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<TD width=529><SPAN class=head><FONT face=Arial color=#cc3300 size=6>Asian
Currents</FONT></SPAN> <BR><STRONG><FONT face=Arial><SPAN class=head2>The
Asian Studies Association of Australia's
e-bulletin</SPAN><BR></FONT></STRONG><EM>Maximising Australia's Asian
Knowledge </EM></TD>
<TD width=155><IMG height=114
src="http://asaa.asn.au/publications/images/asiancurrents/9.07/apfrn.jpg"
width=155></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE><SPAN class=head3><FONT size=2>July 2009 |
ISSN 1449-4418 | </FONT><A
href="http://asaa.asn.au/publications/asian_current_issues.html"><FONT
size=2>http://asaa.asn.au/publications/asian_current_issues.html</FONT></A></SPAN>
for the plain copy (no images) of this issue please click <A
href="http://asaa.asn.au/publications/ac/asian-currents-09-07.htm">here</A>
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<P><STRONG>Sponsored by ARC Asia Pacific Futures Research Network</STRONG>
<A href="http://www.sueztosuva.org.au/">http://www.sueztosuva.org.au</A>
</P>
<HR>
<P>In this issue: </P>
<DIV id=menu>
<UL class=contents>
<LI><A
href="http://asaa.asn.au/publications/ac/asian-currents-09-07.html#1"><FONT
color=#cc3300>From the Editor</FONT></A>
<LI><A
href="http://asaa.asn.au/publications/ac/asian-currents-09-07.html#2"><FONT
color=#cc3300>Analysis: </FONT></A>
<UL>
<LI><A
href="http://asaa.asn.au/publications/ac/asian-currents-09-07.html#2a"><FONT
color=#cc3300>Iran: Theo-democracy on trial</FONT></A>
<LI><A
href="http://asaa.asn.au/publications/ac/asian-currents-09-07.html#2b"><FONT
color=#cc3300>New Lowy head to pursue Asian ‘hobby horses’</FONT></A>
<LI><A
href="http://asaa.asn.au/publications/ac/asian-currents-09-07.html#2c"><FONT
color=#cc3300>Lowy’s East Asia program to increase focus on
China-Australia relations</FONT></A> </LI></UL>
<LI><A
href="http://asaa.asn.au/publications/ac/asian-currents-09-07.html#3a"><FONT
color=#cc3300>Profile— New UTS group to extend South Asian Studies
focus</FONT></A>
<UL>
<LI><A
href="http://asaa.asn.au/publications/ac/asian-currents-09-07.html#3b"><FONT
color=#cc3300>David Chapman</FONT></A>
<LI><A
href="http://asaa.asn.au/publications/ac/asian-currents-09-07.html#3c"><FONT
color=#cc3300>Improving food security in East Timor</FONT></A>
</LI></UL>
<LI><A
href="http://asaa.asn.au/publications/ac/asian-currents-09-07.html#4"><FONT
color=#cc3300>Art and culture </FONT></A>
<LI><A
href="http://asaa.asn.au/publications/ac/asian-currents-09-07.html#4a"><FONT
color=#cc3300>Student of the month - Emma Dalton</FONT></A>
<LI><A
href="http://asaa.asn.au/publications/ac/asian-currents-09-07.html#5"><FONT
color=#cc3300>Website of the month</FONT></A>
<LI><A
href="http://asaa.asn.au/publications/ac/asian-currents-09-07.html#6"><FONT
color=#cc3300>Interesting books of Asian interest</FONT></A>
<LI><A
href="http://asaa.asn.au/publications/ac/asian-currents-09-07.html#6a"><FONT
color=#cc3300>Positions vacant</FONT></A>
<LI><A
href="http://asaa.asn.au/publications/ac/asian-currents-09-07.html#7"><FONT
color=#cc3300>Did you know?</FONT></A>
<LI><A
href="http://asaa.asn.au/publications/ac/asian-currents-09-07.html#8"><FONT
color=#cc3300>Diary dates</FONT></A>
<LI><A
href="http://asaa.asn.au/publications/ac/asian-currents-09-07.html#10"><FONT
color=#cc3300>About the ASAA</FONT></A>
</LI></UL></DIV></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
<DIV class=content>
<H1 class=headline><A name=1a></A>Message from the Editor</H1>
<P class=headline align=justify>Since the recent disputed presidential election,
Iran has been in the international spotlight. In this issue, Iranian specialist
Hossein Heirani-Moghaddam sees many of the recent difficulties as being part of
the process of democratic maturation for the Islamic government. </P>
<P align=justify>Think tanks have an important role in stimulating political and
public debate, and the Lowy Institute for International Policy has made an
impressive contribution in this field since it opened its doors in 2003. Its new
executive director, Dr Michael Wesley, the former Professor of International
Relations and Director of the Griffith Asia Institute at Griffith University,
says he will use his role to pursue several ‘hobby horses’ such as encouraging
greater engagement by Australia, as a society, with Asia and promoting the
learning of other languages, particularly Asian. The Lowy’s Program
Director–East Asia, Malcolm Cook, also talks about the program and its
priorities, including the Australia–China relationship.</P>
<P align=justify>We profile the University of Technology Sydney’s new Indian
Ocean and South Asia Research Network, a researcher whose deep interest in Japan
stemmed from an early fascination with samurai and ninja movies, and a program
to improve yields of key staple food crops in East Timor. </P>
<P align=justify>Khmer art specialist Martin Polkinghorne looks at the nameless
individuals who created the profusion of decorative detail on every available
surface of the temple complexes, and our student of the month, Emma Dalton, asks
whether things are starting to change for women in Japanese politics. </P>
<P align=right><EM>Allan Sharp</EM></P>
<P align=left><SPAN class=head3><A
href="http://asaa.asn.au/publications/ac/asian-currents-09-07.htm#top"><IMG
src="http://asaa.asn.au/publications/ac/nav-top.bmp" border=0></A></SPAN>
</P></DIV>
<DIV class=content align=justify>
<H1 class=headline align=justify><A name=2></A>Analysis</H1>
<H2 align=justify><A name=2a>IRAN: THEO-DEMOCRACY ON TRIAL</A></H2>
<DIV class=content align=justify>
<P align=justify>The recent presidential election in Iran turned into the most
challenging crisis for Islamic Iran since its establishment in 1979. The result
of the election, whether rigged or not, was used as a pretext to unleash some
outstanding dissidences, writes <A
href="mailto:Hossein.Moghaddam@anu.edu.au">Hossein Heirani-Moghaddam*</A>.</P>
<P align=justify>Thirty years ago, Iran experienced a popular revolution to put
an end to 2500 years of monarchy and replace it with an Islamic government. The
leader of the revolution, Ayatollah Khomeini, marked the establishment of a
two-tier state, receiving its legitimacy from the two sources of divinity and
public support. He offered the name of ‘Islamic Republic’ for such a state,
which was endorsed overwhelmingly by a national referendum in 1979. The idea of
having a theo-democracy was put on trial. It was scrutinised and challenged both
conceptually and in practice by the Islamists and non-Islamists alike.</P>
<P align=justify>The main arguments though came from within, from the religious
elites, who by decree were entitled to interpretation of the religious rulings.
