MAI Seminars, Conferences, Visitors and Events
Public Lecture
Centre of Southeast Asia, Monash Asia Institute
Friday 14 December 2007, 6:00 pm for 6:30 pm start
Lecture Theatre HB32, Building H, Monash University Caulfield campus
"Reasons for hope: prospects for democratic Indonesia's economy and society 10 years after the 1997 financial crisis"
Speaker: Dr Dorodjatun, former Ambassador Extraordinary and former Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs.
MAI invites you to attend at public lecture by Dr Dorodjatun Kuntjoro Jakti, former Ambassador Extraordinary and former Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs. Dr Dorodjatun earned an MA and a PhD from Berkeley University for his research on Indonesia's political economy. He is in a unique position to reflect on Indonesia's transition from the Suharto New Order to multi-party democracy and the nation's slow and steady climb out of economic and political crisis a decade ago. This lecture represents a unique opportunity to learn about Indonesia's current economic, social and political transformation and its prospects for growth and development.
RSVP to Dr Tony Donaldson, tony.donaldson@adm.monash.edu.au, using the subject line "Indonesian economy seminar" in your email.
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PhD confirmation seminar
Thursday 29 November, 10:00 am
Room SG03, Ground Floor, Menzies Building (11) Monash University Clayton campus
Mahathir Mohamad: Islam and the ‘New Malays’
Mr. Sven Alexander Schottmann, PhD Candidate, Monash Asia Institute
Malaysia has reached an important crossroads in 2007. Apart from celebrating fifty years of independence, the most vital question before multi-ethnic, multi-lingual and most significantly, multi-religious, Malaysia concerns its status as a Muslim-majority country. Is it indeed already an Islamic State, as declared by the government in late 2001, or does the constitution actually call for a secular Malaysia, albeit with Islam elevated to the status of official religion? Mr. Schottmann's thesis analyses the engagement of Mahathir Mohamad, Anwar Ibrahim and Abdullah Badawi with Islam and politics over a period spanning more than sixty years. He will present an overview of his confirmation document and his initial findings for the Mahathir chapter entitled: “Mahathir Mohamad: Islam and the ‘New Malays’.”
Mr. Schottmann is a doctoral candidate at the Monash Asia Institute examining contemporary Islamic politics in Malaysia.
ALL WELCOME
RSVP to Dr Tony Donaldson, tony.donaldson@adm.monash.edu.au, using the subject line "Islam and the new Malays seminar" in your email.
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Seminar
Centre for Muslim Minorities and Islam Policy Studies with the Monash Asia Institute
Present
Professor Frederick 'Skip' Burkle
Senior Scholar, Scientist, and Visiting Professor at the Center for International Emergency, Disaster & Refugee Studies at Johns Hopkins University and Professor, Department of Community Emergency Health and Paramedic Practice, Monash University
The Execution of the War with Iraq: Dilemmas & Controversies
Friday 16 November 2007, 11:30 am
Room H5.45, Building H, Monash University Caulfield campus
In 2003 Professor Burkle served in the US State Department as the Senior Medical Officer in Iraq on the Disaster Assistance Response Team (DART) for the Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance. He also served as the Interim Minister of Health in Iraq during the relief phase of the crisis.
Coffee and Biscuits provided
For further information, please contact Dr Benjamin MacQueen <Benjamin.MacQueen@arts.monash.edu.au>
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MAI Reports from Asia seminar
Wednesday 14 November 2007, 3.00pm
Room S822, Level 8 South, Menzies Building (11)
Monash University Clayton campus
Gold as multiple and event: Appadurai, commodity question and gold in Kerala
Speaker: Mr. George Varghese, PhD Candidate, University of Melbourne
In this seminar, Mr. Varghese explores certain critical drawbacks in Arjun Appadurai’s theory of commodity as enunciated in "The social life of things" and tries to reach a new formulation of commodity through the examination of gold. Mr. Varghese argues that Appadurai falls into an idealist Hegelian trap, perhaps unaware, in his zest to reach an axiomatic and idealist notion of commodity by aggregating partial ethnographic insights randomly drawn from the far and wide corners of the world. The counter-thesis to Appadurai is specifically worked out through an ethnographic examination of gold’s crucial involution in Kerala society at present. Kerala, a small South Indian state, arguably has turned out to be the highest gold-consuming single ethnic locale in the world with more than 14000 gold shops and an annual turnover of over 200 tons. This is roughly equivalent to half of the US’s annual import or 60% of Australia’s annual production. This celebration of gold in Kerala cannot be analysed in terms of traditional economic or anthropological analysis. For the author the research should start from the very materiality of gold itself which is a complex "event" or "multiple" that should be approached through a philosophical framework that combines ideas of both Alain Badiou and Gilles Deleuze.
