Title: Committee of Concerned Asian Scholars Records
Inclusive Dates: 1967-1997

Creator:

• Committee of Concerned Asian Scholars

Call Number: Mss 695; M98-028; M2002-134; M2008-035; M2017-096

Quantity: 3.4 cubic feet (9 archives boxes); plus additions of 2.2 cubic feet (1 records center carton and 4 archives boxes)

Repository:

Wisconsin Historical Society, Library, Archives, and Museum Collections

Archival Locations:

Wisconsin Historical Society (Map)

See the catalog entry for information of possible additional materials and shelf locations.

Abstract:

Records of the Committee of Concerned Asian Scholars (CCAS), a national organization of students of Asian Studies formed in 1968 to oppose the war in Vietnam. The radical organization worked to foster understanding of Asian societies and efforts within those societies to maintain cultural integrity and to confront poverty, oppression, and imperialism. CCAS was designed to function as a catalyst; a communications network for both Asian and Western scholars, a provider of central resources for local chapters, and a community for the development of anti-imperialist research. Topics documented include two trips to China (1971 and 1973) and an interview with Chou En Lai; the field of Asian Studies and the role of the scholar as social critic; Egbal Ahmed, a political prisoner; and various topics relevant to Southeast Asia. 2017 additions include newsletters and bulletins, correspondence, meeting minutes, and the articles of incorporation and by-laws for the Committee.

Language: English

URL to cite for this finding aid: http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/wiarchives.uw-whs-mss00695

The Committee of Concerned Asian Scholars (CCAS) evolved from the Vietnam caucus held during the 1968 annual meeting of the Association for Asian Studies (AAS). Spurred by a need to reassess the relationship of their area of study to the war, delegates presented a Statement of Conscience to the faculty and students attending the caucus. Further discussion led to the organization of a radical group of Asian scholars committed to organizing and activism against the war and to the exchange of ideas derived from their research.

The first concrete result of this meeting was the publication of a newsletter. The second was a national conference coordinated with the AAS annual meeting on March 27, 1969. At this meeting the group adopted a statement of purposes and completed the organization of the committee.

CCAS was organized in local chapters which were located on various university campuses in the United States and abroad. Three national coordinators, one each from the West, East, and Midwest, directed national events and planned annual conventions. Functionally organized national committees included Indochina, South Asia, GI Support, the Philippines, and China Exchange. In 1971 a small group from the CCAS was allowed to travel in China. While there, the group interviewed the Chinese leader, Chou En Lai. Another group from the CCAS traveled in China in 1973. Each local chapter coordinated its own regional activities. These varied widely and included local demonstrations, teach-ins, and conferences and meetings.

In addition to the newsletter, the national committee also published a scholarly journal, the Bulletin of Concerned Asian Scholars, which was concerned with radical analyses of Asian-American relations. As a group, CCAS issued several books on China and Indochina (Indochina Story (1970), China: Inside the People's Republic (1972), and The Opium Trail: Heroin and Imperialism (2nd edition, 1972)), as well as publishing the work of several individual members.

After the U.S. withdrawal from Vietnam, the focus changed from its political purpose of organizing and activism to concentration on scholarly meetings and conferences. As the annual meetings of AAS began to provide a forum for scholarship which had previously been excluded as too political, the need for a separate organization of Asian scholars declined. Although CCAS had boasted a membership of approximately 500 individuals during the early 1970s, by 1979, only the Stanford chapter was still functioning. Publication of the Bulletin continued through 2000. The title changed in 2001 to Critical Asian Studies, which is still published quarterly.

Digital reproductions available for all or part of the collection via ProQuest (Spring 2017): ProQuest History Vault

This collection was received in multiple parts from the donor(s) and is organized into 5 major parts. These materials have not been physically interfiled and researchers might need to consult more than one part to locate similar materials.

• Part 1 (Mss 695): Original Collection, 1968-1981
• Part 2 (M98-028): Additions, 1979
• Part 3 (M2002-134): Additions, 1975-1996
• Part 4 (M2008-035): Additions, 1968-1974
• Part 5 (M2017-096): Additions, 1967-1997

Acquisition Information

Presented by Committee of Concerned Asian Scholars, via Bryant Avery, Charlemont, Massachusetts, 1981, and Sandy Sturdevant, Evanston, Illinois, 1986. Accession Number: M98-028, M2002-134, M2008-035, M2017-096