Questions were predominantly asked about the compatibility of the two concepts
of religiosity and democracy. But beyond that, some, who had already recognised
this coexistence, began to ask the inherent question as to which element should
take precedence, ‘Islamism’ or ‘republicanism’. </P>
<P align=justify>Without undermining the totality of the regime, they argued
that the survival of the Islamic state depends on public accountability, which
should not be compromised under any circumstances. This reading did not quite
reflect the idea of marriage between the two concepts envisaged by Ayatollah
Khomeini. These discourses, although fierce in nature, did not pose much of a
threat to the fundamentality of the Islamic state, particularly because the
charismatic leader and the founding father of the revolution, Ayatollah
Khomeini, maintained, as the main interpreter of the theory of Islamic
governance and the prime arbiter, a balance between rival elites and
thinkers.</P>
<P align=justify>Confident enough of being able to control embryonic
divergences, he also gave his blessing to a degree of pluralism, whereby some
less senior clerics formed a new factional entity by the name of the
‘Association of Combatant Clerics’ in 1988 in opposition to an older clerical
establishment, i.e. the ‘Society of Combatant Clergy’. It is interesting to see
this newly established faction is now the chief promoter of ‘republicanism’ and
the main challenger to the government. </P>
<P align=justify>The Islamic government enjoyed a period of uniformity during
the Iran-Iraq war. Any in-house challenge among the religious and political
elites had to wait until the country came back on its feet. It took a few years
before the pro-reform ideas gained momentum and dominated Iran’s political
arena.</P>
<P align=justify>The year 1997 witnessed an overwhelming victory for Mohammad
Khatami in the presidential election, a more moderate cleric, an advocate of
civil society, freedom of speech and the rule of law, who remained in power for
eight years until being replaced by ‘principlist’ (a person or group act based
on tenets of Islam and values of the revolution), Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.</P>
<P align=justify>Khatami encountered enormous difficulties in implementing his
reformist policies as he lacked structural power. However, the reformist faction
achieved a hegemonic status. The country became more politically open and
tolerant. Many political parties were formed and numerous newspapers were given
licence to print. This provided the country with a foundation for a novel
political factionalism, an unprecedented phenomenon that was given an
opportunity to grow with an incredible speed, at times impossible to control and
now challenging in nature. </P>
<P align=justify>Although Iran’s democratic movement has a fairly long history,
going back to the Constitutional Revolution in 1906, its experience of
factionalism is rather young, rudimentary and non-institutionalised, hence
fragile in nature. A few camps formed around some political figures; the
reformists gathering around former president Mohammad Khatami, the pragmatists
embracing former president Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, and last but certainly not
least, the principlists encircled the incumbent president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
</P>
<P align=justify>But it is not as clear cut as it looks. There are many other
offshoots and subdivisions in the form of parties and factions, aligning with
one of the camps, but at the same time having extraordinary disparities, a fact
that has made the process of political participation so ambivalent. As a vivid
example, in recent elections both the reformists and principlists failed to
introduce a single candidate to represent their factions, and effectively Mehdi
Karroubi, a reformist cleric candidate from the Etimad Melli (National Trust
party), chose not to withdraw in favour of Mir Hossein Mousavi, a clearly more
popular reformist candidate. Similarly, the principlist Society of Combatant
Clerics did not reach a majority to nominate Ahmadinejad as their front
runner.</P>
<P align=justify>Moreover, factionalism in Iran is characterised by and large by
a great degree of fluidity, the result of which is frequent movement of the
cardinal members across the political spectrum, or even from one faction to
another. A prime example is the former head of the Revolutionary Guard Corps,
Mohsen Rezaei, a principlist with some reformist aspirations, who challenged
Mahamoud Ahmadinejad, the other principlist candidate. </P>
<P align=justify>The candidacy of Mir Hossein Mousavi, as the main challenger to
Ahamadinejad, was also enveloped from the outset by uncertainty. Having
undisputed revolutionary credentials, he could easily be placed in the
principlist camp. However, he decided to stand for the presidency as an
individual rather than a reformist candidate, but sought to advocate ‘reform
through principles’ and promote righteous but forgotten revolutionary values.
Such uncertainties on the part of the candidates were undoubtedly
counterproductive and confusing when it came to vote winning.</P>
<P align=justify>The origins of the presidential election crisis were not
limited to factional uncertainty and divisions. They were also rooted in the
rapid growth of the youth generation, which is more exposed to the outside world
through modern means of communication. Many of this generation have no personal
recollection of the revolution or the war with Iraq and seek no political
confrontation with the establishment. However, they are in favour of some
changes to achieve more citizenry rights. Ironically, the government’s
progressive modernising policies and advocacy for technological advancement
should have helped attract such demands by the youth, but at the same time
failed to appropriately process and meet them.</P>
<P align=justify>To put this into perspective, the recent developments are
testimony that Iranian society is maturing. So are its elites, and many of the
recent difficulties are part of the process of democratic maturation. These
difficulties will only be overcome if proper policies and mechanisms are
established to restore trust within the society, something that seems utterly
vital for the Islamic government.</P>
<P align=justify><EM>*Dr Heirani-Moghaddam is lecturer and Convenor of Persian
and Iranian Studies, Centre for Arab and Islamic Studies, (The Middle East and
Central Asia), Australian National University.</EM></P>
<P align=justify><SPAN class=head3><A
href="http://asaa.asn.au/publications/ac/asian-currents-09-07.htm#top"><IMG
src="http://asaa.asn.au/publications/ac/nav-top.bmp"
border=0></A></SPAN></P></DIV></DIV>
<DIV align=justify>
<DIV class=content align=justify>
<H2 align=justify><A name=2b>NEW LOWY HEAD TO PURSUE ASIAN 'HOBBY
HORSES'</A></H2>
<P>As the <A href="http://www.lowyinstitute.org/">Lowy Institute for
International Policy’s</A> new executive director, <A
href="http://www.griffith.edu.au/business/griffith-asia-institute/staff/professor-michael-wesley">Michael
Wesley </A>plans to continue to pursue his ‘hobby horses’ of the need for
Australia as a society to engage more with Asia, and to learn an Asian
language.</P>
<P align=justify>In an <A
href="http://www.lowyinstitute.org/Publication.asp?pid=1078">address</A> to the
Institute, the former Professor of International Relations and Director of the
<A href="http://www.griffith.edu.au/business/griffith-asia-institute">Griffith
Asia Institute at Griffith University</A>, was critical of Australia’s lack of
maturity as a society in its discussion of Asia. </P>
<P align=justify>‘There’s a tendency to trivialise Asia and put Asia and Asian
countries into a category of either something we can get rich from, or something
we’re threatened by, or some aspect of an elite agenda,’ he said.</P>
<P align=justify>‘This form of trivialising the most important region to us
holds a real threat to Australia. We need to start—and this has to be a broad
societal thing involving not only the business community but the general
community as well—a genuine interest in Asia for Asia’s sake. This means a
genuine interest in all aspects of the Asian region, in all aspects of Asian
countries and societies and languages and culture.</P>
<P align=justify>‘This is going to be a long-term challenge. It’s a question of
education, but also a question of changing the national culture, of moving away
from a national culture that tends to look over Asia to Europe, and over Asia to
the United States and North America. And it needs to come from the bottom up,’
he said.</P>
<P align=justify>‘Unfortunately, if this is seen to be a government agenda, or
something we can rely on the government to do, it’s not going to work, because
it’s going to be become politicised very quickly. It needs to be a broad
movement, a broad consciousness that comes from the bottom up, that increasingly
sees that we need to take the regions to our north—the closer countries to
us—very seriously. And we need to engage with them as a society.’</P>
<P align=justify>Professor Wesley restated the need for Australians to have the
ability to understand and operate in languages and cultures other than our own.
Referring to his recently launched report, <A
href="http://www.griffith.edu.au/australian-strategy-asian-language-proficiency/report">Building
an Asia-Literate Australia</A>, he said Australians being able to speak only
their own language led to a certain complacency about the rest of the world and
a belief that others had to cross the linguistic and cultural gasp to us, rather
than vice versa.</P>
<P align=justify>‘Language structures the way you think about the world, and
until you make the effort to learn another language you don’t realise that, and
you don’t realise the relativities of the way you see the world,’ he said.
‘Learning another language, especially an Asia language, is a prerequisite for
this country dealing with the increasingly complex world unfolding around us.
I’d very much like to keep pushing this barrow while at the Lowy Institute.’
