PUBLICATIONS

The intellectual foundations of the areUsafe project lie in my long-standing research on the relationship between university spaces, social change, and political transformation in Myanmar. As a scholar of Asian history and institutions, I have been particularly interested in the ways universities historically function not only as educational institutions but also as spaces of political engagement, resistance, and collective imagination.

This journey began with my doctoral research, published as:

Proserpio, Licia (2025). Resistance through Higher Education: Myanmar Universities’ Struggle against Authoritarianism. Bristol: Bristol University Press.

• Drawing on the history of Myanmar from the colonial period to the contemporary Spring Revolution, the book demonstrates how universities have repeatedly emerged as key sites of resistance against authoritarian rule. It traces the role of students, academics, and educational institutions in shaping struggles for democracy and social justice, showing how higher education has remained central to Myanmar’s political and social transformations across generations.
  
  

The military coup of February 2021 and its aftermath prompted a new phase of research. As universities were targeted by the military regime, students and academics responded by creating alternative educational spaces. This led to the first article emerging from the post-coup context:

Aung Mann, Min; Lall, Marie; Proserpio, Licia (2025). “Emerging from Adversity: Spring Universities in Post-Coup Myanmar.” Education and Conflict Review, 5, 89–96.

• This article examines the emergence of “Spring Universities” established by displaced students and academics in response to the military takeover. It highlights how these new institutions became sites of intellectual resistance, sustaining education while contributing to a broader knowledge revolution against authoritarianism. Similar topics are also covered in this blog article [link].
  
  

The second article shifted the focus from students’ grassroots initiatives to the institutional responses of higher education systems across the region:

Proserpio, Licia; Blitz, Brad; Lall, Marie (2026). “Safe Spaces, Not Sanctuaries: ASEAN Universities and the Politics of Displacement after Myanmar’s Military Coup.” Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, 1–17.

• Here, the analysis moves beyond Myanmar itself to examine how universities across Southeast Asia have responded to the displacement of students and scholars. The article explores the tensions between restrictive national migration regimes and the efforts of universities to provide support and opportunities for displaced communities. In doing so, it develops the concept of the university as a “safe space” and contributes to emerging debates on higher education and forced displacement.
  
  

What began as a study of Myanmar’s universities gradually evolved into a wider inquiry into the relationship between displacement and higher education across South and Southeast Asia. The next phase of publications, expected from 2027 onwards, will develop an interdisciplinary theoretical framework that brings together the history and institutions of Asia, critical higher education studies, and displacement studies to better understand universities as actors in contexts of displacement. Drawing on extensive fieldwork in India, Pakistan, and Thailand, these publications will also provide new empirical insights into how higher education shapes protection, belonging, and future-making for displaced populations across Asia.