Mss 695	Part 1 (Mss 695): Original Collection, 1968-1981 Physical Description: 3.4 cubic feet (9 archives boxes)  Scope and Content Note: The collection consists of extensive correspondence of officers and members, membership lists, financial records, files on individual chapters, subject files, and writings. The writings include an almost complete series of the CCAS Newsletter and published and unpublished articles and papers of the group and its members.
	Series: Organizational Material
	Subseries: Activities
	China
Box   1 Folder   1	Joint CCAS-AFSC trip, 1971-1973
Box   1 Folder   2	Newspaper articles, 1971
Box   1 Folder   3	, 1971 trip correspondence
Box   1 Folder   4	Chou En Lai interview, 1971
Box   1 Folder   5	, 1973 trip correspondence
	Conventions
Box   1 Folder   6-10	1970-1977
Box   2 Folder   1	1978
	Educational projects
Box   2 Folder   2	Films, 1971
Box   2 Folder   3	Indochina policy workshop, undated
Box   2 Folder   4	Proposals, circa 1971
	Meetings
Box   2 Folder   5	New England-China seminar, 1973-1976
Box   2 Folder   6	Vietnam caucus, 1968
	Miscellany
Box   2 Folder   7	Miscellany, 1969-1972
Box   2 Folder   8	National events, 1971-1973
Box   2 Folder   9	Regional events, 1970-1973
	Projects
Box   2 Folder   10	G.I. Support project, 1973
Box   2 Folder   11	United Campaign, 1974
	Subseries: Chapters	⇧
Box   2 Folder   12	Arizona, 1969-1972
Box   2 Folder   13	Berkeley, 1968-1970
Box   2 Folder   14	Chicago, 1970-1971
Box   2 Folder   15	Columbia, 1969-1971
Box   2 Folder   16	Cornell, 1969-1973
Box   2 Folder   17	Duke, 1970
Box   2 Folder   18-19	Harvard, 1968-1971
Box   3 Folder   1	Hawaii, 1971
Box   3 Folder   2	Hong Kong, 1969-1972
Box   3 Folder   3	Indiana, 1970
Box   3 Folder   4	Michigan, 1969-1981
Box   3 Folder   5	Minnesota, 1970-1973
Box   3 Folder   6	Monterey Institute of Foreign Studies, 1970-1971
Box   3 Folder   7	New York, 1977
Box   3 Folder   8	Oregon, 1969
Box   3 Folder   9	Princeton, 1970
Box   3 Folder   10	Providence, 1973-1974
Box   3 Folder   11	Stanford, 1969-1970
Box   3 Folder   12	Taiwan, 1973
Box   3 Folder   13	Texas, 1971
Box   3 Folder   14	Washington, University of, 1969-1970
Box   3 Folder   15	Washington University, St. Louis, 1969
Box   3 Folder   16	Wisconsin, 1969-1975
Box   3 Folder   17	Yale, 1969
	Subseries: Correspondence	⇧
	Bulletin of Concerned Asian Scholars
Box   3 Folder   18	AMPO joint issue, 1970-1975
Box   3 Folder   19	General, 1976
Box   3 Folder   20	Modern China, 1973
	Coordinators' correspondence
Box   3 Folder   21	General, 1970-1973
Box   3 Folder   22	Cell, Chuck, 1970-1971
Box   4 Folder   1	Coye, Molly, 1971-1972
Box   4 Folder   2	McCoy, Al, 1970
Box   4 Folder   3	Peck, Jim, 1969-1970
Box   4 Folder   4	Pfeffer, Rick, 1970
Box   4 Folder   5	Schell, Orville, 1969
Box   4 Folder   6	Selden, Mark, 1969-1970
Box   4 Folder   7	Sturdevant, Sandy, 1971-1972
	General correspondence
Box   4 Folder   8-12	1968-1972
Box   5 Folder   1-7	1973-1979
	Subseries: Financial records	⇧
Box   5 Folder   8-9	General, 1968-1979
Box   6 Folder   1	Friendship fund, 1972-1973
Box   6 Folder   2	Fundraising, 1969-1970
	Subseries: General	⇧
Box   6 Folder   3	General organizational material, 1968-1972
Box   6 Folder   4	Legal status, 1971-1977
Box   6 Folder   5	Relations with AAS, 1969-1973
Box   6 Folder   6	Miscellany concerning membership, undated
	Series: Subject Files	⇧
Box   7 Folder   6	Ahmed, Aqbal, 1971
Box   6 Folder   7	Boycott of Pan American, 1971
Box   7 Folder   1	Cambodia, 1970
Box   7 Folder   2	Charles E. Tuttle Company, 1971
Box   7 Folder   3	Chomsky, Noam, undated
Box   7 Folder   4	Ecocide, undated
Box   7 Folder   5	Economics, undated
Box   7 Folder   7	Hiroshima, undated
Box   7 Folder   8	Imperialism, 1971
Box   7 Folder   9	Japan - Okinawa, 1971