Professor Wesley said he saw think tanks, such as the Lowy Institute, playing
many productive roles in society. </P>
<P align=justify>‘Some think tanks choose to be advocates of a particular point
of view, hereby adding to the vitality of discussion and debate in a democratic
society. Others choose to become alternative sources of policy advice to
government. Yet others seek to force a range of viewpoints to become a leavener
and driver of public debate—and this is the role the Lowy Institute has chosen,’
he said.</P>
<P align=justify>‘One of the greatest evils that could befall us as a country is
for us simply to outsource our understanding of the world to other countries
that have bigger or more vital think-tank sectors. The Lowy Institute and other
think tanks in Australia should be focussed on is developing and fostering a
distinctly Australia approach to looking at the world. </P>
<P align=justify>‘For generations we as Australians have held the opinion that
we have a distinctive view of the world. It’s unique and it’s important, not
only to us but in a broader perspective. In particular, some of Australia’s
scholars of Asia have in the past—and also now—been valued in Europe, North
America and Asia because of their distinctive take on the region Australia
exists in. This is the sort of distinctive contribution that the Lowy Institute
can help foster.’</P>
<DIV align=left><SPAN class=head3><A
href="http://asaa.asn.au/publications/ac/asian-currents-09-07.htm#top"><IMG
src="http://asaa.asn.au/publications/ac/nav-top.bmp" border=0></A></SPAN></DIV>
<H2><A name=2c></A>LOWY'S EAST ASIA PROGRAM TO INCREASE FOCUS ON CHINA-AUSTRALIA
RELATIONS </H2>
<P align=justify>Since opening its doors in 2003, much of the <A
href="http://www.lowyinstitute.org/">Lowy Institute for International
Policy’s</A> work has focused on Asia and Australia’s relations with the
different countries of the region. The Institute’s Program Director—East Asia,
<A href="http://www.lowyinstitute.org/StaffBio.asp?pid=530"><STRONG>Malcolm
Cook</STRONG></A>, talks about the program and areas of immediate concern or
challenge. </P>
<P align=justify>I have had four overlapping goals for my program: </P>
<DIV align=justify>
<UL>
<LI>to provide accessible and well-written research and well-organised events
on some of the biggest challenges and opportunities facing Australia in its
engagement with Asia
<LI>to use the program to expose key relationships (South Korea, Japan,
Taiwan) and domestic developments in these places that may be being overlooked
in Australia—this has been a particular focus of my work within the program
<LI>to highlight ‘over-the-horizon’ issues that are not traditionally
considered international policy ones, but that we believe will become so.
Examples here include Milton Osborne’s work on the damming of the Mekong
River, Meryl William’s work for us on the declining fish stocks in Southeast
Asia and Sarah Potter’s work on the effects of climate change on malaria and
dengue transmission
<LI>to provide informed views on current events in East Asia for the
Australian and global media including our own weblog. It’s particularly
important to provide more views from Australia on regional issues to media
sources outside Australia. </LI></UL></DIV>
<DIV align=justify>In the near future, I think the Lowy Institute and the East
Asia program
<P align=justify>will focus more on the future of China-Australia relations
given their growing importance for Australia, their rapid growth and change, the
emerging domestic political dimensions of the relationship and the fact that
other capitals in the region are watching Australia-China relations more
carefully.</P>
<P align=justify>I would also like to work on the growing links between East
Asia and the other parts of the Asian continent, including the Middle East.
Hopefully this work will challenge some of the institutional constraints of the
Asian studies I grew up intellectually within.</P>
<P align=justify><EM>Australia’s continuing relationship with East Asia</EM></P>
<P align=justify>Economically, I think Australia will continue to be well-placed
to both benefit from and contribute to East Asia’s economic dynamism, and in the
case of Japan, South Korea, etc, its economic and demographic maturation. Hence,
Australia’s economic integration with East Asia should continue full speed ahead
and could even accelerate if East Asia’s export-oriented economies shift towards
more domestic consumption. </P>
<P align=justify>In 2009, Australia’s four largest export markets may be Japan,
the People’s Republic of China, South Korea and India respectively. Asia’s
massive pools of savings and the demands of aging populations could trigger new
flows of Asian investment into Australia. We can already see signs of this with
new Japanese mergers and acquisitions (M&A) activities in Australia outside
the resources and agri-business sectors.</P>
<P align=justify>One other interesting dynamic I’ll be keeping a general watch
over is how the growing East Asian and South Asian populations in Australia may
affect (or not) Australia’s foreign policy towards the home countries of these
populations. The Olympic torch relay in Canberra and its associated Chinese
nationalist demonstrations and the recent concern of the risks facing Indian
students here are some examples of this dynamic.</P>
<P align=justify><EM>Areas of immediate concern or challenge for Australia’s
relationship with the region</EM></P>
<P align=justify>I think the most about two separate challenges; one that
Australia itself is the main actor, and one where it is certainly not.</P>
<P align=justify>First, Australian foreign and security policy is facing, maybe
for the first time, the problem of strategic geometry in which our most
important security partner, the United States, and our largest trading partner,
the People’s Republic of China, are not allied or bound together by common
political values, and are potentially economic and security rivals. </P>
<P align=justify>Australian foreign and security grand strategy, I think, will
become more difficult and open to worried misinterpretation by the major powers
in East Asia, particularly in Japan, the People’s Republic of China, the United
States and within Southeast Asia and India. I think you can see this in the
interest in and then criticism of Prime Minister Rudd’s first foreign trip, the
initial speech announcing the Asia Pacific Community idea, the pre-launch press
coverage of the 2009 Defence White Paper, etc.</P>
<P align=justify>The second challenge is the changing contours of Asian
regionalism and its various sub-regional versions—Southeast Asia, East Asia,
Asia-Pacific. Australia has a strong interest in the continuing relevance and
development of Asia Pacific regionalism as it advances a number of key
Australian grand strategic goals, the most important of which is Australia’s
inclusion. </P>
<P align=justify>Justifiably, we’ve often worried about the rise of exclusionary
East Asian regionalism. Over the next few decades, though, I worry about another
challenge as well. The rise of China and India in particular may shift the focus
of regionalism away from maritime East Asia and Asia Pacific westwards to the
Asian continent. Here, Australia’s geographical location in the South Pacific
could well lead us to be excluded.</P>
<P align=justify>The struggle over Australia’s inclusion in the East Asia
Summit, the underwhelming response to the Asia Pacific community idea, the
establishment and development of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization are all
possible green shoots signalling this shift.</P></DIV>
<H2><A
href="http://asaa.asn.au/publications/ac/asian-currents-09-07.htm#top"><IMG
src="http://asaa.asn.au/publications/ac/nav-top.bmp" border=0></A> <!-- ================================ Item ends =============================== --><!-- ================================ Item begins ============================= --></H2></DIV>
<DIV class=content>
<DIV align=justify></DIV>
<H1 class=headline><A name=3a></A>Profiles</H1>
<H2>New UTS group to extend South Asian Studies focus</H2>
<P>A new group at the <A href="http://www.uts.edu.au/">University of Technology
Sydney</A> has ambitious plans to expand the focus of research in South Asian
Studies. </P>
<P align=justify>Launched in March by Indian High Commissioner Sujatha Singh,
the <A href="http://www.research.uts.edu.au/strengths/tfc/overview.html">Indian
Ocean and South Asia Research Network (IOSARN) </A>based at the Faculty of Arts
and Social Sciences, already has a full research program. </P>
<P align=justify>‘South Asian Studies is on the cusp of resurgence in Australia
but the major thrust remains constrained by traditional area-studies conceptions
of a region dominated by national borders,’ said IOSARN director <A
href="http://www.expertguide.com.au/!DrDevleenaGhosh!_3969.aspx">Devleena
Ghosh</A>.</P>
<P align=justify>‘The Network departs from this pattern by expanding the focus
of research to the connections between South Asia and its neighbours around the
Indian Ocean. We focus on the interactions, flows and networks between cultures,
societies and people in this dynamic region, concentrating on the movements and
intermeshing of ideas, technologies, ecologies and people between all of the
land and ocean cultures around the Indian Ocean.</P>
<P align=justify>‘Australia and Indonesia form an important but seldom
recognised south-eastern quadrant in this ring of oceanic networks, as do
Malaysia, Singapore and Burma on the northeast, and the mainland and island
