===================================== MONASH ASIA INSTITUTE BULLETIN 5/2006 3 May 2006 ===================================== In this bulletin 1. Seminar: Lajjagauri, the headless naked goddess 2. Seminar: The great crowds: re-seeing the Delhi Durbars 3. Seminar: Maluku, the long road to recovery 4. MAI PhD Confirmation Seminar: From Manila Looking South 5. Seminar: The Challenges from Kuala Lumpur to West Point New York 6. Seminar by visiting speaker from Bangladesh 7. Seminar: Diet and Nutrition in the Tibetan Medical System 8. Seminar: Meet the Monash Archaeologists II 9. Public Forum on Modern Malaysia 10. Seminar: 'Islam and Democracy' with Anwar Ibrahim 11. Call for Papers - 13th Annual Workshop on Southeast Asian Women 12. 16th Biennial Conference of the Asian Studies Association of Australia 13. Visiting Research Fellowship, ISEAS Singapore: Dr Leon Comber 14. Chinese Government Award for Outstanding Self-Financed Students Abroad 15. Appointment of Dr Thomas Reuter as a Senior Research Fellow in Anthropology 16. 3rd Asia Pacific Mediation Forum Conference, Fiji 17. Call for papers - Water, Law and the Commons 18. Book Reviewers wanted for Asian Studies Review 19. Japanese Studies Postgraduate Scholarship 20. Website of the month ____________ Item 1. 'Reports from Asia' seminar Wednesday 3 May 2006, 1.00 pm S822, Level 8 South, Building 11 (Menzies), Monash University Clayton campus "Lajjagauri, the headless naked goddess" Dr Jayant Bapat, Hon. Research Associate, Monash Asia Institute Dr Jayant Bapat will discuss his recent fieldwork in India on his current project on Lajjagauri, the headless naked goddess. Lajjagauri was popular until the 10th century CE and is now worshipped in secret by women who do not have children. On his recent visit to India, Dr Bapat took a number of photographs of this deity in Karnataka and obtain convincing proof that the goddess is none other than Gauri, the consort of Shiva. ALL WELCOME Enquiries: Dr Tony Donaldson, tony.donaldson@adm.monash.edu.au ____________ Item 2. Seminar: The great crowds: re-seeing the Delhi Durbars Hosted by Monash Asia Institute Friday 5 May 2006, 2.00 pm Room S822, Level 8 South, Building 11 (Menzies), Monash University, Clayton Campus "The great crowds: re-seeing the Delhi Durbars: a talk with 19th century Indian photographs of the Durbars of 1877,1903 and 1911" Dr Jim Masselos, University of Sydney About the seminar This talk draws on photographic images from a new archive of 19th century photographs of India, to re-examine some of the predominant ideas about the great Delhi Durbars of 1877, 1903 and 1911. The focus is upon the people who attended the durbars, who formed the crowds which were so much part of the great display, and tries to suggest ways in which their presence might be interpreted and crowd dynamics analysed. About the speaker Jim Massselos is an honorary reader in the School of Philosophical and Historical Inquiry at the University of Sydney. For more information see: http://www.arts.monash.edu.au/mai/seminars.html#durbars RSVP and Enquiries to Dr Tony Donaldson, tony.donaldson@adm.monash.edu.au ____________ Item 3. CSEAS Seminar Centre of Southeast Asian Studies Seminar Thursday 4 May 2006, 11.00 am - 12.30 pm Manton Room SG02, Ground Floor, Menzies Building (11) South, Monash University Clayton campus Topic: "Maluku, the long road to recovery". Dr Craig Thorburn is Senior Lecturer and Coordinator, International Development & Environmental Analysis (IDEA) program, Monash University. Craig completed a PhD on customary coastal and marine resource management in the Kei Islands, eastern Indonesia, in 2000, at the University of California Los Angeles. He has worked at the community level with NGOs, development agencies and bilateral aid programs in Indonesia for over 20 years. His research interests are in the management of common-property resources, customary rights, decentralisation and regional governance issues. ALL WELCOME Enquiries: Dr Penelope Graham, Email: penny.graham@arts.monash.edu.au ____________ Item 4. 