Monographs on Southeast Asia
A series of monographs from the Centre of Southeast Asian Studies.
68. Imagining Siam: a travellers' literary guide to Thailand
Caron Eastgate Dann, 2008, $39.95, ISBN 9781876924621
Thailand has been systematically transformed into a classic neocolonial object of Western desire, an easily penetrated erotic zone that caters to the appetites of Western interlopers. In the first comprehensive critical study of Western literature about Thailand, Imagining Siam provides a thorough analysis, using Edward Said’s concepts, of English language travelogues and travel literature. It offers a broad view, covering literary attempts to describe Siam in the 13th century, through the formative phase of Western engagement in the 16th century, the various competing European imperialisms in the 19th century, to today’s era of mass tourism and the global reach of mobile, economically and culturally powerful ‘First World’ populations. This will appeal to those interested in Thailand, critiques of travel writing and the Anna Leonowens legacy.
67. Malaya’s secret police 1945–1960: the role of the Special Branch in the Malayan Emergency
Leon Comber, 2008, $27.95, ISBN 978 1 876924 52 2
The Malayan Emergency lasted from 1948 to 1960. During these tumultuous years, following so soon after the Japanese surrender at the end of the Second World War, the whole country was once more turned upside down and the lives of the people changed. The war against the Communist Party of Malaya’s determined efforts to overthrow the Malayan government involved the whole population in one form or another. Dr Comber analyses the pivotal role of the Malayan Police’s Special Branch, the government’s supreme intelligence agency, in defeating the communist uprising and safeguarding the security of the country. He shows for the first time how the Special Branch was organised and how it worked in providing the security forces with political and operational intelligence. His book represents a major contribution to our understanding of the Emergency and will be of great interest to all students of Malay(si)a’s recent history as well as counter-guerrilla operations. It can profitably be mined, too, to see what lessons can be learned for counterinsurgency operations in other parts of the world.
66. Indonesian Islam in a new era: how women negotiate their Muslim identities
edited by Susan Blackburn, Bianca Smith and Siti Syamsiyatun, 2008, AU$39.95, ISBN 978 1 876924 54 6
Indonesian Islam in a new era examines the religious practices and identities of Indonesian Muslim women in the post-Suharto era. After 1998 Indonesian Islam changed socially and nationally as society underwent sweeping alterations. Based on new empirical research by sociologists, political scientists, and anthropologists from Indonesia and Australia, the book underscores the negotiations Muslim women have made in arenas such as schools, organisations, popular culture and village life. Whereas theology has until recently dominated studies of women and Islam in Indonesia, this book breaks new ground by examining from social science perspectives how Indonesian women negotiate their Muslim identities.
65. East Timor: beyond independence
edited by Damien Kingsbury and Michael Leach, rrp AU$36.95, ISBN 978 1 876924 49 2
This is the most comprehensive study of East Timor since independence, examining the major themes of development, borders and security, politics and justice, resource and land management, education, and language policy. Though the country was initially lauded as a case study in successful state-building, the crisis of 2006 demonstrated that East Timor had more in common with other post-colonial, post-conflict societies than some of these earlier optimistic assessments.
East Timor continues to attract the interest and attention of governments, scholars, development institutions and aid workers as a society rebuilding itself after almost a quarter of a century of profound trauma, and consecutive eras of colonialism.
Covering the era from the independence referendum in August 1999 to the political crisis in 2006, and future prospects and challenges, this book is an invaluable resource for understanding the challenges facing the first new nation of the 21st century.
64. The First Indonesian Women's Congress of 1928
translated and with an introduction by Susan Blackburn, 2008, AU$34.95, ISBN 978 1 876924 48 5
Every year on 22 December, Indonesia celebrates Women's Day, commemorating the start of the first Indonesian women's congress in 1928, and leading to the first federation of women's organisations. Susan Blackburn has translated the congress report into English and prefaced it with an Introduction that sets the background to the congress and analyses its proceedings.
63. Dilemmas of public university reform in Malaysia
by Machi Sato, rrp AU$24.95, ISBN 978 1 876924 41 6
Since the mid-1990s, tertiary education in Malaysia has experienced great transformation. Legislation was introduced to make the system more democratic and international. Focusing on public universities, this book analyses recent reforms in the sector, and seeks to initiate an urgently-needed debate on how the reforms should be implemented.
This study is based on extensive interviews with academics from public universities at Malaysian institutions, because it is individual academics who play a crucial role in developing and maintaining the credibility and reputation of universities. Their stories give a clear picture of public universities that are juggling different expectations and pressures from the social, political and economic environments. The question is how this elusive balance can be achieved.
