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MAI Seminars, Conferences, Visitors and Events

Monash Asia Institute and Centre for Studies in Religion & Theology

Friday 19 December 2008, 12:00 noon
Room S822, Monash Asia Institute
Level 8 South, Building 11 (Menzies), Monash University Clayton

Sacred Mountain Traditions in Southeast Asia

Prof Donald K. Swearer, Center for the Study of World Religions

The study of sacred mountain traditions in Buddhist Asia is part of a growing interest in lived religion, material culture, place, and space. Prof Swearer's interest in the subject stems from researching Buddhism in the mountainous region of northern Thailand, especially the Chiang Mai Valley.

In this talk , Prof Swearer will develop a paradigm for understanding the multifaceted nature of sacred mountains with a particular focus on the historical, cultural, and religious context of northern Thailand.

Donald K. Swearer is the Director of the Center for the Study of World Religions and Distinguished Visiting Professor of Buddhist Studies at Harvard Divinity School,Cambridge, MA., U.S.A. His research has focused on Buddhism in Southeast Asia, especially Thailand. His recent monographs and edited volumes include: The Buddhist World of Southeast Asia (1995/2008); The Legend of Queen Cama. Bodhiramsi’s Camadevivamsa (1998); The State of Buddhist Studies in the World, 1971-1997 (2000); Becoming the Buddha: The Ritual of Image Consecration in Thailand (2004); Sacred Mountains in Northern Thailand and Their Legends (2004)

Enquiries:  MAI.Enquiries@adm.monash.edu.au

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Monash Asia Institute Postgraduate Seminar

Friday 28 November 2008, 10:00am
Room E363, Level 3 (East Wing), Menzies Building
Monash University Clayton campus

Illegal Migration from Bangladesh to India: The Economic, Political and Security Impact of Cross-Border Movements

Ms Rizwana Shamshad, Master of Arts student, Monash Asia Institute.

Illegal migration from Bangladesh to India constitutes a great source of tension and the most contentious diplomatic and security issue between the two countries. This thesis is concerned with illegal migration from Bangladesh to India, focusing on the economic and political impact on the host country.  According to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the leading right-wing political party of India and sections of the Indian media, Bangladeshi migrants exhaust India's resources, act as a 'vote bank' for Indian Naional Congress (INC) party and pose a significant terrorism threat. The confirmation paper addresses these views against the existing theoretical literature on migration and case studies of the various empirical studies.

Ms Shamshad is presenting this seminar with the view to upgrading her Masters candidature to PhD.

ALL WELCOME

Enquiries: MAI.Enquiries@adm.monash.edu.au

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Special seminar

Monash Asia Institute in collaboration with the United States Studies Centre at Sydney University

Tuesday 25 November 2008, 3.00 pm to 5.00 pm
Room SG01(Manton Rooms), Ground Floor, Building 11 (Menzies)
Monash University Clayton campus

China in the 21st Century and Policy Implications for Australia, the US and the World
Speaker: Dr Harry Harding, University Professor and
former Dean of the Elliott School of International Affairs at the George Washington University

About the guest speaker

Dr. Harry Harding is University Professor of International Affairs at the George Washington University, having served as Dean of world-renowned Elliott School of International Affairs for a decade. After stepping down as Dean in 2005, Harding was Director of Research and Analysis at the New York headquarters of Eurasia Group, one of the world’s leading political risk research and consulting firms. He remains a Counselor to Eurasia Group and Chair of its China Task Force. Harding also serves as a Visiting Fellow in the Center on U.S.-China Relations at the Asia Society.

Professor Harding has served on the political science faculty of Stanford University and was a Senior Fellows at the Brookings Institution before becoming Dean of the Elliott School.

One of America’s leading analysts of Asian affairs with a particular interest in China, Dr. Harding is the author of "A Fragile Relationship: The United States and China Since 1972" (1992), "China and Northeast Asia: The Political Dimension" (1988), "China's Second Revolution: Reform after Mao" (1987), and "Organizing China: The Problem of Bureaucracy, 1949-1976" (1981). His edited volumes include "The India-China Relationship: What the United States Needs to Know" (2004); "Sino-American Relations, 1945-55: A Joint Reassessment of a Critical Decade" (1989); and "China's Foreign Relations in the 1980s" (1984). He has published articles in a wide range of academic and policy journals, from 'China Quarterly' to 'Foreign Policy' to 'World Politics', and serves on the editorial boards of the 'China Quarterly' and the 'Journal of Democracy'

About the United States Studies Centre

The United States Studies Centre was set up jointly by the Australian Government and the American Australian Association to enhance understanding and promote productive dialogue and interchange of ideas between the two countries. It is housed at the University of Sydney and collaborates with other institutions concerned with United States-Australia relations to draw on and share the best expertise available.

A key initiative of the Centre is providing forums in which senior executives of Australian business and government meet with outstanding US leaders to exchange views on topics of importance to the two countries. The purpose of these sessions is to enrich perspectives, increase awareness and broaden horizons on important issues affecting Australian business.

Enquiries:  MAI.Enquiries@adm.monash.edu.au

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The Wonder that was India: Ancient Hampi 1336-1565

A special lecture at the Immigration Museum in partnership with Monash Asia Institute

Thursday 13 November 2008, 6pm (exhibition viewing from 5pm)
Immigration Museum, Old Customs House
400 Flinders St, Melbourne, VIC 3000 

Cost: Adults $6, Students and Concessions FREE

The city of Vijayanagara, in Ancient Hampi, is the largest and best preserved example in modern India of a Hindu kingdom. Today this world heritage site has reclaimed some of its former recognition, following centuries of neglect. A key factor in our new appreciation of Hampi is the work of an international team of researchers led by Drs George Michell and John Fritz and through vivid documentation of the site by photographer John Gollings.