'Reports from Asia' seminar Wednesday 10 May 2006, 1.00 pm S822, Level 8 South, Building 11 (Menzies), Monash University Clayton campus "The Challenges from Kuala Lumpur to West Point New York" Mrs Jowati Juhary, PhD Candidate, Monash Asia Institute Mrs Jowati Juhary has just returned from her fieldwork in Kuala Lumpur Malaysia and New York United States. Her thesis entitled "e-Learning and Simulations at Tertiary Military Institutions: The Military Academy of Malaysia compared with the U.S. Experience" has brought her to visit the United States Military Academy West Point New York. She spent about 2 months in Kuala Lumpur and another 1 1/2 months in New York. While in Kuala Lumpur and West Point, Mrs Juhary had the opportunity to interact with military officers as well as civilians who are involved with the education and training of cadets. The difficulties in order to obtain the visa and approval from the Pentagon Washington have made the fieldwork to New York a memorable one for Mrs. Juhary. ALL WELCOME Enquiries: Dr Tony Donaldson, tony.donaldson@adm.monash.edu.au ____________ Item 5. MAI PhD Confirmation Seminar: Mr Charles Donelly Friday 19 May 2006, 11.00 am Room S822, Level 8 South, Building 11 (Menzies) Monash Asia Institute, Monash University Clayton campus From Manila Looking South: Elite Perceptions of the 'Mindanao Problem' Mr Charles Donnelly, PhD candidate, Monash Asia Institute How do elites in Manila perceive the so-called 'Mindanao problem', that is, the persistence and diversification of Islamist terrorism and secessionism in Mindanao and Sulu? The 'Mindanao problem' is no less than the failure of successive political administrations to fully integrate the marginal and minoritised Muslims or 'Moros' of the southern Philippines into its framework of national sovereignty and territorial integrity. The aim of the thesis is to gather complementary and contrasting sets of elite images that influence and drive policy in relation to the Muslim Mindanao to test the central hypothesis of the study: that lack of cohesion and continuity in policymaking represents one of the greatest impediments to solving the 'Mindanao problem'. The dissertation will build on published and drafted chapters designed by elites to address this issue. About the speaker Charles Donnelly is a PhD candidate with the Monash Asia Institute, where he is completing a thesis on national perceptions of the 'Mindanao problem'. He holds a BA (First Class Honours) in Politics from the University of Tasmania and has undertaken fieldwork in the southern Philippines where he collected data for his honours thesis on the Abu Sayyaf Group. ____________ Item 6. Visiting speaker from Bangladesh Monday 22 May 2006 Room S822, Level 8 South, Building 11 (Menzies), Monash University, Clayton Campus "The role of media/civil society in good governance and anti-corruption in Bangladesh" (Topic to be confirmed) Mr Zafar Sobhan, Assistant Editor, The Daily Star in Bangladesh More details about this seminar to be announced shortly. Enquiries and RSVP with "Bangladesh seminar" in subject heading to Dr Tony Donaldson, tony.donaldson@adm.monash.edu.au ____________ Item 7. Seminar: Diet and Nutrition in the Tibetan Medical System Tuesday 23 May 1.00 pm to 2.30pm Room S822, Level 8 South, Building 11 (Menzies), Monash University Clayton Campus Barry Clark, author of The Quintessence Tantras of Tibetan Medicine published by Snow Lion Publications, 1995 Dr.Barry Clark studied for almost twenty years in the Himalayas under two personal physicians of His Holiness The Dalai Lama. He is the only westerner ever to have received the complete training as a doctor in the ancient Tibetan Medical System. Dr Clark has also taught and practised Tibetan Medicine all over the world for some twenty-five years now. In his quest for exotic medicinal plants he has also climbed his fair share of mountains in the Indian Himalayas and Tibet. In his lecture on "Diet and Nutrition in the Tibetan Medical System", Dr Clark will explain the nature of the subtle energies of the body as a basis for both good health and disease. By means of dietary wisdom and knowledge of nutrition one can utilize the energetic properties of food sources to gain more control over both sickness and health. By such means one can transform a victim into a warrior. This lecture will also explain what makes foods 'tick' in daily life. RSVP and Enquiries with subject heading "Tibetan Diet" to Dr Tony Donaldson, tony.donaldson@adm.monash.edu.au PS. Dr Barry Clarke will also be conducting a workshop on "Rejuvenation Methods and Essence Extraction Techniques" at the Somatic Yoga Centre, Upstairs, 226a Glenferrie Rd, Malvern on Sunday 21 May 2006, 2.00 - 4.00 pm. Entry fee: $30 or $15. Enquiries: (03) 9510 2971. ____________ Item 8. Seminar: Meet the Monash Archaeologists II Presented by The School of Geography & Environmental Science, The