The Manchu Studies Group was created in late 2012 in response to the rapid growth of interest in the Manchu language and in Manchu studies in recent years, especially among younger scholars in the United States. An initial meeting was held in San Diego, which coincided with the 2013 meeting of the Association for Asian Studies.
The primary purpose of the Manchu Studies Group (MSG) is to advance and promote informed scholarship on all aspects of Manjuristics, including (but not limited to) history, literature, linguistics, philology, anthropology, religious studies, art history, folklore, material culture, and cultural studies. In addition, it is hoped that MSG will provide a greater sense of community for scholars working in these areas, wherever they may be. Our organization aims to achieve the following goals:
- maintain a website and research portal for Manchu studies that will house a variety of digital resources (texts, links, dictionaries, bibliographies, language learning materials, fonts and keyboards for typing Manchu, and so forth)
- help coordinate and promote online (and in-person) Manchu learning opportunities and reading groups
- take responsibility for the publication of Saksaha, an online journal of Manchu Studies currently hosted by the University of Michigan.
- promote the development of scholarship in the field by assisting in the coordination and organization of meetings, conference panels, workshops, and courses in Manchu Studies
- facilitate individual contact and exchange between scholars and students in the field, both in the US and around the world
- hold an annual meeting to conduct business and review the state of the field, share reports on research conditions in libraries and archives, etc.
For more on our current plans, please see the executive board’s September 2020 letter to the membership.
If you have not already done so, we invite you to join now. Meantime, please feel free to browse the site. Suggestions for improvement and expansion are welcomed!
Welcome to the Manchu Studies Group!