In celebration of Australian and Indian cultural exchange this gathering brings international scholars together to explore the site of Vijayanagara at Hampi. The lecture provides a rare opportunity to hear recent interpretation by world renowned authors and researchers Drs George Michell and John Fritz in conjunction with the special exhibition Ancient Hampi: The Hindu Kingdom Brought to Life.

Hampi has also inspired the seminal new media installation PLACE-Hampi by Sarah Kenderdine and Jeffrey Shaw, which can be experienced during its Australian premier at the Immigration Museum.

Ancient Hampi: The Hindu Kingdom Brought to Life is on show at the Immigration Museum from 13 November. The exhibition will be open before the lecture from 5pm with floor talks being conducted after the lecture until 7.45pm.

Contributors

Dr John Fritz,  Research Associate, Museum of Archaeology, University of Pennsylvania
Sarah Kenderdine, Special Projects, Museum Victoria
Dr George Michell, Professorial Fellow, Faculty of Architecture, University of Melbourne
Anita Nayar, Consul General of India, Melbourne
Padmini Sebastian, Manager, Immigration Museum
Prof Jeffrey Shaw, Director, iCinema Centre, University of New South Wales
Prof Marika Vicziany, Director, Monash Asia Institute, Monash University

Bookings essential: Tel 131 102 or 03 9927 2754
Immigration Museum Website

Download Flyer for the Lecture

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Monash Asia Institute

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 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 the persons work.

The award is being advertised through Australian universities and is expected to be presented in late November 2008.

Submissions should be made by Monday 10 November 2008 to the address below and should include:

Please send your submission to:

Edward ‘Eddie’ Gray passed away in Melbourne on 21 September 2004, 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 Business Council; he 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 sporting activity connected to Sri Lanka. His love for Sri Lanka 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.

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Special Seminar

The Monash Asia Institute is pleased to announce a special lunchtime lecture:

Wednesday 29 October 2008, 1:00pm to 2:30pm
Monash Science Centre
Building 74, Monash University, Clayton (off Normanby Road)  (Melways ref: 70 G9)

KARAIKUDI  R  MANI
Eminent Indian percussion maestro

Mani will speak about his love for the mridangam and how he chose this instrument. His personal story and involvement in Indian classical music presents a rare insight into the life of an artist in contemporary India.

Mani is accompanied by Rajsewari Sainath, who will explain some of the musical principles in dance form.

Karaikudi R Mani is India's top ranking player of the mridangam.   Trained by eminent teachers, Mani’s unique playing style is marked by great virtuosity and pleasing sound quality. He has been described as “a mridangist who beautifully blends sound, scholarship, sense and silence".  His distinctive contributions to the development of the art of percussion includes innovations such as "Sruthi Laya”, novel percussion ensembles, “Melodyssey”, musical orchestration of cultures of 40 artists of South Indian, North Indian and Western instruments along with voices as well as “Tala Vichitra” (Rhythmic peculiarities) consisting of the blending of unique percussion ensemble of young artists into various contemporary styles of South Indian Percussive art form.  Mani founded the institution Sruthi Laya Seva Trust in Madras and Mysore (India), Melbourne and London.  He has shunned many awards, titles and honours, instead focussing on developing his art with greater devotion.

Download flyer for the seminar

Links to websites about Karaikudi R Mani's works

http://www.layamani.com/ManiProfile.html
http://www.karaikudirmani.com/home.asp
http://www.musicindiaonline.com/music/carnatic_instrumental/m/artist.135/

This lecture will be presented in the space hosting the Louise Lightfoot Legacy Exhibition.  The exhibition is free and open for viewing from 10am to 5pm on Monday to Friday until 7 March 2009.

Enquiries: Monash-Asia-Institute Enquiries MAI.Enquiries@adm.monash.edu.au
Brown bag seminar –  Orange juice and water will be served

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Monash Asia Institute Lunchtime Seminar Series

Tuesday 21 October 2008, 1:00 pm
Room S822, Level 8 South, Building 11 (Menzies),
Monash University, Clayton Campus.

An ‘informal’ economy: Rickshaws, Rickshaw-pulling and the Rickshaw-men of Delhi
Ajay Ranjan Singh

The presentation will focus on the rickshaw sector as it exists in Delhi today. Beginning with a brief history of rickshaws and the evolution of this activity in India (especially Delhi), Ajay will address the issues of size, cyclical variation, structure and organization of this economy.  The socio-economic characteristics of the men involved in organizing this activity and those that do the pulling will form a necessary backdrop to this discussion. Ajay will argue that many aspects of standard wisdom related to this sector stand challenged by such an exercise.

Ajay Ranjan Singh is a PhD candidate at the Social Sciences and Health Research of School of Psychology, Psychiatry and Psychological Medicine, Monash University. A DACSA-AusAID research scholar, he lectures on macroeconomics, comparative economic development and political economy at Kirorimal College of Delhi University. 

Enquiries: sharmini.sherrard@monash.edu.au

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Monash Asia Institute Lunchtime Seminar Series

Tuesday 30 September 2008 at 1:00 pm
Room S822, Level 8 South, Building 11 (Menzies),
Monash University, Clayton Campus.

Malaysia update: politics, reforms and scandals. What is the future for the 'social contract'?

