Victor Terence King

Victor Terence King (born 26 January 1949) is a British academic and Emeritus Professor of Southeast Asian Studies, University of Leeds and Visiting Professor of Borneo Studies, Institute of Asian Studies, Universiti Brunei Darussalam. King is listed as one of the University of Hull's Notable academics at List of University of Hull people.

Education King holds a BA in Geography and Sociology, University of Hull (1970), an MA (with distinction), Area Studies (Anthropology, Geography, Indonesian Language), SOAS University of London (1971) and a PhD in Social Anthropology, University of Hull (1980).

Professional life

King's area of research in the Anthropology and sociology of Southeast Asia focuses on Indonesia and Malaysia. He studies kinship and social organisation; culture and ethnic identities; environmental issues, climate change and forest clearance in Borneo; tourism and development; UNESCO World Heritage Sites; ethnographic museum and photographic collections; and the problems of defining Southeast Asia as a region. With Dr Monica Janowski, now Curator, he was instrumental in re-opening the Southeast Asian Museum at the University of Hull in 2024.

He contributed to three national Research Assessment Exercises for the Higher Education Funding Council for England: Asian Studies Panel Member (1992); deputy chair, Asian Studies (1995–1996); chair, Asian Studies Sub-Panel, and Member, Area Studies Panel (2005–2008). King has been Editor-in-Chief of Suvannabhumi: Multidisciplinary Journal of Southeast Asian Studies since 2019 and is a member of the advisory board of the Journal of Humanities and Social Science Research (JHSSR). King serves on the following editorial boards: South East Asia Research; TRaNS: Trans-Regional and National Studies of Southeast Asia; as an Editorial Advisor on East Asia: An International Quarterly; and as a member of the International Editorial Board of the International Journal of Asia Pacific Studies. He serves as an editorial board member of the Asia in Transition book series and as Editor of The Modern Anthropology of Southeast Asia book series. He is Senior Editorial Advisor, Regional Center for Social Science and Sustainable Development, Chiang Mai University Press. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts. The Universiti Brunei Darussalam has established an annual The Professor Victor T. King Prize in Borneo Studies, for the best final year undergraduate dissertation.

King has acted as Honorary Secretary (1976–1983), Treasurer (1988–1992) and Chair (2007–2010) of the Association of South-East Asian Studies in the United Kingdom (ASEASUK). and was a member (1979–1983, 2007–2010) of the United Kingdom Coordinating Council of Area Studies Associations (UKCASA). He served (1993–1998) on the Economic and Social Research Council and was involved in the development of Southeast Asian Studies in the British Academy acting as Honorary Secretary (1982–1986) of the British Academy and British Council funded British Institute in South-East Asia (BISEA) (which is distinct from the British Chambers of Commerce funded BiSEA ) and later as Secretary (1986–1998) and Chair (1998–2002). The following book was published in his honour as a leading scholar in the field of Southeast Asian Studies, by Ooi, KG (2020) Borneo and Sulawesi: Indigenous Peoples, Empires and Area Studies Routledge, London and New York .

Academic posts Following a career at the University of Hull where he was a Lecturer then a Senior Lecturer in South-East Asian Sociology at Hull (1973–1988) before promotion to Professor of South East Asian Studies (1988 to 2005) during which time he served as Dean of the School of Social and Political Sciences (1993–1996) and Pro-Vice-Chancellor (1998–2000) and as Director of Southeast Asian Studies at Hull (1988–1993, 1997–1998, 2002–2005) and Director of the university's Graduate School (2002–2005). He moved to the University of Leeds where he was Professor of South East Asian Studies and served as Executive Director of the White Rose East Asia Centre, in partnership with the University of Sheffield, funded by the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE), the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) and the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) (2006–2012).

He retired in 2012 as emeritus Professor in the School of Languages, Cultures and Societies and Honorary Fellow in South East Asian Studies (2012–2017), University of Leeds and has since held posts at Universiti Brunei Darussalam in the Institute of Asian Studies, as Eminent Visiting Professor (2012–2013), Distinguished Visiting Fellow, (2014–2016), the inaugural Professor of Borneo Studies (2017–2022). He was Distinguished Professor (2022–2025) and has been visiting professor in the Institute of Asian Studies since 2025. He has held Research Fellowships at the Rijksmuseum voor Volkenkunde, KITLV/Royal Netherlands Institute of Southeast Asian and Caribbean Studies, Chiang Mai University, SOAS University of London, University of Leeds and Busan University of Foreign Studies.