societies and the east coast of Africa, on the western shores. This initiative
envisages the Indian Ocean and South Asia—a region that includes, and is
extremely important for, Australia—becoming a top priority across the
university’s diverse teaching, research and outreach programs,’ she said.</P>
<P align=justify>The movements of ideas, technologies, peoples and ecologies
around the Indian Ocean, particularly in South Asia, are of particular interest
to Dr Ghosh’s, and her fields of study include past and present day networks
such as formal or informal diasporic ones. Her interests extend to technological
and virtual networks, such as those that consolidate and disseminate cultural
and national narratives; global labour networks such as those constituted by IT
and call centre workers; and global networks of technology such as those
demonstrated by medical tourism.</P>
<P align=justify>Dr Ghosh is also acting director of Trans/forming Cultures, a
UTS research centre for studying social and cultural transformations and
innovations. ISOARN is based in the centre, but receives autonomous funding from
the university and the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. With the 21st
century promising to be the century of Asian powers, such as India and China, Dr
Ghosh sees the establishment of IOSARN as timely.</P>
<P align=justify>‘Australia is part of this dynamic region, and is the receiving
country for migrants from the Indian Ocean and South Asia region—one of the top
10 regions for a number of migrants to Australia. IOSARN promises to establish
UTS as the premier site for Indian Ocean and South Asian Studies in Australia,’
she said.</P>
<P align=justify>Dr Ghosh said the Network aimed to consolidate UTS’s
international reputation in globally focussed social and cultural research
focussing on new areas of research in the dynamic change and interactions of the
Indian Ocean and South Asia regions. The Network includes scholars from
Humanities, Architecture, Law, Science, Engineering and Business, and is
particularly keen on cross-disciplinary research.</P>
<P><A
href="http://asaa.asn.au/publications/ac/asian-currents-09-07.htm#top"><IMG
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<H2><A name=3b></A>David Chapman—From early wave to new wave</H2>
<P><A
href="http://www.unisanet.unisa.edu.au/Staff/Homepage.asp?Name=David.Chapman">David
Chapman</A>, Coordinator of the Japanese studies program, School of
International Studies, University of South Australia, talks about his life-long
interest in Japan and a growing interest in Japanese popular culture.</P>
<P align=justify><EM>How did your interest in Japan start?</EM></P>
<P align=justify>It was sparked by the early wave of Japanese-made television
shows in the 1960s. I vividly remember running home from primary school in the
afternoon to watch Shintaro the Samurai and the first wave of Japanese anime;
Atom Boy, Kimba the White Lion and Gigantor. For a schoolboy in suburban
Brisbane in the 1960s and early 70s these programs made a lasting impression. I
wanted to be a Koga Ninja and learn the secret art of jumping backwards into
trees behind a cloud of smoke.</P>
<P align=justify>However, life took me in a different direction, and I had to
postpone my ninja aspirations. My first profession was school teaching and I
started off teaching science and physical education in country Queensland. They
were interesting years but the urge to backpack through Asia was overwhelming. I
quit my teaching position and left for Bali in the 1980s, planning to make it
eventually to Japan. It took me 12 months and around 20 countries. </P>
<P align=justify>I worked and studied, and eventually ended up in the National
Language Research Institute in Kita-ku, Tokyo doing research. I came back to
Australia to lecture in an innovative Japanese partial immersion
teacher-training program at Central Queensland University. I finished my PhD on
Korean communities in Japan at Curtin University of Technology and took up a
position at the University of South Australia. I turned the thesis into a book,
Zainichi Korean Identity and Ethnicity, which was published by Routledge last
year.</P>
<P align=justify><EM>As coordinator of the Japanese Studies Program, what do you
see as the current main preoccupations in the field?</EM></P>
<P align=justify>The current government <A
href="http://www.deewr.gov.au/Schooling/NALSSP/Pages/default.aspx">National
Asian Languages and Studies in Schools Program</A> (NALSSP) initiative for
boosting Asian languages and literacy in schools and universities is a positive
step. Although still well short of what is necessary, the funding is a welcome
sign of renewed life in the area. But I worry about the emphasis on
language—sometimes to the detriment of the ‘studies’ dimension of Japanese
Studies. Both these areas, of course, complement each other, and a solid
grounding in both is necessary for successful specialist research on Japan. I
believe further merging between the two would increase the efficacy of a
program. The perennial problem in universities, of course, is the decrease in
staffing levels and the extra workloads we’re all carrying—finding room to
create new and innovative initiatives in pedagogy is difficult. </P>
<P align=justify><EM>Do you see any major new trends emerging in this field over
the next few years?</EM></P>
<P align=justify>In the field of teaching I see changes in the type of student
studying Japanese at an undergraduate level, at least at the University of South
Australia. More and more students from overseas or with experience of being
educated overseas have an interest in Japanese popular culture, fashion and
Japanese television programs. The student group, therefore, is continuing to
diversify greatly, which I think is a positive trend. </P>
<P align=justify>In the field of research I think more people from diverse
disciplinary backgrounds are researching Japan. I guess this follows a wider
emergence of multi-disciplinary approaches, or it might be because the
discipline of Japanese studies itself has suffered from decreasing positions
being offered in the field.</P>
<P align=justify><EM>What are your own current preoccupations?</EM></P>
<P align=justify>Two research projects are my obsessions at the moment. Both
have developed from my interest in the history of minority communities in Japan.
I’m researching the social history of identification and documentation through
Japan’s population registries from their early beginnings through to the present
day. The aim is to provide a better understanding of how these registries have
shaped Japan’s social world and how various groups have resisted social
control.</P>
<P align=justify>The second project has emerged from the first. I’m very
interested in the history of the Ogasawara Islands and their inclusion into the
Japanese nation in the early Meiji period. I’m trying to document some life
stories of descendants of the first settlers of these islands.</P>
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<H2><A name=3c></A>IMPROVING FOOD SECURITY IN EAST TIMOR</H2>
<P>A team from the <A href="http://www.anu.edu.au/index.php">Australian National
University</A> is researching influencers on the rate of adoption of new staple
food varieties in East Timor. <A
href="http://rspas.anu.edu.au/people/personal/mcwia_ant.php">Andrew
McWilliam</A>* talks about the team’s work through, an Australian
government-funded initiative, the <A
href="http://sponsored.uwa.edu.au/sol/index">Seeds of Life</A> program, to
improve food security in East Timor.</P>
<P align=justify><EM>What is the Seeds of Life program?</EM></P>
<P align=justify>This is a $10 million bilateral initiative between the <A
href="http://www.aciar.gov.au/">Australian Centre for International Agricultural
Research (ACIAR)</A> and the East Timor Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries.
<A href="http://www.ausaid.gov.au/">AusAID</A> is providing additional funding
and the <A href="http://www.clima.uwa.edu.au/">Centre for Legumes in
Mediterranean Areas (CLIMA)</A>, at the <A
href="http://www.uwa.edu.au/">University of Western Australia</A>, project
management. The project is designed to improve substantially yields of key
staple food crops such as maize, rice, sweet potato, cassava, peanuts.</P>
<P align=justify>The first phase, from 2001–05, involved testing a wide range of
cultivars for desirable characteristics, such as drought tolerance, yield,
fungal resistance and, importantly, taste. Prospective varieties have been
gradually distributed to Timorese farmer households under an innovative
participatory farming system to enable them to directly compare the yields and
qualities of the new varieties with their existing crops under the same
conditions. To date over 2000 farmer households have participated and the
initial results are very positive. </P>
<P align=justify><EM>How did you become involved? </EM></P>
<P align=justify>I became interested during the project’s early phase of
varietal testing from 2000 through lively discussions with Dr Brian Palmer, who
was the initial in-country project manager. Professor James Fox, then Director
of the ANU’s Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies, had also been a
supporter. When a new implementation phase was planned in 2005, we pushed to
have a social research component included, arguing that ANU was well placed to
provide a socio-economic support role, given our strong research track record on
Timor. </P>
<P align=justify><EM>What has been the team’s most significant achievement?