Mr. Varghese is completing a PhD programme in Social Anthropology at the School of Social and Environmental Enquiry (SSEE), University of Melbourne. His area of research is gold and its philosophy in line with what Simmel discussed about money in his great work “The Philosophy of Money”. George Varghese had also completed an ethnographic study of gold as part of the MPhil programme in the University of Bergen, Norway. In future he plans to work on the gold scene of Kerala in an expanded form with a more enriched theoretical perspective.
RSVP with subject heading "Gold in Kerala seminar" to Dr Tony Donaldson, tony.donaldson@adm.monash.edu.au
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MAI Reports from Asia seminar
Wednesday 14 November 2007, 1.00pm
Room S822, Level 8 South, Menzies Building (11)
Monash University Clayton campus
Everyday practices of local government offices and the discourses of corruption
Speaker: Mr. Nadeem Malik, University of Melbourne
For the past few years public sector corruption in less developed countries has been identified by the World Bank, IMF, NGOs, donor countries, as well as academics as a major stumbling block towards these countries’ progress. The social planners and the policy analysts have frequently maintained that the problems of corruption can be solved through the application of instrumental solutions that are applicable universally.
On the other hand, some anthropologists of the state such as Akhil Gupta and others have suggested that corruption is a discursive field imagined differently by people belonging to different societies. Solutions to corruption, therefore, are not universally applicable. This paper attempts to argue that corruption is not merely a discursive field and an imagined phenomenon but has its roots outside people’s minds as well. Through an ethnographic exploration of the functioning of certain lower level officials in rural Pakistan, it is argued that the objectivity of the discourse of corruption outside people’s minds can be explained in a radically different manner; that is by analysing the specific way in which the local level bureaucracy is structured in a strategic interface between the people and the central state institutions.
RSVP to Dr Tony Donaldson, tony.donaldson@adm.monash.edu.au, using the subject line "Corruption seminar" in your email.
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Thursday 25 October 2007, 1:00 pm
SG01 (Manton Rooms), Ground Floor, Building 11 (Menzies)
Monash University Clayton campus
The Russian Encounter With Buddhism in the Seventeenth to Nineteenth Centuries
Professor Vladimir Uspenskiy
Senior Research Fellow at the Institute of Oriental Studies (St. Petersburg Branch) of the Academy of Sciences of the Russian Federation.
Tibetan Buddhism is an important part of Russia's spiritual heritage. In the seventeenth century Buddhist peoples of Mongol stock such as Kalmucks and Buriats became Russian subjects. It took several decades for the Russian authorities to grasp the idea of the new religion they were dealing with. Since the Russian presence in Eastern Siberia was very thin and border areas with China were populated by Mongols, the Russian government tried to come to good terms with the local Buddhist clergy while establishing efficient control over their activities. The eighteenth and nineteenth centuries witnessed rapid growth in the number of Buddhist monks and in the building of new monasteries (datsans). To control them the Russian government established the position of the Head Lama of Eastern Siberia. Monasteries in Kalmuck and Buriat regions printed many books in Tibetan and Mongolian languages and became major centres of Buddhist learning, art and medicine. Many lamas from Russia who were trained in Tibet subsequently made large contributions to the development of Buddhist studies in Russia.
In 1981, Vladimir Uspenskiy graduated from the Oriental Department of the Leningrad State University. In the same year he became a postgraduate student of the Institute of Oriental Studies (Leningrad Branch). In 1984 he became a tenured member of this Institute. He has occupied a variety of positions, the most important being the Head of the Foreign Cooperation Section and the Curator of the Tibetan Collection. For many years he was the Director and Co-Director of the joint project with the Asian Classics Input Project (ACIP) which compiled a computer catalogue of the Tibetan collection. Cataloguing data is available. In 1996-97 he was a visiting professor at the Institute for the Study of Languages and Cultures of Asia and Africa at the Tokyo University of Foreign Studies.
In 2004 he presented his thesis, Tibetan Buddhism in Beijing during the Manchu Qing Dynasty (1644–1911), for which he received the degree of Doctor of Letters.
His publications include three books and many articles in different languages. His main scholarly work is the Catalogue of Mongolian Manuscripts kept at St Petersburg University Library. Scholarly interests: history and Buddhist literature of the Tibetans, the Mongolians and the Manchus.
