Current trends in anthropological and sociological research on and in southeast Asia

In their study on "The modern anthropology of Southeast Asia", Victor King and William Wilder raise the question in how far the region can be taken as a field of anthropological enquiry. After their initial discussion of cultural and social trends as well as anthropological studies, they conclude that the common issue of the region is its diversity. They come to the rather pragmatic solution that "South-East Asia constitutes a convenient unit of study, ... but ... we should not think of it in terms of a bounded, unified and homogenous socio-cultural area" (King/Wilder 2003: 24). We doubt that there are homogenous socio-cultural areas anywhere else. These are usually constructed through the invention of traditions and ideological simulations. The interesting case with regards to Southeast Asia is, why no such homogeneity has been constructed, not even by anthropologists or sociologists. ..