Box   7 Folder   10	Korea, 1977
Box   7 Folder   11	Luce, Don, 1971
Box   7 Folder   12	Montagnards - Viet Nam, undated
	Organizations
Box   7 Folder   13	Association for Radical East Asian Studies, 1970
Box   7 Folder   14	Miscellaneous correspondence, 1971-1973
	National Committee on U.S.-China Relations
Box   7 Folder   15	Correspondence, 1971-1975
Box   7 Folder   16-18	Meetings, 1972-1973
Box   7 Folder   19	Paris peace talks, 1968
Box   7 Folder   20	Philippines, 1973
Box   7 Folder   21	Political prisoners, 1971
Box   7 Folder   22	Protest letters, 1969
Box   8 Folder   1-2	Southern Illinois University, 1970
Box   8 Folder   3	Taiwan, 1970
Box   8 Folder   4	Thailand, 1977-1978
Box   8 Folder   5	Tran Van Dinh, 1977
Box   8 Folder   6	War crimes, undated
Box   8 Folder   7	Work stoppages, 1970
	Series: Writings	⇧
Box   8 Folder   8	China book, 1971
Box   8 Folder   9	Indochina Handbook, 1971
Box   8 Folder   10-11	Newsletters, 1968-1979
Box   9 Folder   1	Newspaper articles, 1970-1971
Box   9 Folder   2	Notes on Viet Nam, undated
Box   9 Folder   3-6	Writings, I-IV, undated
M98-028	Part 2 (M98-028): Additions, circa 1979 Physical Description: 0.2 cubic feet (1 archives box)  Scope and Content Note: Additions, circa 1979, including correspondence and notes concerning a trip to Vietnam and the South Asia Subcommittee. There is also one file of book reviews. This material is from the office of the CAS Bulletin.	⇧
M2002-134	Part 3 (M2002-134): Additions, 1975-1996 Physical Description: 0.6 cubic feet (2 archives boxes)  Scope and Content Note: Additions, 1975-1996, principally consisting of records relating to the Bulletin of Concerned Asian Scholars, the publication produced by the organization. Included are financial records, correspondence, and office files, with a strong focus on the publishing and editing of the Bulletin as well as news clippings and flyers relating to events associated with the organization.	⇧
Box   1 Folder   1	Brochures, newsletters, and flyers, 1975-1991
Box   1 Folder   2-7	Correspondence A-Z, 1981-1995
Box   1 Folder   8	Financial records, 1976-1980, 1992-1994
Box   1 Folder   9	Notes, circa 1980-1992
Box   2 Folder   1	Office files, 1982-1996
Box   2 Folder   2	Reference and news clippings, 1981-1993
Box   2 Folder   3	Twentieth Anniversary Issue, 1987-1994
M2008-035	Part 4 (M2008-035): Additions, circa 1968-1974 Physical Description: 0.4 cubic feet (1 archives box)  Scope and Content Note: Additions, circa 1968-1974, consisting of correspondence, reports, and articles documenting the Southern Illinois University Chapter and the formation and protest of the Center for Vietnamese Studies and Programs. Also included are newsletters, correspondence and news clippings pertaining to China, Japan, Columbia, Harvard, and Mid-America Chapters.	⇧
	CCAS Chapters
Box   1 Folder   1	China and Japan
Box   1 Folder   2	Columbia
Box   1 Folder   3	Harvard
Box   1 Folder   4	Mid-America chapter / I.C.C.
	Southern Illinois University
Box   1 Folder   5	Center for Vietnamese Studies and Programs
Box   1 Folder   6	Conference on scholarly integrity
Box   1 Folder   7	Correspondence
Box   1 Folder   8	Douglas Allen dismissal
	National Chapter
Box   1 Folder   9	Formation
Box   1 Folder   10	General correspondence
Box   1 Folder   11	News clippings
Box   1 Folder   12	Newsletters
Box   1 Folder   13	Newsletter submissions and proposals, 1968-1970
Box   1 Folder   14	Notes and memos
Box   1 Folder   15	Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia
M2017-096	Part 5 (M2017-096): Additions, 1967-1997 Physical Description: 1.0 cubic foot (1 records center carton)  Scope and Content Note: Additions, 1967-1997, including newsletters and bulletins, correspondence, meeting minutes, and the articles of incorporation and by-laws for the Committee.	⇧