RSVP to Dr Tony Donaldson, tony.donaldson@adm.monash.edu.au, using the subject line "Russian encounter with Buddhism" in your email.
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MAI Reports from Asia seminar
Wednesday 24 October 2007, 1.00pm
Room S822, Level 8 South, Menzies Building (11) Monash University Clayton campus
Dr. Sailaja Gullapalli, Endeavour Research Fellow, Monash Asia Institute
Judicial activism and implications on environmental protection: A comparative assessment of environmental concerns of India and Australia
This comparative study intends to focus on the measures taken towards environmental protection and management in India and Australia. Environmental law is often prone to violations by the state, thus making compliance a much more difficult task. In this context, the judiciary has an important role to play as a conscience keeper and should impose positive obligations on the state in order to confine it to environmental norms. The policy and implementation approaches of India and Australia towards environmental protection and the active role of the judiciary in safeguarding the interests of society will be the main theme of the proposed study. Many parallels can be drawn from the experiences of these two nations since they provide an account of not only common problems but also remedial measures to combat them. The role of the judiciary in interpreting the existing laws that safeguard the natural environment forms an important component of the project. There are four areas of common concerns that are of interest to the proposed study. These issues are of considerable interest in both India and Australia and are being taken up by environmental activists, who are effectively articulating their concerns. They include (1) endangered species (2) energy conservation (3) genetically modified foods and (4) water. An insight into the policy formulation and lessons to be learnt thereof also constitutes a significant part of this proposed study.
RSVP with subject heading "India and Australia environment seminar" to Dr Tony Donaldson, tony.donaldson@adm.monash.edu.au
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Seminar hosted by
Monash Asia Institute and the Social and Economic Interface Research
Network (SEIR Net) within the Department of Management, Monash University
Friday 19 October 2007, 12:30 pm
Room S822, Level 8 South, Building 11 (Menzies)
Monash University Clayton campus
"The emergence of neo-nationalism and its influence on Chinese foreign policy"
Professor Wen Li, Political Studies Division, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences
After the cold war, there has been an ideological change in China from communism to liberalism to nationalism. The reason that neo-nationalism has emerged in China is that China has not fulfilled its mission of building a modern nation-state. The end of cold war was an important pre-condition for the emergence of the new nationalism. The other factor compelling change has been globalization which has not only brought to China a global and regional consciousness, but also a heightened Chinese consciousness of the nation-state. Neo-nationalism has had a special influence on Chinese foreign policies; there is a new emphasis on improving relations with different countries in line with China's national interests, rather than dividing the world into socialist and capitalist campus and the three worlds that earlier on figured so strongly in Chinese foreign policy. This talk will examine in greater depth neo-nationalism in China today, and its impact in north-east Asia and the region more generally.
Professor Wen Li is Director of Political Studies Division in the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. Dr Wen Li graduated with majors in politics, sociology and history respectively from Jinzhou Teachers
University, Nankai University and Peking University. His research interests is in Asia-Pacific Political Studies and he has been visiting scholar at Rikkyo University and Shidaozibashi University in Japan. A
selection of his publications include "The Cultural Cause of East Asian Cooperation", World Affair Press, 2005; "The Diffusion and Influence of Japanese Culture On China Since 1980", Chinese Social Science Press, 2004; "Samurai and Japanese Modernization", Heibei People Press, 2003; "Social Change on East Asia," World Affair Press, 2003 and “The Formation and Transformation of Government’s Role in East-Asia”, in Contemporary Asia-Pacific Studies, No.7, 1999.
Dr Li is a visiting scholar at the Monash Asia Institute from 9-22 October 2007.
ALL WELCOME
A light luncheon will be served at 12.00 noon before the seminar.
For further information about the seminar, please contact Dr Ingrid Nielsen Ingrid.Nielsen@BusEco.monash.edu.au)
RSVP (essential for catering purposes) to Dr Tony Donaldson, tony.donaldson@adm.monash.edu.au with "Chinese neo-nationalism" in subject heading of the message.
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Monash Asia Institute
A special workshop on Bollywood women with Lady Kishwar Desai
Wednesday 10 October 2007, 1.00pm
Room S822, Level 8 South, Menzies Building (11) Monash University Clayton campus
Lady Kishwar Desai started her career as a print journalist and then moved into Television at the moment when Indian Television was going through its boom. She has worked in all the major TV channels in Delhi: NDTV, Aaj Tak, Zee as Anchor, producer of TV films and CEO of a Punjabi language channel. She moved into publishing, working with Roli Books as Managing Editor before moving to London. She is now a writer and has just published her first book “Pia: A True Love Story from Bollywood”. It is a joint biography of the iconic star couple, Nargis and Sunil Dutt, written against the background of the history of 20th century India. She has also written a screenplay for a film based on the life of the Muslim princess and secret agent, Noor Inayat Khan, who spied for the British during the Second World War. The film will be directed by the renowned Indian Film Director Shyam Benegal.