Presenter: Mr Sven Schottman, PhD Candidate, Monash Asia Institute
Discussant: Mr Ifti Rashid, PhD Candidate, Monash Asia Institute

Less than six months after Malaysia's historic elections in which the opposition Pakatan Rakyat emerged as a formidable political force, the country has plunged to an unpredented level of political instability and uncertainty. Former Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, who was recently elected as a Member of Parliament, has been charged for the second time on allegations of sodomy. He has repeatedly claimed to command enough support in Parliament to form government.

Amidst the politcal instability, Malaysia has been experiencing an economic slowdown and deterioration of law and order. Ruling Barisan Nasional itself remains unstable, as coalition parties have threatened to quit over racial statements by United Malay Nationalist Organization (UMNO) politicians. Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi (Pak Lah) faces a serious crisis of confidence, as ministers and party members have openly pressured him to resign. Malaysia's veteran political leader former Prime Minister Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohammad has emerged as a vocal anti-Pak Lah voice and resigned from UMNO. Leading critics, including prominent blogger Malaysia Today Editor Raja Petra Kamaruddin and opposition MP Teresa Kok, have been arrested under the draconian Internal Security Act.

Malaysia Update is a periodical special event to discuss latest developments in Malaysia organized by the Monash Asia Institute. This week's presenter and discussant analyse the changing face of Malaysian politics and the problems associated with its race-based political and economic system.

Sven Alexander Schottman is a doctoral student at the Monash Asia Institute, working on former Prime Minister Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohammad's engagement with Islam.  Prior to joining MAI, he taught at a private university college in Malaysia.

Ifti Rashid is doctoral student at the Monash Asia Institute researching religious militancy.  He is a former Lecturer at the Independent University Bangladesh and Research Analyst at the World Bank.  He has lived in Malaysia for more than 10 years.

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Monash Asia Institute Lunchtime Seminar Series

Tuesday 23 September 2008 at 1:00 pm
Room S822, Level 8 South, Building 11 (Menzies),
Monash University, Clayton Campus.

Project ROAM: Rebuilding and restoring music in Afghanistan
A joint project of Monash Asia Institute, Music Conservatorium and Science Centre, Monash University.
Dr Ahmad Sarmast, Ph.D Monash University, MA, Moscow State Conservatorium

Dr Samarst will discuss his project Revival of Afghan Music (ROAM), which aims to restore musical culture in Afghanistan.  The World Bank, the German and Indian Governments and various musical associations have donated a total of six million USD to build a new school of music with dormitories and to pay for musical instruments, texts and a training programme.  The first pilot project is to establish a vocational school for 300 orphans of whom 100 will be female. 

Dr Ahmad Naser Sarmast is a professional musician and musicologist. He is a native of Afghanistan and a son of the late well known and highly respected Afghan composer, conductor music teacher and musician Ustad Sarmast. Dr Sarmast received his Ph.D. in music from Monash University, Australia in 2005 and his MA in musicology/ethnomusicology, from the Moscow State Conservatorium in 1993. He has been conducting research on music of Afghanistan since 1993. Dr Sarmast is a Music Advisor and Project Coordinator at the Ministry of Education of Afghanistan and a Research Fellow in the Monash Asia Institute and in the School of Music-Conservatorium of Monash University. Dr Sarmast is the initiator and designer of a project for the Revival of Afghan Music (ROAM) and a strong advocate for music education in Afghanistan.

His research areas include music in Afghanistan, North India, Central Asia and Iran. His publications include Ustad Mohammad Salim Sarmast: a 20th century composer, and the first symphonic score of Afghanistan (Monash Asia Institute 2000), ‘The naghma-ye chartuk of Afghanistan: a new perspective on the origin of a solo instrumental genre’ (Asian Music). Dr Sarmast is member of the Musicological Society of Australia and Union of Artists’ Associations of Afghanistan.

Enquiries: sharmini.sherrard@adm.monash.edu.au

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2008 Vice-Chancellor's Public Debate

Hosted by the Monash Association of Debaters (MAD)

That we should fear the rise of China

Wednesday 17 September at 6:30 pm for food/drink, 7:00 pm start. 
Central One Lecture Theatre, Building 63, Monash University, Clayton.

With the Olympics seen by many as China's coming out party as a global superpower, the way in which the world will change with the rise of China is both a pressing issue for national policy and a matter of concern to all Australians. China's explosive growth could present extraordinary opportunities for its people and for the world, but with it's troubling human rights record, hunger for natural resources and increasing political and military influence, the question must be asked "Should we fear the rise of China?"

On the Affirmative:

On the Negative:

For more details, see: http://www.monashdebaters.com/public_debates.html

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PhD Confirmation Seminar

Friday 12 September 2008, 2:00pm
Room S822, Level 8 South, Building 11 (Menzies)
Monash University Clayton campus

Cultural Circles: A History of the Toraja of Sulawesi, Indonesia
Ms Elisabeth.Hames-Brooks, PhD Candidate, Monash Asia Institute

Beginning with an introduction to the Toraja of Sulawesi as mentioned in European sources, this thesis traces their history from the perspective of cultural circles, including the ancestral clan and relationships with neighbouring peoples. The titled lords named the Puang of southern districts are considered as having possible 15th or 16th contact with southern Europeans. Dutch colonial consolidation by 1905-6 included the Sa’dan highlands with the Calvinist mission arriving in 1913. The latter implemented a programme of educating protégés within the mission house which over time came to be viewed by some poorer aristocratic Toraja families as a form of finishing school.

As with all of the cultural circles mentioned above involving long histories of varied philosophies, the Torajan dance circles were interconnected like a dynamic spiral with other circles of influence, changing over the course of time.

