===================================== MONASH ASIA INSTITUTE BULLETIN 9/2005 21 July 2005 ===================================== In this bulletin 1. MAI Postgraduate Seminar: Marriages and Births during the Khmer Rouge 2. 3rd Herb Feith Lecture 3. Edward Gray Memorial Prize 4. Seminar: "Defection and Delay" by Chen Yonglin and others ------------------------------------------- Item 1. MAI PhD Confirmation Seminar Monash Asia Institute Friday 29 July 2005, 12.00 noon to 2.30 pm Room S822, Level 8 South, Menzies Building (11) Monash University Clayton campus "Love and Horror in the Ritual Revolution: Marriages and Births during the Khmer Rouge" Speaker: Dr Peggy LeVine, PhD Candidate, Monash Asia Institute Dr Peggy LeVine charted marriage, pregnancy and birth experiences of Cambodian people who were wed during the Khmer Rouge era (1975-1979), while exploring what has kept many together, what protects them, and what constitutes despair and desire. Mostly she set out to account for the breadth of human experience encountered during those years. She came to realise that many of the 'unmentionable' threads in people's stories contain counterpoised experiences - betrayal alongside loyalty, anguish aside longing. Prior to this study, LeVine went along with references that describe the Khmer Rouge marriages as 'forced'. Dr Peg LeVine has a doctorate in cultural psychology and is a registered clinical psychologist. She is in the late stages of a PhD in Asian Studies and has been recently working in the area of international mental health in the Southeast Asian Region. We begin at noon with a light luncheon to be followed by the presentation at 12.30pm sharp. ALL WELCOME Enquiries and RSVP (essential) to Juliet Yee ------------------------------------------- Item 2. 3rd Herb Feith Lecture The Centre of Southeast Asian Studies and the Faculty of Arts, Monash University, in association with Radio Australia and the Melbourne Institute of Asian Languages and Societies, University of Melbourne, announce The third Herb Feith Lecture to be presented by Dr Joan Hardjono "Can Indonesia hold? Unity and diversity revisited" Thursday, 4 August 2005 6.00 pm refreshments for 7.00 pm start Iwaki Auditorium, ABC Southbank Centre Corner Sturt Street and Southbank Boulevard, Melbourne Joan Hardjono is a human geographer who has written extensively on environmental issues as well as on transmigration, poverty and rural conditions in Indonesia. She works as a social assessment consultant and has undertaken studies for various international institutions that include the World Bank, ADB, UNDP, AusAID and ILO. She is currently a member of the Board of Governors of the SMERU Research Institute, Jakarta, and a member of the International Advisory Board of the Bulletin of Indonesian Economic Studies. Dr Hardjono edited "Indonesia: Resources, Ecology, and Environment" (1991) and co-edited "Labour: Sharing in the Benefits of Growth?" (1993) and "Development in Eastern Indonesia" (1996). More recently, she co-authored "People, Poverty and Livelihoods: Links for Sustainable Poverty Reduction in Indonesia" (2002). ALL WELCOME For more details see: http://www.arts.monash.edu.au/mai/cseas/hfeith05.html Please RSVP to Monash Asia Institute's Sanjeev Veloo on email: Sanjeev.veloo@adm.monash.edu.au ------------------------------------------- Item 3. Edward Gray Memorial Prize Contribution to Australia Sri Lanka Relations The Australia Sri Lanka Council (ASLC) wishes to honour the memory of the late Edward Gray, and acknowledge his contribution to Australia and Sri Lanka. The prize of $500 will be awarded to the undergraduate or postgraduate student currently attending a university in Australia, whose recent work is judged by a panel appointed by the ASLC to have contributed most significantly to the Australia/Sri Lanka relationship and understanding. The person should be nominated by an academic who is familiar with his/her work. The award is advertised through Australian universities and is expected to be presented in November 2005. Submissions should be made by October 15 2005 to one of the addresses below and should include: - the CV of the applicant - name(s) of referee(s) - a copy of the eligible work, or testimony to the eligible activity, not exceeding 4000 words. Send to: Professor Marika Vicziany Monash Asia Institute Building 11, Monash University, Vic 3800 Marika.Vicziany@adm.monash.edu.au or Trevor Jayetileke Secretary, Australia Sri Lanka Council Inc 20 Throsby Court, Endeavour Hills 3802 asgsash@alphalink.com.au About Edward ‘Eddie’ Gray Edward ‘Eddie’ Gray passed away in Melbourne on 21/9/04, aged 85. He is survived by his wife Yvonne and three sons who reside in Melbourne. Eddie was a founding member of the Australia Sri Lanka Council and was Vice President at the time of his demise. He was also on the Board of Trustees of the Sri Lanka Cricket Foundation of Victoria. Eddie’s life was dominated by his love for sport. He represented Sri Lanka as a contestant in Boxing at the 1948 London Olympic Games. After retiring from active sports he continued to support and promote any sport activity connected to Sri Lanka. His love for country and sports were synonymous. He moved to Australia with his family in 1977, but this did not prevent him from representing Sri Lanka as an official at subsequent Olympic Games. Eddie was an asset to the work of the ASLC with his organising ability and enthusiasm, his gracious manner, and his contacts with many friends and associates. We salute this famous son of Sri Lanka, and offer our prize as a mark of respect and admiration for this great friend of our two countries. ------------------------------------------- Item 4. Melbourne Chinese Studies Group Friday 5 August 2005, 6.00 pm Museum of Chinese Australian History 22 Cohen Place Melbourne 3000 (off Little Bourke St, between Lonsdale/Russell) "Defection and Delay" Speaker: Chen Yonglin and others Former Chinese diplomat Chen Yonglin claims he could no longer tolerate spying on Chinese dissidents — including Falun Gong followers and democracy and Tibetan advocates — and that Beijing has a network of over 1,000 spies in Australia. On 26 May he fled the consulate-general in Sydney and sought political asylum. Six weeks later, on 8 July 2005, he was granted a permanent protection visa to stay in Australia. The former first secretary, his wife and daughter, can apply for Australian citizenship in two years’ time. But why did the Immigration Department and Foreign Affairs delay a decision that could have been made overnight? Is trade with China more important than human rights? Is Chen lying, as claimed by China’s Ambassador Fu Ying? And will the decision lead to a flood of defectors, as predicted by Madame Fu? Chen Yonglin, Dr Dennis Woodward of Monash University and Dr Paul Monk of Austhink Consulting, in a discussion chaired by former ABC China correspondent Helene Chung Martin. Admission Free All Welcome Please RSVP to Sophie Couchman (sophiec@smartchat.net.au)or Chinese Museum (03)9662 2888 ======================================================================== 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 ========================================================================