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MAI Reports from Asia seminar
Tuesday 9 October 2007, 1:00 pm
Room S822, Level 8 South, Menzies Building (11) Monash University Clayton campus
Securitization of migration: the "Bangladeshi" domestic workers in Delhi
Speaker: Professor Tasneem Siddiqui
In this seminar, Professor Siddiqui will focus on the contentious issue of alleged Bangladeshi illegal migrant workers in India from a security angle.
Professor Siddiqui is a well-known academic and researcher in Bangladesh. She is Professor of the Department of Political Science in Dhaka University, Chair of the Refugee and Migratory Movements Research Unit (RMMRU) in Dhaka University as well as Chair of the South Asia Migration Resource Network (SAMREN) that works across the South Asian region. She has written and researched extensively on labour migration issues in the region. She has researched female migration, migrant workers' remittances and micro-finance, and labour recruitment process and diaspora. She has recently edited the Migration and Development: Pro-Poor Policy Choices book based on migration experiences in China, Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and Vietnam.
Public Lecture
Hosted by National Gallery of Victoria &
Monash Asia Institute (Monash University)
Saturday 6 October 2007, 2:00 to 4:00 pm
Clemenger BBDO Auditorium
National Gallery of Victoria
180 St Kilda Road Melbourne 3004
The Business of Culture: How Bollywood made India global
Professor Lord Meghnad Desai, Member of the House of Lords
Lady Kishwar Desai, Author
India is the new global economy of the 21st century. Indian films under the label Bollywood have been global for much longer and have been in the vanguard recently in India’s emergence as a ranking economic power during the last ten years. The growth of Bollywood has lessons for understanding why India has taken so long to attain its global status and how it can stay there.
Lady Kishwar Desai will reflect on Lord Desai’s lecture and comment on the role of women in the historical evolution of Bollywood.
Professor Lord Meghnad Desai of St Clement Danes taught at the London School of Economics from 1965 till 2003 where he was successively Lecturer, Reader and Professor. He has written more than twenty books and 200 articles in journals and magazines. His recent books are Nehru’s Hero: Dilip Kumar in the life of India; The route to all evil: The political economy of Ezra Pound and Rethinking Islamism: The ideology of new terror. He has been a member of the House of Lords since 1991 and received an Honorary Doctorate from Monash University in 2004.
The lecture will be followed by Q&A and afternoon tea.
DOWNLOAD Flyer in Word format or pdf format
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Symposium on Violence, Anger and Demonisation
Hosted by Monash Asia Institute and Centre for Studies in Religion & Theology, Monash University
Saturday 22 September 2007, 1:00 - 5:00 pm
H4 Lecture Theatre
Building 11 (Menzies), Monash University Clayton Campus
Presentations (More details to come)
"Cambodian demons under Pol Pot", Dr Peg Le Vine, Monash Asia Institute
"Demonisation of Tantra", Mr David Templeman, Monash Asia Institute
"The power of Untouchable demons", Prof Marika Vicziany, Monash Asia Institute
"Harnessing the demons within: therapeutic resources for anger management", Dr Padmasiri DeSilva, School of Historical Studies, Faculty of Arts, Monash University
Book Launch by Dr Craig Hassed
"Explorers of inner space" by Dr Padmasiri DeSilva
Explorers of Inner Space by Padmasiri de Silva points out that academia has been dominated by the culture of argument and debate and makes a strong case for "Deep listening as a corner-stone of the emerging interest in contemplative pedagogy and transformative education". In this book, there is also a common thread of existentialist perspectives on the human condition running through the Buddha, Krishnamurti and Kierkegaard. Using this contemplative perspective, Padmasiri will also speak on the therapeutic resources for anger management.
Formerly, Professor & Head of Philosophy/Psychology Department in the University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka, he held number of visiting positions in USA and Singapore. Currently, Dr Padmasiri DeSilva is a Research Associate at Monash University and is the author of number of books.