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Lunchtime Seminar Series

Room S822, Level 8 South, Building 11 (Menzies)
Monash University Clayton Campus

Peaks and Valleys: Some of the Challenges of Tibetan Translation
Ian Coghlan, PhD

A description of your presentation: I will briefly discuss some of the challenges of translating Tibetan works into English. My presentation will include a brief overview of the origins of Tibetan as a philosophic language and some background to texts that I have been working on more recently at the Institute of Higher Tibetan Studies in Sarnath, India. I will concentrate on two texts: (1) the Ornament of Abhidharma by Chim Jampaiyang, and (2) the Grounds and Paths of Tantra by Choje Ngawang Palden. I will discuss aspects of their subject matter, history, and specific issues surrounding their translation. Time permitting I will also cover other related topics.

I was a monk in the Tibetan tradition for 20 years during which time I completed my studies in Buddhist Philosophy at Sera Je Dratsang, a Tibetan Monastery in the Gelukpa tradition re-established in South India. I then completed a PhD in Asian Studies at La Trobe University. Since 1997 I have been involved in programs to translate Buddhist philosophic texts for the Foundation for the Preservation of the Mahayana Tradition (FPMT) in Oregan, the Institute of Tibetan Classics in Montreal, Wisdom Publications in Boston, and ritual texts for the Segyu Foundation in California.

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Lunchtime Seminar Series

2 September 2008, 1:00 pm
Room S822, Level 8 South, Building 11 (Menzies)
Monash University Clayton Campus

Armenia and its Neighbours: the Crisis in Georgia and Compatibility with Iran
James Barry, PhD Candidate,  Monash Asia Institute

In August of 2008, James attended a summer school program in Yerevan, Armenia on religion and politics with a case study of Armenian Christianity and Shi'a Islam. The program was designed to give a background to the historical relationship between the Armenians and the people of Iran, and the ramifications this has on the current friendship between these two religiously different nations. As the summer school began, a war broke out between Armenia's northern neighbour Georgia and former imperial master Russia over an issue which affects all nations in the Caucasus – ethnic separatism.

This presentation will discuss both what James learnt about religion and politics during the class-time of the summer school, as well as Armenia’s views of the South Ossetia conflict which emerged in the fiery debates which took up the class breaks.

James is currently researching the Armenian Christian minority in the Islamic republic of Iran for his PhD.

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Lunchtime Seminar Series

Room S822, Level 8 South, Building 11 (Menzies)
Monash University Clayton Campus

Tuesday, 26 August 2008, 1.00 pm
Prof John Langmore, Melbourne University, on  Nuclear weapons and nuclear disarmament

He will address the issues of whether situations and policies might occur which would motivate steps towards nuclear disarmament by the nuclear weapons states.

John Langmore was the Federal Member for Fraser from 1984 to 1996. He was Director of the Division for Social Policy and Development at the UN from 1997 to 2001 and then represented the ILO at the UN for two years. At present he is a Professorial Fellow in the Political Science Department at the University of Melbourne. He has published extensively on political, economic, social, strategic and environmental issues relating to Australia and the global context including the United Nations.   He is also President of United Nations Association of Australia (UNAA).

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Seminar

Monash Asia Institute

Thursday 21 August 2008, 1.00 pm
(We apologise that this seminar will not take place as planned ).

Indigenous identity and contemporary policies
Mark Dugay Grist

Mark Dugay-Grist belongs to the peoples of the Wergaia , Wamba Wamba and Nyeri Nyeri (an Aboriginal group located in NW Victoria). He grew up with traditional stories of his people as told to him by Meemie (Grandmother).

Mark is a trained archaeologist; studied at the Australian National University majoring in archaeology and anthropology, and completing honours in archaeology. Mark has spent many years recording and protecting Aboriginal heritage sites throughout Australia. Mark has been at the forefront of recording biological information from Australian Aboriginal remains and has contributed significantly to the return of Aboriginal remains to various Aboriginal communities throughout Australia.

Mark was for a period of six years the Curator for South-eastern Australia at the Victorian State Museum. He continues his relationship with the state museum as an Honorary Associate. He worked as a private heritage practitioner for two years before returning to the state government to enhance the state of Victoria's Heritage Program as the Manager of Statewide Heritage Programs. Mark is presently employed as the State Heritage Adviser for the Victorian Department for Planning and Community Development.

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Seminar

Thursday 21 August 2008, 11.00am
Room S822, Level 8 South, Building 11 (Menzies)
Monash University Clayton campus

Globalisation of traditional Asian medicines between China and Europe: A global value chain analysis of value changes

Dr. Mona Schrempf
Institute for Asian and African Studies, Humboldt University, Berlin

What happens with traditional Asian medicines when they become globalised? We want to examine how such processes work both locally and as a global flow, by starting with the use and application of nine medicinal substances and compounds in Europe that were originally embedded within traditional Chinese and Tibetan medical systems. We hypothesize that the socio-political, economic, medical and symbolic as well as cultural values of these medicines are changing as they move through globalised processes of and between wild materia medica collection (primarily from the Tibetan Plateau), recipe-making, production and standardisation, trade and finally their application and use in and between China and Europe. Medical and healthcare systems worldwide rely heavily on pharmaceuticals as a fundamental therapeutic technology. Historically, certain popular medicines with their recipes and related medical concepts and systems have long been both mobile and altered within and across a wide range of civilisations, for example, along the Silk Road between the ancient Mediterranean world and premodern Asia. Yet, interdisciplinary research on traditional Asian medicines as global commodities and changing values remain an open field of inquiry despite their increased exchange between China and Europe. With Europe now being the world’s largest market for herbal medicine products, research on the globalisation of traditional Asian medicines is an increasingly important public health concern that requires both innovative and careful interdisciplinary research.

