WPS 189 God’s Chosen People: Race, Religion and Anti-Colonial Struggle in French Indochina

In 1926, a new syncretistic religion was founded by the educated but dis-enfranchised Vietnamese employees of the French colonial administration in Saigon, Indochina. “Caodaism” (the worship of the “highest power”) was officially called “The Great Way of the Third Er of Redemption” (Đại Đạo Tam Kỳ Phổ Độ), and presented an Asian fusion of millenarian […]

WPS 189 God’s Chosen People: Race, Religion and Anti-Colonial Struggle in French Indochina Read More »

In 1926, a new syncretistic religion was founded by the educated but dis-enfranchised Vietnamese employees of the French colonial administration in Saigon, Indochina. “Caodaism” (the worship of the “highest power”) was officially called “The Great Way of the Third Er of Redemption” (Đại Đạo Tam Kỳ Phổ Độ), and presented an Asian fusion of millenarian

Pacific Affairs – Special Issue: Celling South Asia: The Mobile Phone’s Impact on a Region (Vol. 85 No. 3)

This introduction scans the effects of mobile-phone communication, particularly in South Asia. It focuses on three important areas: political economy, politics and social practices. By 2012 India had more than 900 million telephone subscribers, 96 per cent of them on cell phones, and the majority of users were the poor. At the other end of

Pacific Affairs – Special Issue: Celling South Asia: The Mobile Phone’s Impact on a Region (Vol. 85 No. 3) Read More »

This introduction scans the effects of mobile-phone communication, particularly in South Asia. It focuses on three important areas: political economy, politics and social practices. By 2012 India had more than 900 million telephone subscribers, 96 per cent of them on cell phones, and the majority of users were the poor. At the other end of

Structure Audience and Soft Power in East Asian Pop Culture: TransAsia Screen Cultures

East Asian pop culture can be seen as an integrated cultural economy emerging from the rise of Japanese and Korean pop culture as an influential force in the distribution and reception networks of Chinese language pop culture embedded in the ethnic Chinese diaspora. Taking Singapore as a locus of pan-Asian Chineseness, Chua Beng Huat provides

Structure Audience and Soft Power in East Asian Pop Culture: TransAsia Screen Cultures Read More »

East Asian pop culture can be seen as an integrated cultural economy emerging from the rise of Japanese and Korean pop culture as an influential force in the distribution and reception networks of Chinese language pop culture embedded in the ethnic Chinese diaspora. Taking Singapore as a locus of pan-Asian Chineseness, Chua Beng Huat provides

The City as Target

Bringing together scholars from a diverse range of disciplines,The City as Target provides a sustained and critical response to the relationship between the concept of targeting (in its many forms) and notions of understanding, imagining and shaping the urban. Among the many spatial and graphic terms used to describe cities in urban studies, the word target

The City as Target Read More »

Bringing together scholars from a diverse range of disciplines,The City as Target provides a sustained and critical response to the relationship between the concept of targeting (in its many forms) and notions of understanding, imagining and shaping the urban. Among the many spatial and graphic terms used to describe cities in urban studies, the word target

The Spirit of Things: Materiality and Religious Diversity in Southeast Asia

What role do objects play in crafting the religions of Southeast Asia and shaping the experiences of believers? The Spirit of Things explores religious materiality in a region marked by shifting boundaries, multiple beliefs, and trends toward religious exclusivism. While most studies of religion in Southeast Asia focus on doctrines or governmental policy, contributors to this volume

The Spirit of Things: Materiality and Religious Diversity in Southeast Asia Read More »

What role do objects play in crafting the religions of Southeast Asia and shaping the experiences of believers? The Spirit of Things explores religious materiality in a region marked by shifting boundaries, multiple beliefs, and trends toward religious exclusivism. While most studies of religion in Southeast Asia focus on doctrines or governmental policy, contributors to this volume

WPS 188 Global Householding and Social Reproduction: Migration Research, Dynamics and Public Policy in East and Southeast Asia

This paper seeks to locate the household in research on global migration and transborder social and economic integration. The focus is on the household as a basic institution in social reproduction. The discussion begins by comparing concepts of the household in society, starting with peasant studies of the household as a self-sufficient unit of production. It

WPS 188 Global Householding and Social Reproduction: Migration Research, Dynamics and Public Policy in East and Southeast Asia Read More »

This paper seeks to locate the household in research on global migration and transborder social and economic integration. The focus is on the household as a basic institution in social reproduction. The discussion begins by comparing concepts of the household in society, starting with peasant studies of the household as a self-sufficient unit of production. It

The Magic of Bollywood: At Home and Abroad

Few would deny that the most significant weapon in India’s cultural and artistic armory is its avowedly commercial cinema, now known as Bollywood. This anthology aims to portray the “soft” power of Bollywood, which makes it a unique and powerful disseminator of Indian culture and values abroad. The essays in the book examine Bollywood’s popularity

The Magic of Bollywood: At Home and Abroad Read More »

Few would deny that the most significant weapon in India’s cultural and artistic armory is its avowedly commercial cinema, now known as Bollywood. This anthology aims to portray the “soft” power of Bollywood, which makes it a unique and powerful disseminator of Indian culture and values abroad. The essays in the book examine Bollywood’s popularity

Olympics: The India Story

When and how did the Olympic movement take root in India? Who were the early players and why did they appropriate Olympics sport to further their political ambitious? In most accounts of Olympics history across the world, India’s Olympic journey is a mere footnote. Olympics: The India Story sets that right. Drawing on previously unused archival sources, it

Olympics: The India Story Read More »

When and how did the Olympic movement take root in India? Who were the early players and why did they appropriate Olympics sport to further their political ambitious? In most accounts of Olympics history across the world, India’s Olympic journey is a mere footnote. Olympics: The India Story sets that right. Drawing on previously unused archival sources, it

Routledge Handbook of Heritage in Asia

Across Asia today, rapid economic and social change means the region’s heritage is simultaneously under threat and undergoing a revival as never before. This volume examines heritage as a key component in the unfolding modernities of Asia, moving between analytical scales to address questions of tourism, urban planning, national or ethnic expressions of identity, conflict, memorialization, and

Routledge Handbook of Heritage in Asia Read More »

Across Asia today, rapid economic and social change means the region’s heritage is simultaneously under threat and undergoing a revival as never before. This volume examines heritage as a key component in the unfolding modernities of Asia, moving between analytical scales to address questions of tourism, urban planning, national or ethnic expressions of identity, conflict, memorialization, and

WPS 187 The Difficulties of Religious Pluralism in India: Analysing the Place of Worship as a Legal Category in the Ayodhya and Bababudangiri Disputes

The desirability of religious pluralism is widely accepted in most modern societies, being considered the hallmark of a stable and progressive state. Such pluralism is based on the framework that the protection of religious freedom is essential to the survival of these societies, and that a neutral secular state is required to legally enforce such

WPS 187 The Difficulties of Religious Pluralism in India: Analysing the Place of Worship as a Legal Category in the Ayodhya and Bababudangiri Disputes Read More »

The desirability of religious pluralism is widely accepted in most modern societies, being considered the hallmark of a stable and progressive state. Such pluralism is based on the framework that the protection of religious freedom is essential to the survival of these societies, and that a neutral secular state is required to legally enforce such