Dr.Craig Hassed is a General Practitioner and senior lecturer at the Monash University Department of General Practice. His teaching, research and clinical interests involve mindfulness-based stress management, mind-body medicine, meditation, holistic healthcare, health promotion, complementary therapies and medical ethics. Craig is regularly invited to speak in Australia and overseas on these issues and also teaches in the cancer support programs at the Gawler Foundation, and takes courses at the Petrea King Quest for Life Centre. He writes regularly for medical journals particularly in Philosophy of Medicine and has published two books on these issues entitled, “New Frontiers in Medicine” (Volume 1 & 2) and a third book on mindfulness-based stress management entitled “Know Thyself”. Craig has also been a regular media commentator on these topics.
Abstracts
Demonization of Tantra by David Templeman, Monash Asia Institute
Certain Indian writers as far back as the 5th century a.d. showed a certain hostility towards tantra, as did early European travellers in India and the British Imperialists of the 19th and 20th centuries. Even later scholars of religion were uniformly opposed to its practices until the 1970’s. Tantra in one or other of its guises has received a uniformly bad press.
This talk, although acknowledging these early views, focusses mainly on the British and other European reactions to tantra. It suggests that much of the reaction was based upon a fear of loss of the sense of self, either perceived as a loss of sexual / moral restraint or as a dread of ‘going native’ and becoming lost in a welter of strange practices.
I will use as my sources a wide variety of writings including those of the 17th century. Muslim traveller Mahmud Balkhi and an early 20th century novel by Flora Annie Steel, The Law of the Threshold. I will also discuss the wide ranging opinions of scholars as diverse as the staunch supporter of tantra, the British judge, Sir John Woodroffe, as well as its scholarly detractors who demonized it as “a black art of the crudest and filthiest kind.”
David Templeman is a PhD candidate at the Monash Asia Institute where he is completing a thesis on the life and times of a 16-17th cent Tibetan Lama. For over 25 years he has published translations of several tantric historical texts as well as articles dealing with Tibetan understandings of tantric origins.
Cambodian demons under Pol Pot, Dr Peg Le Vine, Monash Asia Institute
Dr Peg LeVine has spent many years studying the psychological-magical aspects of power under the Khmer Rouge. The Khmer people at that time were as much 'controlled' by these abstract forces as they were by the power of Pol Pot and his party. Indeed, the separation of the two is typically hard to achieve. Dr LeVine will speak about how this fusion of modern politics and religio-magical authority worked on the hearts, minds and spirit of the Cambodian people.
The power of Untouchable demons, Prof Marika Vicziany, Monash Asia Institute
India's untouchables number some 15% of the total population: today, the 4th largest political party in India claims to be the voice of the 'dalits'. But until fairly recently, untouchables had no power and their social-cultural-economic lives were seriously constricted. They were typically the victims of harijan atrocities perpetrated by landlords, police, military and indeed all sections of Indian society that sat above them. An analysis of harijan atrocities shows that after all the 'causal' factors have been considered, there remains a residual blind hatred/violence that cannot be explained expect by reference to 'demonisation'. The demonisation depends on the widespread belief in India that the untouchables have influential contacts in the underworld, and that by mediating with demons, devils, evil spirits and dangerous magical forces, they can actually protect normal society. There are fortresses in India dating from pre-colonial times wherein stand the bodies of untouchables who were buried alive as a way of ensuring the security of the building. The nature and sources of this complex process of demonisation are discussed by Vicziany, who with Oliver Mendelsohn published The untouchables: subordination, poverty and the state in modern India, Cambridge Uni. Press, Cambridge, 1998.
Dr Marika Vicziany is Professor of Asian Political Economy and Director of the Monash Asia Institute at Monash University. She has published some 15 monographs and over 100 articles/book chapters largely about minorities, mass poverty, long term economic development and human security in India, Pakistan and western China.
The Demons Within: Therapeutic Resources for Anger Management
Dr Padmasiri DeSilva, School of Historical Studies, Monash University
In the world around which we live, there is a great deal of discussion about violence, sense of rebellion among young people, self-destructive behaviour and demonisation in inter-group attitudes. But the demon within goes unnoticed. The emotion of anger is at the root of all these issues and we need the time, the leisure and relaxed moments to look at anger. In current therapies that go into anger, mindfulness techniques play a very important role. Society at large is dominated by argument and debates. My presentation has a focus on the value of contemplative education as well as the therapeutic techniques to replace the noise, the stress and strains in our culture with an education that emphasizes “deep listening”, with a focus on the present movement and engaging fully in what we are doing at the moment.