Dr. Mona Schrempf from the Central Asian Seminar at the Institute for Asian and African Studies at Humboldt University in Berlin is a scholar of Tibet. 

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Seminar

Hosted by Monash Asia Institute and Centre of Southeast Asian Studies

Wednesday 20 August 2008, 3.30 pm
Room HB39, H Building, Monash University Caulfield campus

Muhammadiyah in contemporary West Java: The need for revitalisation
A lecture and discussion by
Prof. Dr. Dadang Kahmad, Head of Muhammadiyah for West Java Province.

The Monash Asia Institute and the Centre of Southeast Asian Studies are pleased to host a presentation by West Java’s pre-eminent intellectual in the field of religion and society, Prof. Dr. Kahmad. Professor Kahmad is the head of Muhammadiyah, Indonesia’s progressive mass social movement, for the West Java province (population +/- 30 million). He also holds a chair in the sociology of religion at the State Islamic University in Bandung, West Java. With his experience and professional background, Prof. Dr. Kahmad is well placed to give valuable insight about the challenges currently facing Muhammadiyah.

Professor Kahmad sees a need for a revitalisation of Muhammadiyah as a result of three developments that have harmed the organisation’s ability to act as a leader in contemporary Indonesia. The first is the inroads made into its constituency by the PKS party. The second is the challenge posed by the fragmentation of the community and the rise of aliran sesat (deviant groups). The third development is the loss of focus and alienation of the grassroots following resulting from involvement by Muhammadiyah members in party politics. Professor Kahmad will discuss ways in which Muhammadiyah can approach these developments, and will answer questions from participants after his presentation.

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Seminar

Tuesday 12 August 2008, 1.00 pm
Room S822, Monash Asia Institute, Menzies Building (Bld 11) Clayton campus, Monash University

Contested Histories: The China/Tibet Issue
David Templeman, Monash Asia Institute

Much of the issue lying at the heart of the rift between China and Tibet is one of differing historical perception. Neither has a grasp of the other side’s perspective and cannot trust their interpretations. This has led to untenable claims from both sides.  David Templeman will place the rift into a historical setting and will examine the approaches to history each group has adopted.

David worked with Tibetan refugee children between 1969 and 1972 and learned the language and culture from that time. His own research has involved the translation of Tibetan historical texts, the first being published in 1981.  Having retired in 2003 he undertook do a Ph.D. at MAI which is almost completed. Its topic is the life and religio-political times of a 16-17th cent. Tibetan Lama. Future work will include; Publication of the thesis in book form; publication of a translation of a large Tibetan autobiography; engagement with the pre-11th cent. Tibetan aspects of the MAI Kashgar project. 

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Seminar

Tuesday 29 July 2008, 3.30 – 4.30 pm
Room S822, Menzies Building (Bld 11) Clayton campus, Monash University

Leaving without harm

Bastiaan L. Aardema
Department of International Relations/International Organisation
University of Groningen

To what extent can variation in the incorporation of exit strategies by international non-governmental organisations into their planning for humanitarian emergency operations be explained by their organisational characteristics and how should the performance of these exit strategies be improved vis-à-vis the contingencies in the field?

Bastiaan Aardema’s talk will focus on his research to facilitate the quality enhancement of exit strategies used by international non-governmental organisations in humanitarian emergency operations through providing a theory and practice assessment of present-day exit-strategies as well as a policy tool for designing appropriate and adequate exit strategies.

After studying ‘International Relations and International Organisations’ and ‘Industrial Engineering and Management Science’, Bastiaan Aardema  (MA, MSc) has taught at the University of Groningen for the Department of International Relations/International Organisation and for the Network on Humanitarian Action (NOHA) in Groningen for several years. Besides teaching, he is currently working on his dissertation on exit strategies of international NGOs working in humanitarian relief. 

 Part of the Erasmus Mundus partnership between the NOHA-network and the Monash Asia Institute is to exchange scholars and students. In that capacity, he has been given the opportunity to spend a study period in Melbourne.

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Seminar

hosted by Monash Asia Institute

Wednesday 23 July 2008, 1:00 pm
Room S822, Level 8 South, Menzies Building Monash University Clayton campus

India-Vietnam relationship
Speaker: Dr. Jitendra Nath Misra, Indian Consul General in Vietnam

Dr. Jitendra Nath Misra will be speaking on the Current India-Vietnam relationship. Dr Misra is the Indian Consul General in Vietnam and comes from a distinguished career in the Indian Foreign Service for almost three decades. The India-Vietnam relationship is a unique one in a region increasingly defined by the influence of China.

Dr. Jitendra Nath Misra is an Indian Foreign Service officer with 26 years’ experience in a wide range of diplomatic functions in the US, the UK, Israel, Egypt, Bangladesh, Vietnam, Libya and Malta, as well as in the Ministry of External Affairs in New Delhi. He served as First Secretary in Libya and Bangladesh, Deputy Secretary in the Indian Ministry of External Affairs, Joint Secretary in the Indian Ministries of External Affairs and Defense, Acting Consul General in the Consulate General of India in Houston, and Political Counselor in the Embassy of India in Tel Aviv and the High Commission of India in London. He was the chairman of the ASEAN Regional Forum workshop on Training in Maritime Security held at Kochi in 2005. He is India’s Consul General in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.