Centre of Archaeology & Ancient History & Monash Asia Institute. Sunday 28 May 2006, 1.00 - 4.30 pm Building South 1, Monash University, Clayton Campus These free lectures will focus on Monash archaeologists and their latest field work & research in Australia, Papua New Guinea, China, Egypt & Italy. Speakers include: - Dr Angelo Andrea Di Castro on Kashgar - Joy Kremler & Richard Long on Ancient Egypt - Tom Chandler on 3D reconstructions in Egypt, Angkor & Kashgar - Dr Ian McNiven on Torres Strait Island - Dr Tim Denham on Papua New Guinea and - Assoc. Prof. Jim Peterson & Lucia Lancellotti on Sardinia. The lecture is organised by The School of Geography & Environmental Science, The Centre of Archaeology & Ancient History & Monash Asia Institute. For more information see: http://www.arts.monash.edu.au/mai/seminars.html#MMA2 Enquiries: Lucia Lancellotti on 0409 021673 or email Lucia.Lancellotti@arts.monash.edu.au ____________ Item 9. Public Forum on Modern Malaysia Friday 2 June 1.30pm to 5pm Venue: Park Hyatt, 1 Parliament Sq East Melbourne 3002 The Monash Asia Institute is pleased to host, with the support of the Australia Malaysia Institute (DFAT), the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (Melbourne branch), the Asia Society and the Centre for Malaysian Studies (Monash Asia Institute) a special afternoon of discussions about Malaysia with the Foreign Minister of Malaysia and the Minister for Higher Education. This event is an initiative of ASLI (Asia Strategic Leadership Institute), Malaysia's leading think tank. More details about this program to be announced shortly. RSVP with "Malaysian Forum" in subject heading to Dr Tony Donaldson, Tony.Donaldson@adm.monash.edu.au ____________ Item 10. Seminar: 'Islam and Democracy' with Anwar Ibrahim Friday 21 July 2006, 6.00 pm - 8.30pm Carrillo Gantner Theatre (formerly known as the Basement Theatre) Sidney Myer Asia Centre, Melbourne University In this special seminar, Anwar Ibrahim present a 30-40 minute lecture which will then be followed by a panel of commentators reflecting on his presentation. Panellists include Dr David Wright-Neville (Politics Department, Monash) and Prof Michael Leigh (Asia Institute, Melbourne University). The seminar is organised by the Monash Asia Institute, Centre for Religion and Theology (Monash), and the Asia Institute at the University of Melbourne (formerly MIALS) RSVP with subject heading "Islam and democracy seminar" to Dr Tony Donaldson, tony.donaldson@adm.monash.edu.au ____________ Item 11. Call for Papers - 13th Annual Workshop on Southeast Asian Women 13th Annual Workshop on Southeast Asian Women Monash University, Clayton campus, Friday 23 June 2006 The Workshop aims to bring together researchers and others interested in the study of matters relating to Southeast Asian women. It is open to all fields of study. The workshop is organised by the Monash Asia Institute and the Centre of Southeast Asian Studies. Call for Papers Due date: 2 June 2006 Please send brief offers of papers to Dr Susan Blackburn, School of Political and Social Inquiry, Building 11, Monash University, Victoria, 3800. Email: sue.blackburn@arts.monash.edu.au More details: http://www.arts.monash.edu.au/mai/cseas/seawomen06.html ____________ Item 12. 16th Biennial Conference of the Asian Studies Association of Australia (ASAA) University of Wollongong, Australia 26 - 29 June 2006 The conference is titled Asia Reconstructed: from critiques of development to postcolonial studies and aims to examine governance, society, culture, history, education, language, law, technology, and the arts. The themes of the conference are: * The Critique of Development * Governance and Citizenship * Labour and Social Transformation * Forms of Knowledge * Language and Interculturality * The Clash of Fundamentalisms * National and Transnational Legal Issues * The Role of Technology * New and Old Arts * Asia and World History * Postcolonialism * Australia-South Asia Links: History and Culture * The Neo-Liberal Challenge The ASAA Conference this year will include a number of important international guests including Prof David Ludden, History Department, University of Pennsylvannia. Dr Ludden is an authority on Indian history and has recently been working on Bangladesh. Full details: http://www.uow.edu.au/arts/conferences/asaa/index.html Enquiries: Mr Peter Vrahas, Wollongong UniCentre, Conference Management Team Phone: 61 2 4221 8173 Email: vrahas@uow.edu.au ____________ Item 13. Visiting Research Fellowship, ISEAS Singapore: Dr Leon Comber Dr Leon Comber will take up a Visiting Research Fellowship in early May for two months at ISEAS (Institute of Southeast Asian Studies) in Singapore. While at ISEAS Dr Comber will give lectures and seminars on the role of intelligence in the Malay Emergency. He will also prepare his doctoral dissertation for publication by ISEAS in conjunction with MAI and OUP. A graduation dinner was held on 19 April to celebrate and congratulate Dr Comber on his PhD Graduation. Dr Comber's doctoral thesis is titled 'Malaya's Secret Police 1945-1960: the Role of the Special Branch in the Malayan Emergency'. As a work of scholarship that combines Chinese, Malay and English sources the thesis is also informed by knowledge Dr Comber gained as a former Chinese speaking Special Branch Officer during the Malay Emergency. Dr Comber's thesis was undertaken at the Monash Asia Institute under the supervision of Professor Marika Vicziany and Dr Gale Dixon. The dinner was also an opportunity to farewell Ms Azizah Omar who recently completed her doctoral thesis and returned to Malaysia to join the University Science Malaysia. ____________ Item 14. Chinese Government Award for Outstanding Self-Financed Students Abroad The Monash Asia Institute is delighted to announce that Mr Guibin Zhang, a doctoral candidate in the Monash Asia Institute, has received an award from the People's Republic of China for his research work and publications. Some 200 awards have been distributed globally; of these 15 to Australia, and of these 3 to Melbourne - 2 of 3 went to Monash and Mr Zhang was one of them. The award is worth US$5,000 plus a Certificate of Honour. An important part of the award is to give recognition to the publications and international conferences attended by the overseas Chinese students. ____________ Item 15. Appointment of Dr Thomas Reuter We extend a warm welcome to Dr Thomas Reuter who has recently joined the School of Political and Social Inquiry at Monash as a Senior Research Fellow in Anthropology. Earlier this year, Thomas completed a five-year Australian Research Council Queen Elizabeth 11 Fellowship for his research on 'Revivalism and Religious Conflict in Javanese Society: an ethnographic investigation of changing identities and political aspirations in contemporary Indonesia'. Prior to this, he had held a three-year ARC Postdoctoral Fellowship for research on the highland people of Bali, Indonesia. Thomas has a combined Honours degree (1991) in anthropology and social theory from the University of Melbourne and a PhD in anthropology (1996) from The Australian National University. He has published extensively on the highland people of Bali, as well as his current research interests in Java and Islam. Thomas recently presented a Anthropologists @ Monash seminar on "The Fragmented Self: a reflection on the politics of culture and the ethnographic experience". Dr Thomas Reuter can be contacted on email at Thomas.Reuter@arts.monash.edu.au. ____________ Item 16. 3rd Asia Pacific Mediation Forum Conference 26 - 30 June 2006 University of the South Pacific Suva, Fiji About the conference The conference theme is Mediating Cultures in the Pacific and Asia will focus on practice of both traditional/informal and formal mediation processes. The aim of the conference is to bring practitioners together from all sectors in order to explore the diverse ways in which mediation is being practiced in the Pacific and Asia. More details: http://www.usp.ac.fj/apmf Enquiries: Laura Seurynck, Executive Secretary, Tel: 679-322-4027, Mobile: 679-936-4628 laura.seurynck@usp.ac.fj ____________ Item 17. Call for papers - Water, Law and the Commons Call for papers 8 - 10 December 2006 New Delhi The International Environmental Law Research Centre (IELRC) is currently implementing a 3-year research project entitled 'Legal Issues Related to Water Sector Restructuring: Human Rights, Environment, Agriculture and Socio-Economic Aspects'. This project is coordinated by Dr Philippe Cullet in Geneva and Dr Usha Ramanathan in Delhi, and is supported by the Swiss National Science Foundation. More information about this project can be found at http://www.ielrc.org/water In pursuance of this research project IELRC is organising its first workshop entitled "Water, Law and the Commons". For more information see: http://www.ielrc.org/water/workshops.htm. Enquiries to water@ielrc.org ____________ Item 18. Book Reviewers wanted for Asian Studies Review The South Asian Studies Association (SASA) are looking for reviewers for the following books for Asian Studies Review. 