===================================== MONASH ASIA INSTITUTE BULLETIN 1/2005 13 January 2005 ===================================== In this bulletin 1. Monash response to Asian Tsunami Disaster 2. Seminar: Buddhism in India 3. Conference: Interpretation of Religious Sites in Ancient Southeast Asia 4. Exhibition: Vietnamese Painting and Sculpture 5. Conference: 4th Asia Pacific Forum on Engineering and Technology Education 6. Workshop: Water in Mainland Southeast Asia 7. Website of the month: ABC Online - Special Coverage of the Asian Tsunami Disaster The Director, Professor Marika Vicziany, the Executive Committee, Staff and Students of the Monash Asia Institute wish you a Happy New Year for 2005. ---------------------------------------------------- Item 1. Tsunami Condolences Sadly, 2004 ended with the Asian Tsunami tragedy and the communities of many colleagues, students and friends have been affected. The Director, the Executive Committee, Staff and Students of the Monash Asia Institute wish to express their sympathy to those have suffered and experienced personal losses from this event. The MAI will be making a donation to the relief appeal launched by Professor Richard Larkins, Vice Chancellor on behalf of the Monash University community. A message of condolence by the Vice Chancellor and Monash University, as well as a counselling support for staff and students of Monash, can be found at: http://www.monash.edu.au/tsunami/ ------------------------------------------- Item 2. Seminar Friday 28 January 2005 10.00 am Room S822 level 8, South, Menzies Building (11) Monash University Clayton Campus This is a PhD confirmation seminar and all are welcome. "Buddhaguptanatha and Buddhism in India" Mr David Templeman, PhD candidate Monash Asia Institute, Monash University About David Templeman's seminar presentation: Inside the overall theme of the thesis which deals with the late survival of Buddhism in India, one character holds many keys. He is the Indian yogi, Buddhaguptanatha (approx.1514 - 1610) whose biography exists in Tibetan only. The chapters I present deal with his travels over India and beyond up to 1575. One of my overall aims in these chapters is to demonstrate that he did not necessarily get to all the sites his biography says he reached. This does not devalue his accounts but suggests that we must use a wider variety of means to understand the literary tropes and other devices which became part of the hagiographical process. It is clear that several sections of his travels were likely to have been "visionary journeys" and the chapters attempt to outline a means of distinguishing them from the others. About the speaker Since his retirement from his career as a school teacher, David Templeman is now completing a PhD to tie together writings that he has been engaged on for 25 years. Much of his interest in that time has been in spiritual biography and tracking the more unusual and "minor" aspects of Buddhism in Tibet and India. Enquiries and RSVP: Sanjeev Veloo, Monash Asia Institute ------------------------------------------- Item 3. Conference Call for Papers - Due date: 1 February 2004 "Old Myths and New Approaches - Advances in the Interpretation of Religious Sites in Ancient Southeast Asia" Centre of Southeast Asian Studies, Monash Asia Institute, 13 - 15 July 2005 The focus of the two-day conference will be on the religious sites of ancient Southeast Asia, and their integration into and interaction with the surrounding cities and landscapes. These sites have received considerable attention from the colonial period onward, and a substantial body of documentation has been accumulated over time. During the past few years this body of knowledge has been extended even further due to the introduction of new technology. While this information has helped advance the understanding of issues ranging from water management to construction techniques, the question of how it affects our understanding of the links of the temples with their surroundings has received far less attention. The temples were socially lived sites, interconnected inseparably with the rhythms of everyday life of the surrounding community. The conference will endeavour to present new insights regarding the temples themselves as well as the surrounding land- and cityscape, and will focus on the incorporation of temple sites into the lived environment - physically, metaphysically and socially. The conference will take place at the Monash Asia Institute, Monash University, Clayton Campus, Melbourne, on July 13 - 15, 2005. The organisers invite papers from scholars in the fields of archaeology, history, cultural studies, economic history and geography to focus on the classical civilisations of Southeast Asia. The deadline for the submission of abstracts of no more than 250 words is 1 February 2005. We envisage that the publication of the proceedings will appear within two years following the conference. Please send your abstract and any queries you might have to Dr. Alexandra Haendel (alexandra.haendel@adm.monash.edu.au), Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Centre of Southeast Asian Studies, Monash Asia