for US doctoral and post-doctoral fellows and Junior Fellowships targeting US undergraduates, funded by the Henry Luce Foundation, as well as Toyota-funded Junior Fellowships (training) for Cambodian students wishing to pursue graduate studies overseas. In collaboration with the well-known Paris-based Langues 'O', it is now developing a parallel programme for French Junior and Senior Fellows, with funding from the Florence Gould Foundation– acknowledging the essential tradition of French scholarship in the field.
CKS publishes the occasional bulletin
Siksacakr (‘Wheel of Knowledge’), an international academic bulletin focusing on Khmer Studies in Khmer, English and French which aims primarily to provide Cambodian scholars with an indispensable link to international scholarship on Khmer and South East Asian topics. It is also developing a publishing programme in partnership with the Soros Foundation – Open Society Institute aimed at translating and publishing essential reference materials in the Khmer language.
CKS organises international, interdisciplinary workshops and conferences, establishing direct links among US, Cambodian and international scholars and students; its headquarters incorporate a conference centre.
CKS also incorporates a
library, which ranks as the largest public academic library in Cambodia outside the capital Phnom Penh.