DOWNLOAD Programme and Abstracts
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Taiwan Studies Seminar
Wednesday 19 September 2007, 3:00 pm
Room E457, Building 11, (Menzies), Monash University Clayton campus
"The Colonial Character of the KMT Regime and the Current Politics of Taiwan"
Professor Li Fu-chung, Graduate Institute of Taiwan History, National Chengchi University in Taiwan, will speak on "The Colonial Character of the KMT Regime and the Current Politics of Taiwan". Professor Li is currently conducting research and visiting in the School of Languages, Cultures and Linguistics, Faculty of Arts.
Enquiries: Prof Bruce Jacobs, Bruce.Jacobs@arts.monash.edu.au
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Taiwan Studies Seminar
Wednesday 12 September 2007, 3:00 pm,
Room E363, Building 11 (Menzies), Monash University Clayton campus
"Taiwan's Future, APEC and the Current Legislative and Presidential Elections."
Dennis Engbarth, journalist and editorial writer for the Taiwan News and long-term resident of Taiwan, will speak on "Taiwan's Future, APEC and the Current Legislative and Presidential Elections." Mr Engbarth recently travelled with President Chen Shui-bian to Latin America and has been attending the APEC Conference in Sydney.
Enquiries: Prof Bruce Jacobs, Bruce.Jacobs@arts.monash.edu.au
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Monash Asia Institute PhD seminar
Friday 7 September 2007, 10:00 am
Room S822, Level 8 South, Menzies Building (11)
Monash University Clayton campus
"Mind Games not War Games: Indian Civil-Military issues and challenges"
Speaker: Mr Dinesh Kumar, PhD Candidate, Monash Asia Institute
From nation consolidation in the early years of India’s post-Independence history to fighting wars and engaging in sustained internal security operations, the Indian armed forces have had a substantial share of role playing in handling issues and challenges in India’s post-Independence civil society. The Indian armed forces have stayed firmly apolitical, professional and have functioned under an unchallenged supremacy of civilian control. There has been no attempt or fear of a military coup notwithstanding the fact that India is surrounded by authoritarian regimes of various hues. But a key question that is continuously raised in India is “why do the armed forces continue to play little role in decision making on defence and security related issues?” Decision making in India remains the exclusive domain of the politician and the bureaucrat, very few of whom have an understanding of defence issues. How does this augur for a country that is seeking to use military power for “force projection” in the region. At the same time a major challenge to civil-military relations in India comes from the Army’s near permanent deployment in internal security operations almost from the time of Independence, which in turn is causing serious internal strain on the armed forces of a country that is seeking to find its “rightful place in the world”.
Dinesh Kumar is a PhD candidate at the Monash Asia Institute. He is a former Resident Editor of The Times of India, Chandigarh and a former Defence Correspondent for The Times of India, New Delhi.
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Monash Asia Institute Seminar
Monday 3 September 2007, 1:00 pm
Room S822, Level 8 South, Building 11 (Menzies), Monash University Clayton campus
"The grounds for, and limits of, affirmative action policy in India"
Dr Ashok Acharya
Reader in Political Theory, Department of Political Science, University of Delhi
This paper interrogates the language of equality that is central to discussions of affirmative action policy. Recent debates on affirmative action in India have brought to sharper focus conceptions of group equality and group-based preferential rights. Since Mandal, academic debate has largely questioned the fairness of caste-based preferential policies with some favoring an extended scheme of job reservations, and others arguing against reservations of any sort. A third line of inquiry disputes Mandal's criteria for determining caste backwardness. This paper will, instead, chart out an alternative approach and in so doing will normatively engage the implications of the different conceptions of equality articulated, but untested, in the Mandal report. This will be an important exercise to lay down the proper grounds for, and limits of, affirmative action. More specifically, the paper while defending group disadvantage as the proper basis for affirmative action in the Indian context will argue why an enhanced quota conflicts with the ideal of equal opportunity, so central to the thinking of the founders of the constitution but 'unhinged' by the Mandal report.
Dr Ashok Acharya is a visiting scholar to Australia under the auspices of the Australia-India Exchange Program jointly operated by the Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia and the Indian Council of Social Sciences Research. In August/September 2007, Dr Acharya will be visiting the Australian National University, Monash University and the University of Sydney.
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Seminar hosted by
Monash Asia Institute, the Centre for Muslim Minorities & Islam Policy Studies, and the Centre for Studies in Religion and Theology
Wednesday 29 August 2007, 1.00pm
Room S822, Level 8 South, Building 11 (Menzies), Monash University Clayton campus
"Contextualizing Islamists"
Dr. Rushda Siddiqui, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi
Dr Siddiqui will evaluate the factors in shaping five types of Islamists: the ideologues, the proselytizers, the parallel governance providers, the states that representing their society’s religious aspirations and the newest set of Islamists, represented largely by the Taliban, the Jammah Islamiya and the al-Qaeda network, who have great influence on the strategic dynamics of any country. Her analysis of these types of Islamists will be discussed in the context of change, state-society interface and violence.
