Laboratories are closed meetings for scholars to develop innovative cross-disciplinary plans, hence they are not open to the public. However, results will be presented during the final session.

In the penultimate EuroSEAS in 2019 in Berlin, we convened a Roundtable on Philosophies in SEA. Together with scholars from different Southeast Asian countries and Europe, we discussed the potential of conceptualizing Southeast Asian philosophy, not merely as a reflection of national programs, but as a space for regional conversations exploring possibilities of a philosophical common ground.

This was the first event in the history of EuroSEAS to have “philosophy” in the title, which indicates the long-standing neglect, if not absence, of the discipline in Southeast Asian Studies. In further encouraging a regional exchange of ideas, the EuroSEAS laboratory would be an ideal platform, providing a more intimate setting for an extended discussion that could allow for shared ideas to grow, with an eye to presenting them to a wider audience. Some of the participants will remain the same as in the Roundtable in Berlin but we also would like to include some new faces and diversify the Southeast Asian voices even more.

Even though we are engaged in philosophical debates, our discussions will be inter- or maybe even post-disciplinary, as most of us have worked in different disciplines in Area Studies and are thinking along these integrative lines.