Institute. ------------------------------------------- Item 4. Exhibition 10 February - 10 March 2005 Faculty Gallery, Art & Design Building, Monash University Caulfield campus "New Figuration in Vietnamese Painting and Sculpture" This upcoming exhibition at the Faculty Gallery, Monash University, Caulfield, showcases the work of five contemporary Vietnamese artists. Curated by Dr Annette Van den Bosch (Visual Arts, Faculty of Arts, Clayton Campus) and Tran Thi Huynh Nga (Director, Blue Space Contemporary Art Centre, Vietnam), this exhibition aims to present new works to a Melbourne audience that address issues of identity and culture in contemporary Vietnam. The exhibition opening event is on Wednesday 9 February 6 - 8 pm. Mr Tuong Quang Luu AO, Head of SBS Radio, will officially open the show. Exhibition is open to the public 10 February until 10 March 2005. Admission is free. The Faculty Gallery is located in the Art & Design Building, Monash University, Caulfield Campus. Gallery hours are Monday - Friday 9am - 5pm and Saturdays 1pm - 5pm. Please contact gallery staff for more information on 9903 2882. ------------------------------------------- Item 5. Conference Call for paper - Due date: 15 May 2005 UNESCO International Centre for Engineering Education (UICEE, Monash University) 4th Asia Pacific Forum on Engineering and Technology Education 26-29 September 2005 Menam Riverside Hotel, Bangkok, Thailand About the Forum With the establishment of the Asia-Pacific Higher Education Network - Engineering Education (APHEN-EE) within the UICEE in 1994, it was essential to create a forum for engineering educators to discuss issues of innovation in engineering and technological education. The first Asia-Pacific Forum on Engineering and Technology Education was organised by UICEE in 1997 at Monash University. The Forum has generated an action-oriented agenda for the network. The objective of the Forum is to bring together educators from the Asia-Pacific region to continue discussion about common issues in engineering and technology education; to discuss the need for innovation in engineering and technology education; and to foster the links, collaboration and friendships already established in the region; and to pursue the goals formulated in the action oriented agenda. Call for papers In the 2005 Forum, papers will present research findings describing the effectiveness of new approaches to engineering and technology education. Prospective authors should submit an abstract of 250-350 words by 15 May 2005. This forum is partly supported by the Research Unit on Cultures and Technologies in Asia (RUCTA), Monash Asia Institute (MAI). For more information see: http://www.eng.monash.edu.au/uicee/meetings/4thAPFETE.html Enquiries: Mr Arun S. Patil, Forum Manager, UICEE, Faculty of Engineering, Monash University e-mail: uicee@eng.monash.edu.au ---------------------------------------------------- Item 6. Workshop "Water in Mainland Southeast Asia" 30 November - 2 Dec 2005, Siem Reap, Cambodia. A cross-disciplinary workshop on the many aspects of Water in Mainland Southeast Asia, organized by the Centre for Khmer Studies (CKS), Siem Reap, Cambodia, and the International Institute for Asian Studies(IIAS), Leiden/Amsterdam, the Netherlands is planned to take place in Siem Reap, Cambodia, 30 November - 2 December 2005. In Mainland Southeast Asia, water (rivers, lakes, coastal zones) is of utmost importance to all aspects of life. This workshop will pay attention to the role of water in people's livelihoods divided over three sub-themes: (1) Trade and commerce (local and foreign trade, transport, port cities); (2) Natural resource use and management (rice cultivation, fisheries, water quality, environmental changes), and; (3) Socio-cultural life (rites of passages, traditional medicine, religion). The organizing committee invites scholars from various disciplinary backgrounds (history, economy, political science, anthropology, environmental sciences) to submit an abstract for the workshop. Papers transcending national boundaries on the above-mentioned themes are strongly encouraged. The proceedings of the workshop will be published. Enquiries: Dr. Wil O. Dijk, IIAS Affiliated Fellow Johannes Camphuysstraat 65-B, 2593 CH The Hague, Netherlands Tel: 31 (0)70 34 78 996 Email: wil.dijk@compaqnet.nl or w.o.dijk@let.leidenuniv.nl ---------------------------------------------------- Item 7. Website of the month: ABC Online - Special Coverage of the Asian Tsunami Disaster http://abc.net.au/news/indepth/tsunami/archives.htm A special coverage of the tsunami disaster from the Australian perspective can be found on this site. There are also feature and background reports relating to the events and the Australian Government's Relief efforts for the region. If you wish to donate to appeals launched by Australian Aid Agencies, you can find contacts at the following page: http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200412/s1273434.htm ======================================================================== 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. 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