Dr. Misra has published a number of articles on South Asia in India and the US, including Paradoxical Pakistan; Complex India; Military Regimes in Pakistan and Bangladesh: Strategies of Sustenance and Survival; Bases of India’s Foreign Policy; Bhutto: A Political Portrait; The System Theory of International Politics and Military Intervention in Bangladesh (1975) and Pakistan (1977). Dr. Misra has Ph.D. and M. Phil. degrees in South Asian Studies from Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, a Masters in Politics, a B.A. in History and a diploma in Arabic.

Dr. Misra was an Associate Adjunct Professor at Georgetown University in 2004-2005, where he taught a course on South Asia, as well as being an associate at the Institute for the Study of Diplomacy in the Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service. Dr. Misra has taught at Jamia Millia Islamia (National Muslim University), New Delhi, and has spoken at the International Institute for Strategic Studies; George Washington University, the Brookings Institution, the United States Department of State Foreign Service Institute, Vietnam National University, Jawaharlal Nehru University, Utkal University, the Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology; the Army War College and the Indian Institute for Mass Communication. Dr. Misra is an honorary citizen and a goodwill ambassador of the City of Houston, Texas for life.

PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS SEMINAR will observe Chatham House rules - ie no one can quote any views expressed during the meeting or attribute any views or statements to any individual.

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Seminar

hosted by

Monash Asia Institute, Monash University and
the Indian Council for Cultural Relations

Thursday 31 July 2008,  6pm (tea)  for  6.30pm sharp start (Please note re-scheduled date and time )
Monash Conference Centre
Level 7, 30 Collins St, Melbourne CBD

Indian Dance Innovations - Indigenous Inspirations not Copies
Dr Sunil Kothari, a leading dance historian, scholar, author and critic of Indian classical dances.

Dr Sunil Kothari is the Vice President of the World Dance Alliance Asia Pacific from India.  He is currently a visiting Professor for Dance, School of Arts and Aesthetics at the Jawaharlal Nehru University and was formerly Professor and Head, Dept. of Dance, Rabindra Bharati University, Kolkata. He is a recipient of the PADMA SHRI, a civil honour bestowed by the President of India for his outstanding contribution to the field of classical Indian Dance and related arts. Dr Sunil Kothari researches on several aspects of Indian Dance forms, including the Sattriya Dances of Assam.  He has written more than 14 books on Indian classical dance.

For more details about Dr Kothari, see: http://www.sunilkothari.com

DOWNLOAD Seminar Brochure

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Seminar

Wednesday  16 July 2008, 11:00 am to 12.30pm
Room S822, Level 8 South, Building 11 (Menzies)
Monash University Clayton campus

EU eyes on Asia Pacific
Seminar presentation by EU visiting scholars

Ms Tiphaine Rérolle will speak on "Power and control in development: the bottom up approach under the microscope".

Ms Ëef Ronhaar will analyze the Nahdlatul Ulama in Indonesia and Hezbollah in Lebanon to explore gender equality within Islam, the limitations of gender mainstreaming in Islamic contexts, and its alternatives.

Mr Blas Carrillo Sáez will speak on ‘a model for a process of reconciliation between the indigenous and introduced populations of a country: case study of the Koori people in Australia'.

The EU visiting scholars are from the Erasmus Mundus International Masters of Humanitarian Action Programme offered by NOHA (The Association of European Universities).

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Seminar

hosted by Monash Asia Institute

Thursday 17 July 2008, 10.00 am
Room S822, Level 8 South, Menzies Building
Monash University Clayton campus

The problem of Orientalism
Speaker: Mr David Geraghty
PhD candidate, Monash Asia Institute, Monash University

My paper will investigate the persistence of Orientalism, looking in particular at the 'inner' Orientalism through which certain Indian writers have authenticated and affirmed orientalist stereotypes for a non-Indian readership. My starting point is Suketu Mehta's 'Maximum city', a portrait of contemporary Bombay and its inhabitants. At one level, Mehta occupies the liminal position (between cultures) identified for colonised subjects by Homi Bhabha and others. Through his inside knowledge, Mehta can accurately convey Bombay to his American/Western readership, and this makes the book authoritative and attractive. There is, however, a conservative subtext to this liminality. Mehta leverages off his Indian ethnicity to play to the gallery, providing an essentialised and caricatured version of Bombay, a rogue's gallery of gangsters, murderers and bar girls, all set against the city's inexorable decay. At times the book echoes faintly with Katherine Mayo's portrayal of India (in 'Mother India') as a freakshow of base carnality and general incompetence. In its sensational tone and reductionism, 'Maximum city' carries the hallmarks of Orientalism as expounded by Edward Said. Existing at the interface of coloniser and colonised, Mehta is one of the authors of a new 'inner' Orientalism, expatriates who recast the raw material of their past within the conservative intellectual milieu of post-9/11 America. Moreover, this literature risks undermining the significant gains made by post-colonial theorists in disrupting Eurocentric and elitist (nationalist) paradigms in the historiography of late colonial and post-independence India.

Biography: David Geraghty works in research development at the University of Auckland, and is pursuing PhD study through the Monash Asia Institute. His doctoral thesis investigates new forms of Orientalism in the context of writing around India (historiography, travel writing, biography). He is particularly interested in the role of expatriate Indian writers in contemporary Orientalism. He holds a Master of Creative Writing from the University of Auckland, a BA Hons in communication studies from Auckland University of Technology, and a BA Hons (combined) in English literature and religious studies from the University of Otago.

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Seminar

hosted by Monash Asia Institute

Tuesday 27 May 2008, 1:00 pm
Room S822, Level 8 South, Menzies Building (11)
Monash University Clayton

Challenges of working on Democracy and Governance in PNG Highlands
Ms Sarah Garap
A community development worker and an activist for women and human rights issues in PNG.

