<font face="'PrimaSans BT,Verdana,sans-serif'">Michael Leach. 2008. Surveying East Timorese tertiary student attitudes<br>to national identity: 2002–2007<br>South East Asia Research, November, 16(3): 405-431. <br><br>Abstract: This article examines post-independence debates over national<br>identity in East Timor, presenting the findings of a longitudinal survey<br>(carried out in Dili in 2002 and 2007) of East Timorese tertiary student<br>attitudes to national identity. The findings suggest that a younger<br>generation of East Timorese have partially contested the ‘official’<br>linguistic and cultural affiliations of the nation-state, while<br>supporting other ‘official’ narratives of national history. In so<br>doing, the findings highlight the difficult cultural legacies of<br>consecutive colonial occupations. The paper also examines significant<br>changes in these youth attitudes since independence, including a<br>significant increase in the acceptance of the co-official status of the<br>Portuguese language in the tertiary student demographic over the<br>five-year period. <br><br><a href="http://www.ippublishing.com/sear.htm" target="l">http://www.ippublishing.com/sear.htm</a><br><br><a href="http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/ip/sear/2008/00000016/00000003/art00003" target="l">http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/ip/sear/2008/00000016/00000003/art00003</a><br><br>Dr Michael Leach<br>Senior Lecturer in Politics<br>Faculty of Life and Social Sciences<br>Swinburne University of Technology<br>1 John St Hawthorn VIC <br>AUSTRALIA 3122<br>Phone: +61 3 9214 5357<br>Fax: +61 3 9819 0574<br>mleach@swin.edu.au<br></font>