Rushda Siddiqui is an Associate Fellow with the Institute for Defence Studies and Analysis. Her research is on State-Society interfaces in Israel, Iran and Pakistan. Her area of specialization is religion-based movements in West Asia and North Africa, particularly the Islamist movements of the states of Pakistan and Iran, and the non-state movements of the Ikhwan, Hezbollah and the Taliban.
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MAI Public Policy Forums
The Monash Asia Institute is initiating a series of public policy forums in the lead up to the Australian federal election. The first speaker is this series is the Hon. Alexander Downer, MP, Minister for Foreign Affairs.
22 August 2007, 3.00pm – 4.00pm
R4 Lecture Theatre, Building 8 (Rotunda)
Monash University Clayton campus
"Where does Australian foreign policy re: Asia currently stand and where is it going?"
Speaker: The Hon. Alexander Downer, MP
Mr Alexander Downer was educated at Geelong Grammar School (Victoria), Radley College (Oxford, UK) and the University of Newcastle on Tyne (UK). He holds a Bachelor of Arts (Hons) in Politics and Economics and is a Doctor of Civil Laws (honoris causa). Mr Alexander Downer has been Australia's Minister for Foreign Affairs since the election of the Howard Government in 1996. As Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr Downer played a key role in important Australian developments on the international stage, including negotiations for the adoption of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test-Ban Treaty; peace resolutions for East Timor, Bougainville and the Solomon Islands; security deliberations on Australia's role in the Afghanistan and Iraq conflicts; human rights dialogues in China, Iran and Burma and Australia’s new era of co-operation with Indonesia.
Read speech online :"Australian Foreign Policy Today and Tomorrow " presented by The Hon. Alexander Downer, MP on 22 August 2007 at Monash Asia Institute's Public Policy Forum
Read "Foreign Minister visits Monash as part of public policy forums " in Monash Memo.
Read newspaper commentary
"Relief for PM as Australia backs deal" The Pioneer, India
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Seminar hosted by Monash Asia Institute
Friday 17 August 2007, 1:30 pm
Room S822, Level 8 South, Building 11 (Menzies)
Monash University Clayton campus
“What is happening in Indian universities with special reference to quality assurance”
Dr. Jagannath Patil, Deputy Adviser, National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC), India
The National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC), an autonomous body established by the University Grants Commission (UGC) in 1994, is India’s premier higher education quality assurance agency. At a crossroads after 11 years of assessing quality standards in Indian higher education, new sets of challenges are emerging and are paving the way for internal policy shifts within higher education in India. Dr Patil will discuss the changes taking place in the Indian university system and why the processes adopted by the NAAC have proven to be controversial.
Dr. Jagannath Patil has co-ordinated Peer Reviews of more than 220 Higher Educational Institutions in India and authored many publications on the Indian system of quality assurance and the need for ongoing reform. He is a recipient of a 2007 Endeavor India Executive Award from the Australian Government (DEST).
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MAI Reports from Asia
Monash Asia Institute
Chinese Studies Program
School of Languages, Cultures and Linguistics
Wednesday 14 August 2007, 1.00pm
Room S822, Level 8 South, Building 11 (Menzies)
Monash University Clayton campus
"Reporting China: Knowledge and history-writing in 'China Week' on the BBC"
Dr Mark Harrison, Senior Lecturer in Chinese Studies, Centre for the Study of Democracy
Using numerous recorded examples from the BBC’s 2005 China Week as well as more recent television reportage, the paper will examine the way television news produces China as a form of knowledge, with specific epistemological mechanisms and powerful structuring principles around history and subjectivity. The paper argues that the television news media are preoccupied by notions of objectivity that obscure their role as knowledge producers.
Dr Harrison’s work deals with culture, media and politics in Taiwan and China. His current work includes two research projects entitled "Visions of the Future in the Chinese-speaking World" and "Reporting China". He also writes widely in newspapers and magazines in Australia on China and Taiwan, and Australian foreign policy towards them.
