WPS 101 Allah is the Scientist of the Scientists: Modern Medicine and Religious Healing among British Bangladeshis

In anthropological fieldwork between 2005 and 2007 on genetically-related illness among British Bangladeshi Muslims, I was struck by the absolute faith which people expressed in Allah in relation to whatever healing and medical options they might adopt. Whether the problem was regarded as an upri (jinn, i.e. spirit-related) or daktari (biomedical) problem, the families were …

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WPS 100 The My Son and Po Nagar Nha Trang Sanctuaries: On the Cosmological Dualist Cult of the Champa Kingdom in Central Vietnam as Seen from Art and Anthropology

This paper is an attempt to detail the dualism observed in the cosmology of both the Cham monuments and contemporary Cham society. It first outlines the dualistic cults as represented in two royal sanctuaries, My Son in the north and Po Nagar Nha Trang in the south of the Champa kingdom. The My Son sanctuary was …

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ARI Annual Report 2007

MESSAGE FROM CHAIR OF INTERNATIONAL ADVISORY BOARD Prof Tommy Koh I am very pleased to congratulate the Asia Research Institute for an eventful year of many achievements. This is an opportune moment to look back on the last five years and to thank  ony Reid for his leadership and extraordinary contributions. Tony completed his tenure …

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Religious Diversity and Civil Society

This collection of essays by leading scholars focuses on two controversial propositions central to the contemporary issues faced by multi-religious societies. Firstly, societies that are culturally and ethnically diverse can be more diffi cult to govern than those that are homogenous. Secondly globalization, particularly of religion, makes these problems increasingly endemic, global and potentially catastrophic. …

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Rights and Virtues

Bryan Turner’s writing on citizenship and human rights has placed him at the forefront of sociological research in this area. Over the last three decades his essays and other contributions have led to a fundamental reconsideration of the debate about individual and social rights in social theory. His work compares in its breath and scope …

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A Century in Asia: The History of the École Française d’Extrême-Orient 1898-2006

Dedicated entirely to the study of the societies of South, Southeast and East Asia, the Ecole Francaise d’Extreme-Orient (EFEO) is the oldest and most prestigious French academic institution in Asia. However, there is surprisingly little general awareness of this society, beyond the facts that is headquarters are now located in Paris and its foremost area …

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Buddhism, Power and Political Order

Weber’s claim that Buddhism is an otherworldly religion is only partially true. Early sources indicate that the Buddha was sometimes diverted from supra-mundane interests to dwell on a variety of politically related matters. The significance of Asoka Maurya as a paradigm for later traditions of Buddhist kingship is also well attested. However, there has been little …

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Colonial Archaeology in South Asia: The Legacy of Sir Mortimer Wheeler

This book discusses the practice and institutionalization of the discipline of archaeology under British Rule and its current manifestations. Using Sir Mortimer Wheeler’s tenure as the Director-General of the Archaeological Survey of India (1944-48), it assesses the extent to which colonial intervention shaped the nascent discipline in South Asia. The study investigates two important areas …

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Critical Perspectives on Global Governance: Rights and Regulation in Governing Regimes

In this innovative study Jean Grugel and Nicola Piper aim to link theories of liberal global governance and rights-based development in a way that explores how rights can be made real. The authors analyze the scope and effectiveness of rights-based governance in attaching a rights framework to emerging governance regimes and discourses as well as …

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