1. Hassan Abbas 'Pakistan's Drift into Extremism'. New York: Sharp, 2005. 2. Gwyn Campbell 'Abolition and its Aftermath in Indian Ocean Africa and Asia'. London: Routledge, 2005. 3. Swati Chattopadhyay 'Representing Calcutta: Modernity, Nationalism, and the Colonial Uncanny'. London: Routledge, 2005. 4. Molly Daniels-Ramanujan 'Uncollected Poems and Prose A. K. Ramanujan'. OUP, 2001. 5. Neil De Votta 'Blowback: Linguistic Nationalism, Institutional Decay, and Ethnic Conflict in Sri Lanka'. California: Standford, 2004. 6. Andrew Fischer 'State Growth and Social Exclusion in Tibet'. Copenhagen: NIAS Press, 2005. 7. Debjani Ganguly 'Caste, Colonialism and Counter-Modernity'. London: Routledge, 2005. 8. Gregory Gleason 'Markets and Politics in Central Asia: Structural Reform and Political Change'. London: Routledge, 2003. 9. Susantha Goonatilake 'Anthropologizing Sri Lanka'. Bloomingham Indiana Univ. Press, 2001. 10. Husain Haqqanai 'Pakistan: Between Mosque and Military'. Washington: United Book Press, 2005 11. Medha Kudaisya 'The Life and Times of G. D. Birla'. Delhi: OUP, 2003. 12. Alistair MacMillan 'Standing at the Margins: Representation and Electoral Reservation in India'. Delhi: OUP, 2005. 13. Raja Menon 'Weapons of Mass Destruction'. New Delhi: Sage, 2004. 14. Jasmin Mirza 'Between Chaddor and the Market: Female Office Workers in Lahore'. Delhi: OUP, 2002. 15. Amalendu Misra 'Identity and Religion: Foundations of Anti-Islamism in India'. New Delhi: Sage, 2004 16. Martha Olcott 'Central Asia's Second Chance'. Washington: Carnegie, 2005. 17. Mridu Rai 'Hindu Rulers, Muslim Subjects: Islam, Rights and the History of Kasmir'. London: Hurst, 2004. 18. Rowena Robinson 'Sociology of Religion in India'. Delhi: Sage, 2001. 19. Satadru Sen 'Migrant Races: Empire, Identity and K. S. Ranjitsinghji'. Manchester: MUP, 2005. 20. Deepak Thapa 'A Kingdom Under Seige: Nepal's Maoist Insurgency, 1996 to 2004'. New York: Zed Books, 2004. If you would like to review any of these books, please contact Dr Tim Allender, t.allender@edfac.usyd.edu.au ____________ Item 19. Japanese Studies Postgraduate Scholarship The Nakashima Foundation, in conjunction with the School of Social and Cultural Studies at the University of Western Australia, have established a Japanese Studies Postgraduate Scholarship. The PhD candidate will be based in Asian Studies (located within the School of Social and Cultural Studies). Asian Studies would like to invite potential candidates to apply for this prestigious scholarship. Applications are welcome from any field of contemporary Japanese Studies, but with preference given to research projects that fit with the broader research strengths of Asian Studies academic staff ( see: http://www.asianstudies.arts.uwa.edu.au/staff_details). This scholarship is for 3 years, with a possible 6 month extension (subject to satisfactory progress). More details are available at: http://www.asianstudies.arts.uwa.edu.au/scholarships/japanese_studies_postgraduate_scholarship ____________ Item 20. Website of the month http://www.bbc.co.uk/persian/afghanistan/story/2006/03/060327_ft_studio7_sarmast.shtml This website contains the BBC program 'Studio No. 7' which is broadcast each week, and is hosted by the well known Afghan writer Haroon Yosofi. The program focuses on Afghan artists, musicians, poets, writers and actors. This website features a live talkback show in Dari/Persian with Monash academic Dr Ahmad Sarmast. Here Dr Sarmast answers questions on the state of music in contemporary Afghanistan, and the Monash 'Project for the Revival and Promotion of Music in Afghanistan' which was designed at Monash University. Dr Sarmast is an Hon Research Fellow at the Monash Asia Institute. He recently returned to Afghanistan after 15 years of exile. ===================================================================== The Monash Asia Institute Newsletter incorporates news items from the six research centres of the Monash Asia Institute, partner organisations and other groups working to promote Asian Studies in Australia. For further information about the Monash Asia Institute and this newsletter: http://www.arts.monash.edu.au/mai/ To unsubscribe, please send an email to: monash.asia.institute@adm.monash.edu.au =====================================================================