62. Violence in between: conflict and security in archipelagic Southeast Asia
edited by Damien Kingsbury, 2005, $44.95, ISBN 1 876924 37 3
A recent series of terrorist attacks, the uncovering of a large terrorist network and a string of continuing regional conflicts have raised an awareness that Southeast Asia is amongst the world's most troubled areas. This book analyses local terrorism and state repression in this populous, strategically important region.
61. Chinese Indonesians: Remembering, distorting, and forgetting
edited by Tim Lindsey and Helen Pausacker, 2005, $36.95 ISBN 981 230 286 7
This volume takes a multi-disciplinary approach to the subject of the Chinese in Indonesia, looking at history, politics, legal issues, culture, religion, and violence against the Chinese. The authors, from Australia, Indonesia, Europe, and Singapore, seek the realities behind the myths that form the basis for the racism and xenophobia the Chinese have often experienced in Indonesia.
60. On feminism and nationalism: Kartini's letters to Stella Zeehandelaar 1899-1903
translated by Joost Coté, 2005, $36.95 ISBN 1 876924 35 7
Kartini's pioneering work for the freedom and education of women has made her an Indonesian national hero. The letters to a European contemporary are amongst the most powerful of her surviving correspondence.
59. The rise and fall of communism in Sarawak, 1940-1990
Vernon Porritt, 2004, $39.95, ISBN 1 876924 27 6
As Sarawak evolved from a British colonial outpost to statehood in the Federation of Malaysia, social and political stability was threatened by communist insurgency. This book explains how communism was nurtured among the youth of Sarawakís ethnic Chinese community from the early 1940s, how it grew into a powerful guerrilla movement that survived for decades, and how the movement was finally overcome through an amnesty in 1990.
58. The return of the exiles: Australia's repatriation of the Indonesians, 1945-47
Frank C Bennett Jr, 2003, $59.95 ISBN 1 876924 11 X
In assisting the return of Indonesian political dissidents who had received refuge in Australia during the Second World War, the Australian government in effect supported the independence movement in Indonesia, much to the consternation of Dutch colonial interests. This book tells the story of the politics surrounding one return voyage.
57. Dancing with the devil: A personal account of policing the East Timor vote for independence
David Savage, 2002, $29.95 ISBN 1 876924 10 1
The memoir of the Australian Federal Officer from his duty with the UN policing team during the independence ballot paper in East Timor. David Savage was based in the dangerous district of Maliana, and was witness to many key incidents, both uplifting and heart-breaking.
56. Javanese grammar for students
Stuart Robson, 2002, $21.95 ISBN 1 876924 12 8
A straightforward guide to grammar for English-speaking students of the Javanese language.
55. Love, sex and power: Women in Southeast Asia
edited by Susan Blackburn, 2001, $26.95. ISBN 1 876924 02 0
From women as victims, to women as agents actively seeking to empower themselves, this book explores ways in which religion, education, work and romance affect power relations between men and women. This collection is must for anyone interested in the changing nature of womanhood in Southeast Asia.
53. Pink fits: Sex, subcultures and discourses in the Asia-Pacific
Alison Murray, 2001, $29.95, ISBN 1 8769 2401 2
This confronting book explores ideas and practices of sex work and sexuality in the diverse urban subcultures of Southeast Asia. With extensive primary research, Alison Murray has canvassed changing sexualities, street prostitutes, gay styles and lesbian communities in Asia, Thai sex workers in Sydney, and various official, informal and overseas aid responses to the AIDS virus. Murray challenges the depiction of the Asian sex worker as helpless victim, and the strident moralising of many Western commentators, as obstacles to responsible policies.
52. Foreign devils and other journalists
edited by Damien Kingsbury, Eric Loo and Patricia Payne, 2000, $27.50. ISBN 0 7326 1183 0
The role of the media is culturally determined, and when the media, and public figures, cross cultural boundaries, they find that they are used and interpreted in a variety of ways. Leading academics on the media in Southeast Asia provide provocative essays focussing on key issues in reporting on and within the region. Political control, freedom of expression and cultural difference all come in to play.
47. The landscape palimpsest
by Sophia McAlpin, 1997, $21.95. ISBN 0 7326 1165 2.
This book maps the history of early 19th century British landscape paintings of Malaya, from the nature that inspired them, the artists who painted them, and the ideas and values that both consciously and subconsciously were to influence the ways in which this foreign landscape was to be seen and subsequently recorded by the colonial 'eye'.