</EM></P>
<P align=justify>Our involvement is principally designed to support training and
mentoring of Timorese socio-economic staff in the Ministry of Agriculture. To
that end, we’ve been able to demonstrate the value of social science
applications. The baseline studies undertaken between 2006–07 highlighted key
features of Timorese farming systems, including the importance of tuber crops
and wild-food gathering for rural diets, and seasonal food shortages coinciding
with high labour demand. We also highlighted the significance of cultural
factors in the patterns of Timorese agriculture and the need to integrate these
practices into agricultural planning. </P>
<P align=justify><EM>How successful has the program been?</EM></P>
<P align=justify>Agricultural development projects by their very nature tend to
have long lead times, as innovations take years to be integrated into local
farming systems. Survey results indicate strong interest in the new crop
varieties, particularly in an irrigated rice variety known as Nakroma. This is
proving to be very popular, with 40 per cent yield gains on local varieties,
good taste and easy preparation times. Sweet potato varieties known as ‘hohorae’
are also widely sought, and more are appearing in local markets. But there are
many challenges in terms of building stronger agricultural support and extension
systems, and of sustaining quality seed production for distribution, and for
policy settings to support poor farmers. </P>
<P align=justify><EM>What are the plans for the program over the next five
years?</EM></P>
<P align=justify>With the completion of its second phase in September 2010,
there are hopes the project partners will fund a new five-year phase. It’s
important to consolidate and build on the initial gains in areas such as, wider
distribution of improved seed varieties, continued testing of new varieties,
agricultural extension services and improved post-harvest storage facilities. A
future phase would look to integrating most of the program’s daily operations
under Timor Leste Ministry of Agriculture management. </P>
<P align=justify><EM>What is the longer term food security outlook for East
Timor?</EM> </P>
<P align=justify>Timor Leste has a highly variable monsoonal climate with low
soil fertility and poor post harvest storage technologies. This makes the
near-subsistence agriculture precarious at best. Timor farmer families are
highly resilient, but they’re also vulnerable to periodic crop failure and
seasonal food shortages. Seeds of Life holds out the prospect of significantly
improving food security and an opportunity to raise rural incomes through the
marketing of surplus. Increased government funding to the agricultural sector
generally is also welcome. So I’m optimistic about East Timor, and particularly
the capacity of Timorese farmers to survive, and even thrive, under difficult
environmental conditions.</P>
<P align=justify>I maintain a limited advisory role, but we’ve made significant
contributions through the work of Dr Diana Glazebrook, who undertook field
research and training between 2006–07, and more recently, Angie Bexley, who is
finalising a PhD in the Department of Anthropology, and taken up an 18-month,
full-time position on the project, working with the Timorese socio-economic team
to complete intensive field evaluations.<BR><BR><EM>What are your current
projects with the program?</EM></P>
<P align=justify>Our main objective is to research the factors influencing the
rate of adoption of new staple food varieties. So our emphasis is on sustained
field-based studies across the seven districts where Seeds of Life is operating.
We’re working on agro-climatic calendars for extension and planning, baseline
profiles of participating farmer households and an approach called ‘seed
mapping’ that aims to document the production and distribution of new seed crop
germplasm into markets or customary exchange systems. We’re also looking at the
gender impacts of new varieties.</P>
<P align=justify><EM>* Dr McWilliam is from the Department of Anthropology,
Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies</EM></P>
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<H1 class=headline><A name=4></A>Art and culture</H1>
<P align=justify>
<H2>ATELIERS IN THE AGE OF ANGKOR</H2>
<P></P>
<P align=justify>From enormous temple complexes to the profusion of decorative
detail on every available surface, the sheer diversity, creativeness and scale
of the temples and art of Angkor is staggering and of world-wide renown. Yet,
says <A
href="http://www.arts.usyd.edu.au/departs/asianstudies/staff/profiles/polkinghorne.shtml">Martin
Polkinghorne*</A>, the individuals who created these works, from architects to
builders, carpenters, painters, tool fabricators, brick and ceramic
manufacturers, and quarry labourers are almost entirely nameless.</P>
<P align=justify>The artists were undoubtedly of considerable importance to the
court and to broader Khmer society, yet they remain largely anonymous. What were
their work processes? Were they organised into workshops? Was there a hierarchy
of artists? To what degree did they follow the specifications of the project
superintendent or, conversely, to what degree did they have artistic
licence?</P>
<P align=justify>In the medieval Khmer epigraphic record there are few
references to artisans. The fragmentary information tends to mention the
individuals or the administrative hierarchy under which the artists worked. For
instance, an 11th century inscription of Wat Baset, near Battambang, praises the
official Gunapativarman, referred to as Vishvakarman, architect of the cosmos,
and in this instance ‘chief of the artists’. Building projects were supervised
by spiritual advisors who ensured that the project was conducted under the
requisite ritual conditions. The 11th century inscription of Wat Ek named
Yogishvarapandita, an official of Suryavarman 1st as Acarya sthapaka, the priest
charged to guide the architects. </P>
<P align=justify>In the current dearth of inscriptional information, relevant
construction debris, fabrication tools, or known archaeological landscape
signatures suggestive of artistic intensification of the objects themselves
offer the most significant information regarding the probable composition and
activities of these workshops.</P>
<P align=justify>As one of the most durable and recurrent elements of medieval
Khmer artistic culture, decorative lintels are excellent objects by which to
study artistic process and change. The true lintel consists of the higher part
of the framework of a temple door, which is usually formed of four independent
sandstone blocks held together by mortise and tenon fittings. The decorative
lintel, on the contrary, is rarely load bearing and is positioned in a principal
position watching over all who cross the threshold from the secular to the
divine.</P>
<P align=justify>The forms and iconography of the decorative lintel sought to
maintain the temple in a permanent state of festival. Often they represent
transitory decorations of garlands and rinceaux that gave the impression of a
building alive with celebrations. </P>
<P align=justify>The richness and precision of decorative lintel ornamentation
have provided art historians with an array of information to successfully chart
the transformation of Khmer art from its early pre-Angkorian incarnations at
Phnom Da and Sambor Prei Kuk to the glories of Bayon ‘style’ in the late 12th
and early 13th centuries. Examples of re-use suggest an appreciation for the
specialised skill and symbolic importance of these works.</P>
<P align=justify>The sculpture of lintels in situ was among the last activities
of temple construction and adornment. The carvers were probably not mere
tradesmen but among the most accomplished artists in the state, and their
analysis opens a path into the world of the Angkorian ateliers. </P>
<P align=justify>At the 9th century temple of the Bakong, the centre of the city
Hariharalaya, we can observe how artists were allocated to the decorative
project. From the nearly identical lintel designs, motif combinations and chisel
skill we can see that one highly skilled person was allocated two façades each
of a four sided prasat, presumably by the project superintendent or head
sculptor.</P>
<P align=justify>In the 10th century these artistic divisions were still in
operation and evident at the famed ‘miniature’ temple of Banteay Srei where the
same artist or small group of artists was assigned specific surfaces to showcase
their particular designs. In addition to the allotment of labour at individual
sites, we can also appraise the operation of the same artistic workshops across
the medieval Cambodian landscape.</P>
<P align=justify>Consistency of lintel design during Rajendravarman II’s 10th
century movement of capitals between Koh Ker and Angkor suggests that the
workshop followed the court wherever it happened to travel. Workshops were
obliged to the court, irrespective of the monarch’s ‘claim’ to the throne, but
dependent upon their ability to provision the construction of temples. </P>
<P align=justify>No doubt the temple builders and artistic workshops well
understood who their biggest employer was, and conversely the administration
understood it must utilise artistic knowledge to maintain and symbolise its
power. Other evidence suggests that artists and work-teams also engaged in
productive activities outside the scope of the court, administration and
possibly their own workshop.</P>
<P align=justify>How the temple builders and decorators were organised is
difficult to ascertain. It is possible that artisans were organised into
professional collectives within the sphere of the court known as varnas. By
reviewing the organisation of analogous and contemporary craft production, it is
possible to suggest a tentative association with medieval temple builders. For
example, contemporary artistic workshops show evidence of a hierarchy of craft
specialisations according to the type of goods they manufacture.</P>
<P align=justify>Lintel carvers were probably of a higher status than ceramic
manufacturers, but of lesser standing than specialists produced elite objects
such as jewellery. The nature of workshop recruitment is additionally difficult
to assess. </P>
<P align=justify>We can theorise that production units formed through kin
relations, marriage, and hereditary relationships. Contemporary Khmer ceramic
workshops are usually organised on a familial basis, with specific tasks divided
according to gender. A pragmatic deduction of how knowledge of the trade was
transmitted from artist to artist, and generation to generation is via a
master/apprentice relationships. For instance, on large temple projects of the
10th century (East Mebon, Pre Rup), less prominent lintels are of lesser skill
and were work of apprentices developing their skills, whereas the central
façades were reserved for the masters. </P>
<P align=justify>The makers of Angkor, the very people who carved sculptures and
the architectural ornamentation deserve to be acknowledged, and it is hoped that
this work on their decorative output will lead to larger studies that can cross
reference other artistic production such as sculpture in the round and also
identify and investigate the specific locations of their operation.</P>
<P align=justify><EM>* Dr Polkinghorne, is Honorary Associate, Department of
Asian Studies, School of Languages and Cultures, University of Sydney</EM></P>
<P align=justify><A
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<H1 class=headline><A name=4a></A>Student of the month - Emma Dalton</H1>
<P align=justify>
<H2>WOMEN AND POLITICS IN JAPAN-CHALLENGING THE OLD ORDER</H2>
<P> </P>
<P align=justify>Japan’s political parties have had a poor record when it comes
to representation of women in the national assembly. PhD candidate <A
href="mailto:ed315@uow.edu.au">Emma Dalton*</A>, who is researching gender
discourses and the under-representation of women in politics in Japan,
particularly in the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, asks whether times are
changing for women in politics in Japan. </P>
<P align=justify>In 2008, for the first time in the history of the perennial
Japanese government party, the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), a woman ran for
the position of party president. </P>
<P align=justify>Koike Yuriko, a political veteran with experience in many
different political parties, as well as in the Cabinet (including a brief stint
in the post of Defence Minister), challenged the other five LDP senior figures
in the race. She didn’t win, but the question arises: does her attempt to
challenge the leadership in the conservative and heavily male-dominated LDP
herald something new and exciting for women in politics in Japan?</P>
<P align=justify>As a feminist concerned with bringing to light how patriarchal
institutions operate to preserve male privilege and marginalise women, another
question to consider is: did she climb the political ladder by ‘acting like
men’, as Margaret Thatcher and other politically successful women have been
accused of doing?</P>
<P align=justify>My PhD research is concerned with gender discourses in Japan
and the under-representation of women in politics in Japan, with specific focus
on the role the LDP has played in encouraging or hindering increased female
participation in the national assembly, the Diet.</P>
<P align=justify>Apart from nine months in 1993–94, the LDP has held consecutive
governments since its inception as a political party in 1955. It is a
conservative political party and from a gendered perspective, fares the worst of
all the major political parties in Japan in terms of female representation.
