Southeast Asian Studies: Pacific Perspectives

Southeast Asian studies have undergone significant changes since the groundwork was laid out in the mid-twentieth century. Much of the public’s awareness is due solely to wars, and during the decade of the 1980s many scholars shifted focus away from the region. Southeast Asian Studies, Pacific Perspectives thoughtfully examines how the study of Southeast Asia has […]

Southeast Asian Studies: Pacific Perspectives Read More »

Southeast Asian studies have undergone significant changes since the groundwork was laid out in the mid-twentieth century. Much of the public’s awareness is due solely to wars, and during the decade of the 1980s many scholars shifted focus away from the region. Southeast Asian Studies, Pacific Perspectives thoughtfully examines how the study of Southeast Asia has

Babel or Behemoth: Language Trends in Asia

How are people in Asia negotiating language? With the growing hegemony of English in transnational life, the flourishing of national languages at the expense of vernaculars, the redefining of speech communities through new technologies, how are language communities finding – or losing – expression? This book presents essays by scholars and practitioners about some trends

Babel or Behemoth: Language Trends in Asia Read More »

How are people in Asia negotiating language? With the growing hegemony of English in transnational life, the flourishing of national languages at the expense of vernaculars, the redefining of speech communities through new technologies, how are language communities finding – or losing – expression? This book presents essays by scholars and practitioners about some trends

WPS 06 A Feminist Critique of Domestic Violence Laws in Singapore and Malaysia

Domestic violence against women has been on the global agenda since the 1970s but the problem has continued to escalate. Singapore and Malaysia have in the last decade enacted specific laws to deal with domestic violence, and while these laws have had some measure of success, further reform is required. This paper highlights the importance of

WPS 06 A Feminist Critique of Domestic Violence Laws in Singapore and Malaysia Read More »

Domestic violence against women has been on the global agenda since the 1970s but the problem has continued to escalate. Singapore and Malaysia have in the last decade enacted specific laws to deal with domestic violence, and while these laws have had some measure of success, further reform is required. This paper highlights the importance of

WPS 05 The Cultural Significance of Fish in India: First Steps in Coming to Terms with the Contradictory Positions of Some Key Materials

This paper is part of an inquiry into the history of Indian fisheries during the period of British colonial rule, which I am undertaking with my colleagues from the South Asia Research Unit at Curtin University.  We are seeking an understanding of (i) the effects on the fisheries and fishing communities in the different regions

WPS 05 The Cultural Significance of Fish in India: First Steps in Coming to Terms with the Contradictory Positions of Some Key Materials Read More »

This paper is part of an inquiry into the history of Indian fisheries during the period of British colonial rule, which I am undertaking with my colleagues from the South Asia Research Unit at Curtin University.  We are seeking an understanding of (i) the effects on the fisheries and fishing communities in the different regions

WPS 04 Narrative, Memory and History: Multiple Interpretations of the Lao Past

The exploration of the oral memories of the men and women who belong to ethnic minority groups in southern Laos and who have been involved in the Vietnam Wars constitutes the focus of this paper. It analyses their interpretations of the past through their narratives: their pattern, logic and coherence, but also their discontinuities, omissions

WPS 04 Narrative, Memory and History: Multiple Interpretations of the Lao Past Read More »

The exploration of the oral memories of the men and women who belong to ethnic minority groups in southern Laos and who have been involved in the Vietnam Wars constitutes the focus of this paper. It analyses their interpretations of the past through their narratives: their pattern, logic and coherence, but also their discontinuities, omissions

WPS 03 The Ming shi Account of Champa

The account of Champa contained within the Chinese dynastic history Ming shi records events, as seen by the Chinese court, extending from 1369 until 1544. The text thus covers the period from that which Georges Maspero referred to as the “apogée” of the polity, to the sack and decimation of the Cham capital at Vijaya

WPS 03 The Ming shi Account of Champa Read More »

The account of Champa contained within the Chinese dynastic history Ming shi records events, as seen by the Chinese court, extending from 1369 until 1544. The text thus covers the period from that which Georges Maspero referred to as the “apogée” of the polity, to the sack and decimation of the Cham capital at Vijaya

WPS 02 A Tale of Two Centuries: The Globalisation of Maritime Raiding and Piracy in Southeast Asia at the end of the Eighteenth and Twentieth Centuries

The comparative temporal perspective explored in this paper, which covers the latter part of two centuries, the late eighteenth and the late twentieth centuries, lends explanatory power to the treatment of Iranun maritime raiding, on the one hand, and on the other, modern day crime on the high seas in Southeast Asia, with particular reference

WPS 02 A Tale of Two Centuries: The Globalisation of Maritime Raiding and Piracy in Southeast Asia at the end of the Eighteenth and Twentieth Centuries Read More »

The comparative temporal perspective explored in this paper, which covers the latter part of two centuries, the late eighteenth and the late twentieth centuries, lends explanatory power to the treatment of Iranun maritime raiding, on the one hand, and on the other, modern day crime on the high seas in Southeast Asia, with particular reference

WPS 01 War, Peace and the Burden of History in Aceh

The Indonesian military “invasion” of Aceh on 19 May 2003 marked the collapse of a peace process initiated discreetly by the Henry Dunant Centre three years earlier.  This process had culminated in the Cessation of Hostilities Agreement (COHA) between the Government of Indonesia and the Aceh Independence Movement (GAM), which came into effect on 9

WPS 01 War, Peace and the Burden of History in Aceh Read More »

The Indonesian military “invasion” of Aceh on 19 May 2003 marked the collapse of a peace process initiated discreetly by the Henry Dunant Centre three years earlier.  This process had culminated in the Cessation of Hostilities Agreement (COHA) between the Government of Indonesia and the Aceh Independence Movement (GAM), which came into effect on 9

Approaching Transnationalisms: Studies on Transnational Societies, Multicultural Contacts, and Imaginings of Home

The term “transnationalism” has gained considerable academic and popular currency despite a lack of clear definitions, in part because its overall form changes as its influence incorporates additional spheres of daily life on a variety of scales and contexts. The purpose of this volume is to bring together different perspectives on this phenomenon, using case

Approaching Transnationalisms: Studies on Transnational Societies, Multicultural Contacts, and Imaginings of Home Read More »

The term “transnationalism” has gained considerable academic and popular currency despite a lack of clear definitions, in part because its overall form changes as its influence incorporates additional spheres of daily life on a variety of scales and contexts. The purpose of this volume is to bring together different perspectives on this phenomenon, using case