Sarah Garap is the Director of MERI I KIRAP SAPOTIM (a civil society group meaning support women to arise!)

See: http://www.nativeleaders.org/asia/garap.html
http://dspace.anu.edu.au/bitstream/1885/42058/1/04_04_dp_garap.pdf

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"Meet the Monash Archaeologists" Seminar

Sunday 18 May 2008, 1:00 - 5:00 pm
Venue: Clemenger BBDO Auditorium,
National Gallery of Victoria (NGV) International
180 St Kilda Road, Melbourne

Presented in conjunction with the School of Geography & Environmental Science and Monash Asia Institute, Monash University

Prof Alan Finkel, Chancellor of Monash University, will launch this programme.

Archaeologists from Monash University will discuss their latest field
work and research in Victoria, Papua New Guinea, Sardinia and China. Speakers include:

"Treasures of the Taklimakan Desert, western China", Professor Jin Hai Long, Oasis Institute, Urumuqi (A research partner of the Monash Asia Institute)

"Not hunter-gatherers: dating the antiquity of ancient Aboriginal eel farming in western Victoria", Dr Ian J. McNiven, School of Geography & Environmental Science, Monash University

"Contrasting early agriculture in New Guinea and Southwest Asia", Dr Tim Denham, School of Geography & Environmental Science, Monash University

"The archaeology of seafaring and ceramic trade in southern Papua New Guinea", Dr Bruno David, School of Geography & Environmental Science,
Monash University

"Environmental change and the abandonment of the Punic-Roman port of Neapolis, Sardinia: pollen evidence from estuarine sediment cores", Ms Lucia Lancellotti, PhD candidate, School of Geography & Environmental Science, Monash University.

DOWNLOAD Flyers with illustration: Central Asian buddhist monks from Bezeklik Turfan  | A western warrior from Sampul Urumqi |  Philistine sarcophagi from the Punic-Roman archaeological site of Neapolis, SW Sardinia

Registration

Cost $25 Adult / $20 NGV Member / $22 Concession / $18 Student (includes afternoon tea)

Venue Clemenger BBDO Auditorium, NGV International
Event code P0865
Telephone: +61 3 8620 2222

This lecture is supported by National Gallery of Victoria Public Programs. It is funded through the collaboration of the Monash Asia Institute and the School of Environment Science at Monash University.

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Seminar

hosted by Monash Asia Institute and Asia Society AustralAsia Centre

Wednesday 7 May  2008, 9:30 am
Manton Room SG02, Ground Floor, Menzies Building (11) South
Monash University Clayton campus

China-US relations in a time of great change
Speaker: Orville Schell

Orville Schell will discuss both those areas which divide the US and China and those areas where they can find common ground. The question that he will consider is whether or not there is a basis from a new Sino-US relationship under the next American president, and if so, what the basis of that new relationship would be.

Renowned China expert Orville Schell is the Arthur Ross Director of the Asia Society Center on U.S.-China Relations.  He is the author of nine books on China. Formerly Orville was the Dean of the Graduate School of Journalism at the university of California, Berkeley.  Orville serves on the boards of Human Rights Watch, the Sundance Documentary Fund jury, and the Social Science Research Council. He is also a member of the Pacific Council, the Council on Foreign Relations and a regular participant in the World Economic Forum at Davos.

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Seminar

hosted by Monash Asia Institute

Thursday 17 April 2008, 1:00 pm
Room S822, Level 8 South, Menzies Building (11)
Monash University Clayton

Status of renewable energy development in the State of Maharashtra, India
Speaker: Mr Daulat Desai

Mr Daulat Desai is an Endeavour Executive Fellow visiting Australia to study the Australian Renewable Energy Policies and their implementation. The  Monash Asia Institute (MAI) at Monash University is hosting Mr Desai and coordinating his visit in chosen area of professional development. Mr Desai is the State Public Servant and currently Additional Director General of the Maharashtra Energy Development Agency (MEDA), India.

He will be presenting a brief introduction of MEDA and the status of renewable energy development in the State of Maharashtra.

DOWNLOAD Powerpoint Presentation.

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Seminar

Wednesday 19 March 2008, 6:00 for 6:30 pm
Monash Conference Centre Level 7, 30 Collins St, Melbourne CBD

Thai Buddhism in the 21st Century: Contested Views
Prof Donald K. Swearer, Center for the Study of World Religions

Critics of contemporary Thai Buddhism point to a stultifying, hierarchical national Sangha; flagrant cases of monastic malfeasance; Buddhist practices out of touch with modern idioms; and the increasing marginalization of the role of the monk in Thai society. Other more optimistic voices cite increasing monastic involvement in forest conservation; innovative doctrinal interpretations; the strengthening of monastic higher education; the emergence of Buddhism women's movements; and socially engaged Buddhist lay NGOs. This lecture argues that such generalizations are inherently problematic and proposes that the diverse forms of contemporary Thai Buddhism might be better understood through the lens of a descriptive typology.