Women occupy less than 11 percent of LDP Diet seats, and the LDP’s record has
been worse than other parties consistently.</P>
<P align=justify>I’m interested in exploring the party’s ideology on gender
equity and analysing the party culture to examine how the LDP has affected
gender discourses in Japan, and importantly, how the LDP’s ideology on gender
equity and dominant discourses of gender in Japan serve to hinder women’s
increased political representation. </P>
<P align=justify>After a little over three years, I’m about two months away from
submitting my thesis. Over the last three years of research I’ve been fortunate
to attend several conferences and workshops in many places, including Japan,
Malaysia, Brisbane, Melbourne and Wollongong. To gain insights into the
experiences of female LDP Diet members I went to Tokyo to interview them. It was
very difficult to gain access and I learned a lot about fieldwork and also, more
specifically, about how the political system in Japan seems to work.</P>
<P align=justify>I spent eight months in Tokyo on fieldwork, where I interviewed
19 members of the Diet (mostly LDP women). I also attended a class called ‘Women
and Politics’ at Rikkyo University with which I was affiliated during fieldwork,
and gained an insight into contemporary university debates surrounding my field
of research. In addition, I worked as an ‘intern’ on a casual basis for a local
Tokyo LDP councillor, and this allowed me access to local LDP politics which,
though not directly related to my PhD topic, was enlightening.</P>
<P align=justify>My involvement with Japan started when I was 11 years old, when
my primary school began teaching Japanese to ‘those who were interested’ after
school. I can’t recall being interested in much other than fun and games when I
was 11, but my parents decided I should be interested in Japanese, so off I
went. </P>
<P align=justify>Of course, learning Japanese was a lot of fun and games at that
stage, with lessons mainly consisting of games like ‘fruit bowl’ and drawing
competitions. I continued with my Japanese studies, despite the disappearance of
fruit bowl games which, in time, were replaced by gruelling kanji exams and
nerve-wracking oral presentations, and eventually completed a Bachelor of Arts
at the University of Queensland with a double major in Japanese studies.</P>
<P align=justify>After witnessing firsthand as an exchange student how Japanese
middle-class families operated according to rules about gender differences, I
developed an interest in gender and Japan. I wrote my honours thesis in 1999 on
the Equal Employment Opportunity Law in Japan and its relationship to the
feminist movement.</P>
<P align=justify>After completing my Masters in Interpreting and Translating at
the University of Queensland, I freelanced as a translator for Japanese
companies, translating a wide variety of documents, including car manuals, part
of a novel, business statements and art guides. In conjunction with this, I
worked as a medical interpreter at the Gold Coast, where I lived at the time.
I’ve thoroughly enjoyed the PhD experience and look forward to a career in
academia.</P>
<P align=justify>With the LDP announcing that a general election for the Lower
House will be held in late August, political pundits are predicting a loss for
the LDP-Komeito coalition and a subsequent takeover of the government by the
opposition Democratic Party of Japan. It will be interesting to see what an LDP
loss will mean for the representation of women in the Diet. Given that the DPJ
record for female representation is only marginally better than the LDP’s, it is
difficult to imagine a drastic change for the better.</P>
<P align=justify><EM>* Emma Dalton is a PhD Candidate, Centre for Asia Pacific
Social Transformation Studies (CAPSTRANS), in the School of Social Sciences,
Media and Communication, University of Wollongong.</EM></P>
<P><A
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<H1 class=headline><A name=5></A>Website of the month</H1>
<P align=justify><A href="http://web.mit.edu/shakespeare/asia/">Shakespeare
Performance in Asia (SPIA)</A>, Shakespeare Electronic Archive, MIT Shakespeare
Project, MIT, Cambridge, MA, US.</P>
<P align=justify>The centre of creativity in Shakespeare performance is shifting
from Europe and the United States to Asia, where directors such as Ninagawa
Yukio, Suzuki Tadashi, Ong Keng Sen, Wu Hsing-kuo, and many others experiment
with combinations of traditional and contemporary theatre, new strategies for
working across languages and genres, new ways of reaching diverse audiences. The
site showcases video highlights with English subtitles, photos, and texts from
Asia, the United States and Europe. This database is intended to promote
cross-cultural understanding and serve as a core resource for students, teachers
and researchers, and is part of the Asian Studies WWW Virtual Library by Matthew
Ciolek.</P>
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<H1 class=headline><IMG src="http://asaa.asn.au/publications/ac/nav-top.bmp"
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<H1 class=headline>Interesting books of Asian interest</H1>
<P align=justify>Contributed by <STRONG>Sally Burdon</STRONG> of <A
href="http://asaa.asn.au/publications/www.AsiaBookroom.com">Asia
Bookroom</A></P>
<P align=justify>As a number of Asian Currents readers teach Japanese or teach
about Japan, this month’s selection includes an unusual DVD, Exploring Japan. It
is a presentation of film of everyday modern Japan, without an interfering voice
over, but includes sound that is relevant to the images—for instance, a busy
market or a pachinko parlour. It is designed to be used in small bites to
illustrate and support Japanese studies at any age. If you know of similar
helpful DVDs, please let me know.</P>
<HR>
<P align=justify><STRONG>Deepening Democracy in Indonesia? Direct Elections for
Local Leaders (Pilkada)</STRONG></P>
<P align=justify><EM>Maribeth Erb and Sulistiyanto Priyambudi (eds)</EM></P>
<P align=justify>392pp, paperback, Institute of Southeast Asian Studies,
Singapore, 2009. ISBN: 9789812308405. $69.95</P>
<P align=justify>The latest development in Indonesia’s democratisation process
is the implementation of a system for directly electing regional leaders. The
first round of elections for all governors, mayors and district heads was
completed in 2008. The result of a workshop in Singapore in 2006, this volume
presents data from across the archipelago for these elections and how far they
have contributed to a deepening democracy. </P>
<P align=justify><STRONG>Famine in North Korea. Markets, Aid, and
Reform</STRONG></P>
<P align=justify><EM>Stephen Haggard and Marcus Noland</EM></P>
<P align=justify>309pp, paperback, Columbia University Press, New York, 2009.
