===================================== MONASH ASIA INSTITUTE BULLETIN 3/2007 12 March 2007 ===================================== In this bulletin 1. Double seminar: Images of Japan in the NY Times; Late night radio shows: to whom does midnight belong? 2. Seminar: Corporate rescues in Malaysia 3. Seminar: Fiqh, pesantren and awam 4. Seminar: Negotiating bun khun 5. Seminar: Computer techniques for Tibetan texts 6. Seminar: Islam's other nation: a fresh look at Indonesia 7. Forum: Afghanistan today: Women striving for human rights in a ‘new democracy’ 8. Sri Lanka Comes to Melbourne 9. Conference: Religion, ethnicity, and modernity: identity and social practice in Asia 10. Website of the month: ICEAPS ===================================== Monash Asia Institute and Monash University News and Events ===================================== Item 1. Japanese Studies Centre - Double seminar Tuesday 13 March 2007, 1.00 pm Japanese Studies Centre, Monash University Clayton campus (Building 54, near the bus loop) * Two presentations – one in English and one in Japanese (First seminar - presented in English) "Changing Images of Japan in the New York Times (1851-1932)" Speaker: Professor Pauline Kent Professor of Sociology, Faculty of Intercultural Communications, Ryukoku University, Shiga, Japan (Currently a Visiting Scholar at the Japanese Studies Centre, Monash University) The electronic data base of the New York Times provides an easily accessible window on how Japan was perceived in this influential newspaper. However the sheer volume of data can be daunting. I will present an example of images of Japan from years that were relatively popular for reporting on Japan and the Japanese. I will begin with the Japan Expedition and the Japanese Embassy visit to America. The "Civil War" in Japan creates interest in Japan's future in 1868-9 but interest in Japan does not peak again until 1895 when Japan expands into China and once again in 1904 when the war with Russia culminates in glowing reports about the Japanese. 1921 witnesses distrust of Japan's increasing power and in 1932, expansion into Manchuria and the negotiations with the League of Nations once again creates (mostly negative) interest in Japan. Only brief summaries of the images as they appeared in the Times will be presented, with the intention of providing a forum for discussion rather than expert analyses of the images. -- (Second seminar - presented in Japanese) "Late night radio shows in 1990s Japan and the elderly: to whom does midnight belong?" "(1990 nendai no Nihon ni okeru shinya housou to koureisha no kankei: shinya to wa dare no mono ka?)" Speaker: Dr Masayoshi Manabe Assistant Professor, Institute of Japanese Studies, Osaka University; member of the CEO Interface Humanities – Japan as Image Project (Currently a Visiting Scholar at the Japanese Studies Centre, Monash University) Late night radio broadcasting began to take on in Japan in the 1960s, when it functioned as a forum for young listeners. In the 1990s however the NHK program Radio Midnight Train radically changed the image of such late night programs as the monopoly of the young. This presentation explores the ways in which the “reality” of the electronically reproduced voice appeals to Japanese elderly people. Enquiries about the seminars: japanese.studies.centre@arts.monash.edu.au -------------- Item 2. Joint Centre for Malaysian Studies/Centre for Southeast Asian Studies Seminar Thursday 15 March 2007 11.00 am - 12.30 pm Manton Room SG02, Ground Floor, Menzies Building (11) South, Monash University Clayton campus “Corporate rescues in Malaysia - An agenda for law reform” Associate Professor Aishah Bidin This talk will evaluate the adequacy of the current legal framework of corporate insolvency in Malaysia. The speaker is of the view that the current system is inadequate and that there is a need for the introduction of a corporate rescue or rehabilitation legal framework for Malaysia. Comparisons will be made with the United Kingdom, Australia and Singapore. The talk will conclude with a legal framework for corporate rescue in Malaysia, including a rehabilitation plan, formulation of moratorium, a realistic framework and the emphasis on protection of creditors’ interests. Dr Aishah Bidin is an Associate Professor of Law and the former Deputy Dean at the Faculty of Law, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia. Currently she is an Honorary Research Fellow at the Centre for Malaysian Studies in the Monash Asia Institute, and a Visiting Research Fellow in the Department of Business Law and Taxation Faculty of Business and Economics, Monash University. Details: http://www.arts.monash.edu.au/mai/cms/seminars.html#bidin ALL WELCOME Enquiries: Dr Wendy Smith, Director, Centre of Malaysian Studies, Wendy.Smith@buseco.monash.edu.au -------------- Item 3. Seminar hosted by Centre of Southeast Asian Studies (Monash Asia Institute) Thursday 22 March 2007, 11.00 am SG02 (Manton Rooms), Menzies Building (11) Monash University Clayton campus “Fiqh, pesantren and awam: non-specialists and the circulation of Islamic knowledge in Bandung” Speaker: Dr Julian Millie ARC Postdoctoral Fellow, Anthropology/CSEAS, Monash University ALL WELCOME Enquiries: Dr Trudy Jacobsen, Post doctoral Researcher, School of Political & Social Inquiry, Monash University, Trudy.Jacobsen@arts.monash.edu.au -------------- Item 4. Seminar hosted by Centre of Southeast Asian Studies (Monash Asia Institute) Thursday 29 March 2007, 11.00 am SG02 (Manton Rooms), Menzies Building (11) Monash University Clayton campus “Negotiating bun khun: Interpreting and reproducing the idea of ‘debt of gratitude’ in the context of education in Thailand” Speaker: Patawinee Yooyaem MA Candidate, School of Political and Social Inquiry, Monash University ALL WELCOME Enquiries: Dr Trudy Jacobsen, Post doctoral Researcher, School of Political & Social Inquiry, Monash University, Trudy.Jacobsen@arts.monash.edu.au -------------- Item 5. Seminar: Computer techniques for Tibetan texts Thursday 29 March 2007, 1.00 pm SG02, Ground Floor, Building 11 (Menzies), Monash University Clayton campus “Personal computer techniques for Tibetan