Donald K. Swearer is the Director of the Center for the Study of World Religions and Distinguished Visiting Professor of Buddhist Studies at Harvard Divinity School, Cambridge, MA., U.S.A. His research has focused on Buddhism in Southeast Asia, especially Thailand. His recent monographs and edited volumes include: The Buddhist World of Southeast Asia (1995/2008); The Legend of Queen Cama: Bodhiramsi’s Camadevivamsa (1998); The State of Buddhist Studies in the World, 1971-1997 (2000); Becoming the Buddha: The Ritual of Image Consecration in Thailand (2004); Sacred Mountains in Northern Thailand and Their Legends (2004)

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Special Seminar

 hosted by Monash Asia Institute, Monash University

Wednesday, 27 February 2008, 1.00 pm
Room S822, Level 8 South, Menzies Building (11)
Monash University Clayton campus

Laws, Liberty and Livelihood: Need for a Bottom Up Agenda of Economic Reforms
Speaker: Madhu Kishwar, Senior Fellow at the Centre for the Study of Developing Societies

The Monash Asia Institute is pleased to announce a special seminar by Madhu Kishwar, Senior Fellow at the Centre for the Study of Developing Societies (CSDS). She is the founder editor of "Manushi" - A Journal about Women and Society founded in 1978 as well as founder of "Manushi Sangathan", an organization committed to strengthening democratic rights and women's rights in India. At CSDS Madhu Kishwar is the Director of the Indic Studies Project and Convener of a series of International Conferences on Religions and Cultures in the Indic Civilization and also working on issues of pro poor economic reforms.

For the last five years, Madhu Kishwar and her organisation have been fighting for the rights of street vendors and rickshaw pullers in Delhi. 

About her talk

While political scientists and theorists in India have engaged extensively with the need for greater political rights and freedom, there has been far less attention paid to issues of economic freedom. Political freedom has thus been understood in a very narrow sense of free and fair elections, right to representation in political institutions and decentralization of decision-making in civic affairs. The issue of economic rights and freedoms has predominantly been viewed through the prism of class struggle, with the state being projected as the sole 'protector' of the weak and vulnerable sections of society from the greed and exploitation of the rich and powerful. The bureaucracy avidly imbibed this Nehruvian bias because it facilitated the concentration of vast, arbitrary powers in its own hands.

Neither our economists nor our political theorists have tried to come to grips with the often predatory role of the State and how it works hard to wreck people's livelihoods and their self-confidence. Without economic freedom, whatever political freedom we have, becomes an empty ritual. That is a major reason why, despite such an actively involved electorate, Indian political democracy remains deeply flawed and has become hostage to anti-social elements. Since our intellectuals and media remain obsessed mainly with the political and electoral dimensions of democracy, they have more or less ignored the systematic and routine loot, extortion, violence, and indignities suffered by our people as they go about perfectly legitimate economic pursuits.

The livelihood concerns of the vast majority of our people remain marginalized even in the minds of those pushing for economic reforms because the agenda of economic reforms has remained obsessively focused on the entry of transnational corporations, the concerns of the Indian corporate sector, and the fate of government-run public enterprises, as they prepare to deal with a market open to competition. We cannot afford to overlook the fact that Indian and foreign corporations and the PSUs together provide employment to no more than 3% per cent of our population. As against about 10% who are self-employed in Europe and America, the vast majority of people in India (more than 90 %) work in the unorganized sector and the vast majority is still self-employed.

My presentation will focus on the absurd laws and regulations governing the livelihoods of two of the most visible and numerically large group of self employed poor in urban areas—namely street vendors and cycle rickshaw pullers—as illustrative examples of how needless bureaucratic controls trap the hard working poor in a web of illegality and make them victims of massive extortion rackets.

Download power point presentation.

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MAI Postgraduate Seminar

 (Please note the new time and date)
Thursday 21 February 2008, 11.00 am
Room S822, Level 8 South, Menzies Building (11), Monash University Clayton campus

The rise of Bangla Bhai & his merry men: State patronage, political complicity & religious militancy in Bangladesh
Mr Iftikar Rashid, Monash Asia Institute

In 2004, Bangla Bhai came into the national spotlight for running a so-called vigilante movement against outlawed leftist groups in the northern districts of Rajshahi division. Bangla Bhai took the law into his own hands, consolidated the Jamatul Mujahidden Bangladesh (JMB)'s position and established an illegal Islamic regime across enclaves in the region. Bangla Bhai quickly emerged as a household name synonymous with rising religious militancy in Bangladesh - home to 140 million people and the world’s third largest Muslim community after Indonesia and India. He eventually led Bangladesh's first overt insurgency campaign targeting state institutions and agencies.

This presentation discusses the emergence of Bangla Bhai as Bangladesh’s top terrorist to understand the country’s first overt religious militancy campaign from 2002 to 2005. It will discuss the organizational background of JMB followed by profiles of Bangla Bhai and other leaders. It will also focus on the JMB's terror campaign from 2002 to 2005, including a detailed case study on the infamous Rajshahi operation in 2004. The findings from the discussions will encourage an in-depth understanding of the religious militancy campaign that developed into a sustained overt insurgency movement led by Bangla Bhai. The analysis of the relationship between trends, motives and factors underlying JMB’s terror campaign will help provide recommendations to counter imminent terrorist trends in the future.

Ifti Rashid is a Masters of Arts (Research) student under the Monash Asia Institute. He is an AusAID Autralian Leadership Awards (ALA) and Golden Key scholar. Ifti has previously served as Lecturer, Independent University Bangladesh; Research Analyst, Social Development Team, World Bank; and, Assistant Program Coordinator for the Institute of Governance Studies in Bangladesh. His current involvements include serving as Member, Board of Trustees, for the Bangladesh Youth Employment and Advice Help Centre under the HRH Princes of Wales Youth Business International Program. He holds a Bachelors in Business & Commerce (Economics & Management) and Master of International Development & Environmental Analysis (Governance & Civil Society).

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Other seminars hosted by Asian Business and Economic Research Unit (ABERU), a Monash University research unit that works closely with the Monash Asia Institute.

Other Monash Asia Institute Seminars held in 2007 | 2006  | 2005 | 2004  | 2003  | 2002

Monash Asia Institute

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