ISBN: 9780231140010. $51.95 </P>
<P align=justify>A comprehensive and penetrating account of the North Korean
famine in the mid 1990s, this study examines the origins and aftermath of the
crisis, the regime's response to outside aid and the effect of its current
policies on the country's economic future. It considers the root causes of the
famine and weighs the effects of the decline in the availability of food against
its poor distribution. The famine exemplified the depredations that can arise
from tyrannical rule and the dilemmas such regimes pose for the humanitarian
community, as well as the obstacles inherent in achieving economic and political
reform. </P>
<P align=justify><STRONG>Tourism in Southeast Asia. Challenges and New
Directions</STRONG> </P>
<P align=justify><EM>Michael Hitchcock, Victor T. King and Michael
Parnwell</EM></P>
<P align=justify>358pp, paperback, University of Hawai'i Press, Honolulu. 2009,
ISBN: 9780824832995. $54.95 </P>
<P align=justify>An up-to-date exploration of the state of tourism development
and associated issues in one of the world's most dynamic tourism destinations,
this volume looks closely at challenges facing Southeast Asian tourism at a
critical stage of transition and transformation and following a recent series of
crises and disasters. Building on and advancing the editors’ 1993 path-breaking
Tourism in South-East Asia, it adopts a multidisciplinary approach and includes
contributions and fresh perspectives from leading researchers on tourism in
Southeast Asia.</P>
<P align=justify><STRONG>Exploring Japan DVD. A Visual Journey</STRONG></P>
<P align=justify>DVD (running time of 45 minutes), CD ROM with teaching notes,
discussion points and slides, Visual Education Media, Auckland, 2007. ISBN:
9781877496011. $74.95 </P>
<P align=justify>A visual account of everyday Japanese life, with its mix of
traditional and modern culture, this DVD is conceived as a springboard for
discussion on Japanese life and culture, in particular the similarities to, or
differences from, students' own life experiences. The DVD can be adapted to any
student level. Support materials are provided on the CD ROM but it is presumed
that teachers will be able to bring to bear their own knowledge of the country,
its people and culture when working with the most advanced students. A valuable
Japanese Language/Social Science resource for students at any level. </P>
<P align=justify><STRONG>Bangladeshi Cuisine</STRONG></P>
<P align=justify><EM>Shawkat Osman</EM></P>
<P align=justify>141pp, Mapin Publishing, Ahmedabad, 2009. ISBN: 9781890206024.
$54.95 </P>
<P align=justify>The book’s theme is aappayon, or entertaining the Bangladeshi
way. The menus are designed to steer you through planning a party, selecting the
recipes and preparing the food. In doing so, the book gives a rare insight into
the life of the Bangladeshi people and explains various rituals and traditions.
</P>
<P align=justify><STRONG>Phan Chau Trinh and His Political Writings</STRONG></P>
<P align=justify><EM>Phan Chau Trinh. Translated and edited by Vinh
Sinh</EM></P>
<P align=justify>139pp, paperback, Cornell Southeast Asia Program, Ithaca, 2009.
ISBN: 9780877277491. $38.95 </P>
<P align=justify>Phan Châu Trinh (1872-1926) was the earliest proponent of
democracy and popular rights in Vietnam. Throughout his life, he favoured a
moderate approach to political change and advised the country's leaders to seek
gradual progress for Vietnam within the French colonial system. Unlike many of
his contemporaries, he did not favour anti-French military alliances or
insurgent military resistance, arguing that ‘to depend on foreign help is
foolish and to resort to violence is self-destructive’. This collection offers
translations of four of his most significant works: The New Vietnam, Letter to
Emperor<BR>Kh_i __nh, Morality and Ethics, and Monarchy and Democracy.</P>
<P><A
href="http://asaa.asn.au/publications/ac/asian-currents-09-07.htm#top"><IMG
src="http://asaa.asn.au/publications/ac/nav-top.bmp" border=0></A></P>
<HR>
<P><STRONG>CAMBRIDGE COMPANION TO MODERN JAPANESE CULTURE WINNER</STRONG></P>
<P>Congratulations to Caroline Mahoney, the winner of a copy of The Cambridge
Companion to Modern Japanese Culture. A Japanese teacher from Sydney currently
studying at Waseda University, Tokyo, on a Japanese Government Scholarship,
Caroline was the first to email the correct answer to our two questions in last
month’s issue. Our thanks to all of you who submitted answers, and to <A
href="http://www.cambridge.org/">Cambridge University Press</A> for their
generous donation of the book as a prize.</P>
<P><A
href="http://asaa.asn.au/publications/ac/asian-currents-09-07.htm#top"><IMG
src="http://asaa.asn.au/publications/ac/nav-top.bmp" border=0></A></P>
<HR>
<P><STRONG>NEW BOOKS FROM THE ASAA SERIES IN 2009 </STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG>Women in Asia Series</STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG>Gender Diversity in Indonesia: Beyond Gender
Binaries</STRONG><BR><EM>Sharyn Leanne Graham</EM></P>
<P><STRONG>Feminist Movements in Contemporary Japan</STRONG><BR><EM>Laura
Dales</EM></P>
<P><STRONG>Women, Islam and Everyday Life: Renegotiating Polygamy in
Indonesia</STRONG> <BR><EM>Nina Nurmila</EM> </P>
<P><STRONG>Southeast Asia Series </STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG>Kampung, Islam and State in Urban Java</STRONG> <BR><EM>Patrick
Guinness</EM></P>
<P><STRONG>Thailand and T’ai Lands: Modern Tai Community (in
press)</STRONG><BR><EM>Andrew Walker (ed.)</EM></P>
<P><STRONG>Workers and Intellectuals: NGOs, Trade Unions and the Indonesian
Labour Movement</STRONG><BR><EM>Michele Ford</EM></P>
<P><STRONG>East Asia Series</STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG>Women’s History and Local Community in Postwar
Japan</STRONG><BR><EM>Anderson Gayle</EM></P>
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<H1 class=headline><A name=6a></A>Positions vacant</H1>
<P align=justify>These sites offer career prospects for graduates and
postgraduate in Asian Studies. If you know of other useful sites advertising
jobs for postgrads in Asian Studies, please send them to <A
href="mailto:allan.sharp@homemail.com.au">allan.sharp@homemail.com.au</A></P>
<P align=justify><A href="http://www.jobs.ac.uk/">http://www.jobs.ac.uk</A> and
<A
href="http://www.acu.ac.uk/adverts/jobs/">http://www.acu.ac.uk/adverts/jobs/</A>
advertise worldwide academic posts.<BR><A
href="http://isanet.ccit.arizona.edu/employment.html">http://isanet.ccit.arizona.edu/employment.html</A>
is a free-to-access website run by The International Studies Association.<BR><A
href="http://www.reliefweb.int/">http://www.reliefweb.int</A> is a free service
run by the United Nations to recruit for NGO jobs <BR><A
href="http://www.aboutus.org/DevelopmentEx.com">http://www.aboutus.org/DevelopmentEx.com</A>
has a paid subscription service providing access to jobs worldwide in the
international development industry.</P>
<P align=justify><!-- ================================ Item ends =============================== --><!-- ================================ Item begins ============================= --><A
href="http://asaa.asn.au/publications/ac/asian-currents-09-07.htm#top"><IMG
src="http://asaa.asn.au/publications/ac/nav-top.bmp" border=0></A><SPAN
class=head3></SPAN></P>
<H1 class=headline><A name=7></A>Did you know?</H1>
<P align=justify><STRONG>PROFESSOR STOCKWIN TO CHAIR JAPAN WORKSHOP</STRONG></P>
<P align=justify>Professor JAA Stockwin, University of Oxford, will chair and
facilitate a workshop on Japan for postgraduates and early career researchers
(ECRs) at the University of Adelaide on 23–24 November 2009.</P>
<P align=justify>Organised by the Japan–Korea node of the Asia Pacific Futures
Research Network in conjunction with its network project titled ‘Japan:
Descending Asian Giant?, the workshop will feature 10 to 15 speakers from
Australia, Asia, Europe and the United States discussing aspects of contemporary
Japanese economy, politics, society, demography and international relations.</P>
<P align=justify>PhD candidates and ECRs researching contemporary Japan are
invited to apply for a fully funded place (airfare and accommodation in
Adelaide) at the workshop. Ten 10 PhD students/ECRs from interstate are likely
to be selected.</P>
<P align=justify>Applications close on Friday, 14 August 2009. Applicants should
provide a brief curriculum vitae, a supporting letter from their supervisor,
current research and future plan (1/2 page) and a statement of workshop
expectations (1/2page). Applications to: <A
href="mailto:purnendra.jain@adelaide.edu.au">Professor Purnendra Jain</A>.</P>
<P align=justify><STRONG>ANGKOR SUMMER SCHOOL</STRONG> </P>
<P align=justify>The Asian Studies Program of the School of Languages and
Cultures is presenting its Summer School in Angkor again in January, 2010. The
intensive 18-day course will focus on Angkor and will be led by Khmer art
specialist Dr Martin Polkinghorne. The tour offers a unique opportunity to study
Angkor’s history, art history, and archaeology. Formal lectures are integrated
with site visits and field excursions. For information on enrolments, contact
Jane Thomson, 02 9351 4505 or <A
href="mailto:jane.thomson@usyd.edu.au">jane.thomson@usyd.edu.au</A></P>
<P align=justify><!-- ================================ Item ends =============================== --><!-- ================================ Item begins ============================= --><SPAN
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<H1 class=headline><A name=8></A>Diary dates </H1>
<P align=justify><STRONG>BLOOD AND SOIL: GENOCIDE IN WORLD HISTORY, illustrated
lecture, Sydney, 5pm–7pm, 5 August 2009,</STRONG> by Professor Ben Kiernan, Yale
University, USA, organised by the Sydney Democracy Forum. Venue, University of
Sydney, Room 246, New Law Building. Lecture free and open to public, but
registration essential. RSVP: <A href="mailto:sdf@usyd.edu.au">Zoe Morrison</A>
– <A href="mailto:sdf@usyd.edu.au">sdf@usyd.edu.au</A></P>
<P align=justify><STRONG>INDIAN MODERNITY: ONCE COLONIAL, NOW GLOBAL, keynote
seminar, Sydney, 17 August 2009.</STRONG> Speaker: Professor Dipesh Chakrabarty,
ANU, Chicago Centre for Contemporary Theory, School of Historical Studies
University of Melbourne. Part of the seminar series organised by the Indian
Ocean and South Asia Research Network (IOSARN), University of Technology Sydney.