texts” Dr Jim Valby Personal computers can be useful tools in the research and translation of foreign language texts. In this seminar, Dr Jim Valby will discuss his use of a database of Romanized Tibetan texts to create Tibetan-English dictionaries. He will demonstrate techniques on how to create keyword-in-context (KWIC), indices of technical terms, and discover locations of quotations and other linguistic characteristics in the texts. This seminar will be of interest not only to tibetologists but to other linguistic researchers because the underlying concepts are applicable to textual research in all languages. Dr Valby graduated from Middlebury College with a Physics degree and worked as an engineer. Subsequently, he gained Masters and Doctorate degrees in Tibetan Buddhism from the University of Saskatchewan. His theses focused on Shrisingha, Vimalamitra and computers. Since 1989 he has lived in the Tsegyalgar area where he works on translations from Tibetan, transcripts of Chögyal Namkhai Norbu retreats, and other Dzogchen Community projects. He has led a number of Santi Maha Sangha (SMS) practice retreats, and is an authorized SMS instructor for Base and First levels. RSVP with subject heading ‘Tibetan seminar’ to Dr Tony Donaldson, tony.donaldson@adm.monash.edu.au -------------- Item 6. Seminar Centre of Southeast Asian Studies (Monash Asia Institute) Thursday 5 April 2007, 11.00 am SG02 (Manton Rooms), Menzies Building (11) Monash University Clayton campus “Islam's other nation: a fresh look at Indonesia” Professor Greg Barton Herb Feith Research Professor for the Study of Indonesia, Monash University ALL WELCOME Enquiries: Dr Trudy Jacobsen, Post doctoral Researcher, School of Political & Social Inquiry, Monash University, Trudy.Jacobsen@arts.monash.edu.au ===================================== Other News and Events ===================================== Item 7. Forum Afghanistan today: Women striving for human rights in a ‘new democracy’ The Centre for Citizenship and Human Rights, Deakin University and the City of Yarra invite you to attend a special forum with Guest Speaker Malalai Joya. Time: Monday 12 March 2007, 7.00 pm Venue: Richmond Town Hall, 333 Bridge Road, Richmond Ms Joya is a member of the newly formed Afghan government. She has captured international attention as a committed and courageous advocate for women’s human rights in Afghanistan, despite threats to her life. She will discuss the current situation for women in Afghanistan, and relate her own experiences as an outspoken woman in Afghan politics, working to shape a new Afghanistan. There will be open floor for question and answer time at the conclusion of her talk. RSVP (for catering purposes) to cchr@deakin.edu.au or phone 03 5227 2113. -------------- Item 8. Sri Lanka Comes to Melbourne The Australia Sri Lanka Council and Rotary Club of Mornington, with support from the Rotary Clubs of Frankston North, Strathmore Frankston, Mount Eliza, Frankston Sunrise, Pascoe Vale and Bendigo, present a gala fund-raising evening for the people of Sri Lanka In the distinguished presence of the Governor of Victoria, Professor David De Kretser AC and Mrs Jan De Kretser. The proceeds of this event will enable the provision of a heart-lung machine and a complete cardiac catheter laboratory including installation and technical support to the teaching hospital at Kurunegala, Sri Lanka. Time: Wednesday 28 March 2007, 7.00 pm Venue: Grand Hyatt Hotel, 123 Collins Street Melbourne 3000 Featuring Chris Ludowyk and the Society Syncopaters Jazz Band and a galaxy of entertainment, raffles and auctions Tickets: $100. Enquiries and RSVP by 19 March 2007 to Ms Pushpa Hettiarachi, pha@aapt.net.au, Phone (03) 9650 3711 -------------- Item 9. Conference University of Washington Southeast Asia Center Seattle, Washington 5-6 October 2007 “Religion, ethnicity, and modernity: identity and social practice in Asia” The Southeast Asia Center, University of Washington, will celebrate its 20th anniversary on 5-6 October by honouring the scholarly contributions of its founding director, anthropology professor Charles ‘Biff’ Keyes. Since the beginning of his career, Professor Keyes’s work has centred on three key Weberian themes—religion, ethnicity, and modernity—which, together and separately, have had special relevance to the study of Southeast Asia, and Asia more generally. Leading scholars of the region will attend a two-day conference to explore these three concepts and their relevance in understanding the complex and volatile processes of change that have taken place in the region. The two-day conference will be open to the public and will include thematic panels of invited papers, a reception to honor Professor Keyes, and a keynote address. The conference is supported by generous contributions from the Henry M Jackson Foundation and the University of Washington College of Arts & Sciences. Enquires to: The Southeast Asia Center Jackson School of International Studies 303 Thomson Hall, Box 353650 University of Washington Seattle, Washington 98195-3650 Website: http://jsis.washington.edu/seac -------------- Item 10. Website of the month http://iceaps.anu.edu.au/ The International Centre of Excellence in Asia Pacific Studies at the Australian National University is a Federal Government initiative which aims to raise the profile of Asia-Pacific Studies in Australia through a program of new, sustainable and collaborative activities. The centre draws upon the Asia-Pacific expertise of key research and teaching centres throughout Australia, including ten foundation partners among Australian universities, several national professional networks, and a number of international centres of Asia-Pacific Studies based in Asia, Europe and North America. This website provides information on the Centre's aim and activities as well as links to major sites of Asia-Pacific studies in Australia. Guidelines for project funding are provided and proposals that meet the broad criteria are called for. =========================================================== 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 ===========================================================