第二次世界大戰之後，現代南亞研究開始現身於美國學界，儘管其受到區域研究跨學科典範的影響，但卻仍未能完全擺脫東方學和印度學所積累下來的濃厚古典主義色彩，並在幾所領銜區域研究的重點大學院校中，形成獨樹一格的南亞研究傳統，著重於非功利取向的人文式理解;唯在受到一系列知識性與制度性的質疑和挑戰之後，隨著區域研究本身面臨學科紀律的重組與反省，過去對於南亞問題的研究視野，也開始出現許多檢討與轉變。在本文的討論中，我們便將透過南亞研究在美國學界發展軌跡的回顧與檢討，描繪區域研究之下南亞問題的特殊討論方式，以及其所面臨的各種困境，進而指出未來南亞研究的可能發展方向，俾供尚在起步中的台灣南亞研究參考。

The establishing of South Asian studies in America during the decades following the WWII marked an important shift in the study of South Asia from Oriental studies and Indology towards an interdisciplinary area studies approach which tried to treat this area as objects of social sciences and humanities. During the ensuing decade, the earnest scholarship begun with the leading universities, such as the University of Chicago, University of Pennsylvania; all fostered new projects focused on South Asia. They had emphasized study of other cultures for broadly humanistic reasons; not tied to any governmental definition of national interest as was fashionable in the 1950s. They aimed not at producing useful expertise, but at increasing international understanding. This article begins with a brief account of the political, intellectual, and institutional roots of South Asian studies in the American academy. It then turns to both the critiques of South Asian studies and the challenges and contributions they have brought to the disciplines and to global knowledge. By presenting the evolution and challenges of South Asian studies in the American academy, this article is also an attempt to address the prospect of South Asian studies in Taiwan that might be useful for students, faculty, and administrators in the context of current discussions.