Further information: <A
href="http://asaa.asn.au/publications/mailtodevleena.ghosh@uts.edu.au">Devleena
Ghosh</A></P>
<P align=justify><STRONG>WAR ART IN ASIA AND THE REPRESENTATION OF WAR,
workshop, Sydney, 28 August 2009.</STRONG> Organised by the Australian Centre
for Asian Art & Archaeology, University of Sydney, and the Research School
of Humanities, ANU, the workshop will be held at Mills Lecture Theatre, R.C.
Mills Building, University of Sydney. Booking essential. RSVP and enquiries: <A
href="mailto:acaaa.acaaa@usyd.edu.au">acaaa.acaaa@usyd.edu.au</A></P>
<P align=justify><STRONG>JAPAN: DESCENDING ASIAN GIANT? workshop, Adelaide,
<BR>23–24 November 2009,</STRONG> organised by the Japan–Korea node of the Asia
Pacific Futures Research Network. Professor JAA Stockwin, University of Oxford,
will chair and facilitate the workshop for postgraduates and early career
researchers at the University of Adelaide. Ten to 15 speakers from Australia,
Asia, Europe and the United States will discuss aspects of contemporary Japanese
economy, politics, society, demography and international relations.</P>
<P align=justify><STRONG>MEETING THE MILLENNIUM DEVELOPMENT GOALS: OLD PROBLEMS,
NEW CHALLENGES, conference, Melbourne, <BR>30 November–1 December 2009.</STRONG>
Organised by the Australian Council for International Development and Institute
for Human Security, La Trobe University, the conference will critically engage
the Millennium Development Goals and the processes or rather possibilities for
change. A key aim is to bring together development practitioners, academics,
policy makers and the business community. Deadline for abstracts/proposals, 14
August 2009. For more information, please the see <A
href="http://www.acfid.asn.au/meeting-mdgs-call-for-papers">conference
website</A> for latest details.</P>
<P align=justify><STRONG>GENDER AND OCCUPATIONS AND INTERVENTIONS IN THE ASIA
PACIFIC, 1945–2009, workshop, Wollongong, 10–11 December 2009.</STRONG>
Sponsored by the Asia Pacific Futures Research Network, CAPSTRANS and the
Faculty of Arts at the University of Wollongong, this small workshop, at the
University of Wollongong, will bring together for the first time established
scholars, ECRs, postgraduates and community members and activists to discuss
issues related to gender, occupation and intervention. A few competitive places
for sponsored positions (travel within Australia only and accommodation for two
nights) for postgraduates and ECRs are available. See the <A
href="http://www.capstrans.edu.au/resources/conferences/2009/gender-occupation-workshop.html">workshop
website</A> for more information or contact the organisers: <A
href="mailto:roward@uow.edu.au">Dr Rowena Ward</A> or Dr <A
href="mailto:cdm@uow.edu.au">Christine de Matos</A>.</P>
<P align=justify><STRONG>IN THE IMAGE OF ASIA: MOVING ACROSS AND BETWEEN
LOCATIONS conference, Canberra, 13–15 April 2010.</STRONG> This
interdisciplinary conference explores how ‘Asia’ has been imagined, imaged,
represented and transferred visually across linguistic, geopolitical and
cultural boundaries. It aims to challenge established assumptions (and
consumptions) of cultural products of ‘Asia’, from arts, artefacts and film to
performance. Proposals for papers should be submitted to <A
href="maito:fuyubi.nakamura@anu.edu.au">Dr Fuyubi Nakamura</A> or <A
href="mailo:ana.dragojlovic@anu.edu.au">Dr Ana Dragojlovic</A> by 11 September
2009.</P>
<P align=justify><STRONG>ASAA BIENNIAL CONFERENCE, Adelaide, 6–8 July
2010.</STRONG> The 18th Biennial Conference of the Asian Studies Association of
Australia will be held at the University of Adelaide. Its theme is ‘Asia: Crisis
and Opportunity’. A conference website will be launched soon to provide further
details and call for papers and panels.</P>
<P align=justify><STRONG>DISPLACEMENT, DIVISION AND RENEWAL conference, Sarawak,
Malaysia, 8–9 July 2010.</STRONG> The Curtin University Research Unit for the
Study of Societies in Change (RUSSIC), in conjunction with Curtin University in
Sarawak, is calling for panel proposals for its conference, which will be held
at Miri, Sarawak, as a sequel to the conference ‘Crossing Borders’, held in
Sarawak in 2007. Panel submission closes on 31 August 2009, and call for papers
will open on 1 October 2009. A conference website with further registration and
location details will open soon. Enquiries and expressions of interest to <A
href="mailto:A.Hoath@curtin.edu.au">Dr Aileen Hoath</A>. </P>
<P align=justify><EM>You are welcome to advertise Asia-related events in this
space. Send details to <A href="mailto:allan.sharp@homemail.com.au">Allan
Sharp</A>.</EM></P>
<P align=justify><IMG src="http://asaa.asn.au/publications/ac/nav-top.bmp"
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<H1 class=headline align=justify><A name=9></A>Feedback</H1>
<P align=left>What would be useful for you? Human interest stories, profiles of
successful graduates of Asian studies, more news about what's on, moderated
discussions on topical issues? Send your ideas to <A
href="mailto:allan.sharp@homemail.com.au">Allan Sharp</A>. </P>
<P align=left> </P><!-- ================================ Item ends =============================== --><!-- ================================ Item begins ============================= --><SPAN
class=head3><A
href="http://asaa.asn.au/publications/ac/asian-currents-09-07.htm#top"></A></SPAN>
<H1 class=headline align=justify><A name=10></A>About the ASAA</H1>
<P align=justify>The Asian Studies Association of Australia (ASAA) promotes the
study of Asian languages, societies, cultures, and politics in Australia,
supports teaching and research in Asian studies and works towards an
understanding of Asia in the community at large. It publishes the <A
href="http://asaa.asn.au/publications/asr.php">Asian Studies Review</A> journal
and holds a biennial conference. </P>
<P align=justify>The ASAA believes there is an urgent need to develop a strategy
to preserve, renew and extend Australian expertise about Asia. It has called on
the government to show national leadership in the promotion of Australia’s Asia
knowledge and skills. See <A
href="http://coombs.anu.edu.au/SpecialProj/ASAA/asia-knowledge-book-v70.pdf">Maximizing
Australia's Asia Knowledge Repositioning and Renewal of a National
Asset</A>.</P>
<P align=justify><SPAN class=ac><STRONG><FONT color=#cc3300>Asian
Currents</FONT></STRONG></SPAN> is published by the ASAA and edited by Allan
Sharp. The editorial board consists of Kathryn Robinson, ASAA President; Michele
Ford, ASAA Secretary; Mina Roces, ASAA Publications officer; and Lenore Lyons,
ASAA Council member.</P></DIV><IMG
src="http://asaa.asn.au/publications/ac/nav-top.bmp" border=0>
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