Regional Systems and Supra-Regional Networks before Modern World System

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In three year (2004-2006), the project team undertook activities as follows:a) The team held a project website (http://f57.aaa.livedoor.jp/〜rsysnet/index.html) for the purpose of broad information and discussion.b) Inviting a number of domestic and foreign scholars as guest speakers, the project team held 20 workshops and seminars at Osaka University, in which a number of related topics were discussed as : "the world of Sanskrit" in medieval and early modern India ; the evolution of Indian Ocean networks ; the regional structure of Central Asia ; the revision of Sino-centric views in world and regional history ; documental study concerning Chinese history ; global commodities in the early modern era; the relationship between China and Southeast Asia ; early modern development of mainland Southeast Asia ; trade in and around the islands of Japan.c) The project members undertook assigned research in Japan and abroad, based on which a number of individual journal articles, conference pape … More rs, and books were written. d) The project team attended two joint-workshops organized by Osaka University 21^<st> Century COE Program 《Interface Humanities》 and Asia Research Institute, National University of Singapore : 《Northeast Asia from the Maritime Perspective : A Dialogue with Southeast Asia》 (Okinawa, Oct. 2004) and 《Dynamic Rimlands and Open Heartlands : Maritime Asia as a Site of Interactions》 (Nagasaki, Oct. 2006). Both workshops focused on interconnectedness and comparisons between Southeast Asia and Northeast Asia, a topic world academic circles had paid little attention. In these workshops, our project members presented six papers based on the project achievements.e) The project team published a final report including articles that summarized the project results. Many parts of the result were also incorporated into the publication An Introduction to Maritime Asian History (The Research Group of Maritime Asian History (ed.), Iwanami publishing house, in print).f) The project achievements were introduced to high school teachers in 《High School History Education Seminars》 held by Osaka University, which were organized to improve too much conventional high school textbooks and curricula.Through these activities, the project contributed to a considerable extent to stimulate broader academic/educational discussions in Japanese academic circles and high schools, which had long been divided into too narrow "specific fields" and consequently isolated in broader circle of humanities. Less