MAI Reports from AsiaWednesday 8 August 2007, 1:00pm
Room S822, Level 8 South, Building 11 (Menzies), Monash University Clayton campus
"Promoting community health in rural India through a college-based health program: A pilot study "
Dr Seema Nikalje
Matsyodari Shikshan Sanstha's College of Arts, Commerce and Science, Jalna, India
Dr Seema will speak on her current research in developing a curriculum on women's health for social science students in rural India. This program sets out to generate health awareness with both students and the general community, especially attitudes towards community health issues.
Dr Seema is currently an Honorary Visiting Lecturer at the Monash Unit of Rural & Indigenous Health.
About MSS College: http://www.msscetjalna.org/
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Invitation to a seminar
Monash Asia Institute and the NOHA-EU Masters in International Humanitarian Action Programme
"European eyes on Asia-Pacific: NOHA students exploring humanitarian action and in-action in the Asia-Pacific"
Wednesday 1 August 2007, 1:00 pm
Room S822, Level 8 (South), Building 11 (Menzies)
Monash University Clayton campus
Currently, the Monash Asia Institute ( MAI) is hosting five EU master students of the EU master program of the Network of Humanitarian Action (NOHA). During their three months stay (June-August) at the institute the students have been working on their Master Thesis on Asian-Pacific humanitarian topics. In the seminar, the students will inform you about their work (in progress) by means of presentations and hope to collect your feedback on their work. Each student will give a 15 minute presentation followed by a maximum of 15 minutes of discussions. The student presentations touch upon a variety of topics ranging from changing gender roles in Aceh to health issues regarding Australia's indigenous communities.
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Call for Presentations - Malaysia Round Table 2007
Wednesday, 25 July 2007, 9:30 am - 12.30 pm
Room S822, Level 8 (South), Building 11 (Menzies)
Monash University Clayton campus
The Malaysia Round Table, organised by the Centre for Malaysian Studies and the Monash Asia Institute with the support of the Victorian Malaysian Postgraduate Association, seeks to provide a forum for Melbourne-area postgraduate students working on Malaysia from all disciplinary backgrounds.
The Round Table represents an ideal opportunity for Malaysian and non-Malaysian postgraduate students engaged with contemporary Malaysia to present their research before an audience of peers from a diverse background ranging from IT to law, the humanities to engineering and the fine arts to medicine. We would like to invite all Melbourne-area postgraduate students to contribute by presenting their thesis abstract/research proposal at the Malaysia Round Table on Wednesday, 25 July 2007. Presentations are scheduled to last between 10-15 minutes.
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Seminar hosted by Monash Asia Institute
Tuesday 24 July 2007, 1:00 pm
Room S822, Level 8, Building 11 (Menzies)
Monash University Clayton campus
"Islamic Education in Pakistan: Prospects and Perils of Reform"
Saleem H. Ali is Associate Professor of environmental planning and conflict resolution at the University of Vermont in the United States and on the adjunct faculty of the Watson Institute for International Studies at Brown University. In 2005, Dr. Ali interviewed Maulana Abdul-Aziz Ghazi, the Imam of the Red Mosque and observed the most recent seige of the complex while in Islamabad.
The presentation will focus on the rise of militancy among Islambad's madrassahs and the political consequences of this phenomenon for the region.
Saleem H. Ali is Associate Professor of environmental planning and conflict resolution at the University of Vermont in the United States and on the adjunct faculty of the Watson Institute for International Studies at Brown University. He recently conducted a detailed study of Pakistan's madrassahs through a grant from the U.S. Institute of Peace and is currently developing an environmental education curriculum for madrassahs under the auspices of the United Nations mandated University for Peace. He is also the author of the forthcoming book: "Islam and Education: Conflict and Conformity in Pakistan.
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Seminar hosted by Monash Asia Institute
“Christian Himalaya? Pentecostal-style Conversion in a Highland Tribal Society of Northeastern India”
By the distinguished Humbolt University Scholar Professor Toni Huber
Friday 20 July 2007, 2:00 pm
Room S822, Level 8 (South), Building 11 (Menzies)
Monash University Clayton campus
Widespread conversion to so-called Pentecostal or charismatic Christian movements is one of the most significant aspects of global religious change today. This presentation offers an ethnography of a very recent case of such conversion occurring among Tibeto-Burman speaking tribal groups in the far eastern Himalaya (Arunachal Pradesh, India). The paper will demonstrate the complexity such conversion processes, as well as the importance and nature of local agency and social dynamics which are often underestimated.
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Seminar hosted by Monash Asia Institute and the Global Terrorism Research Unit, Monash University
Wednesday 18 July 2007, 3.00 pm
Room S822, Level 8 South, Building 11 (Menzies)
Monash University Clayton campus
"Thailand after the coup with reference to the conflict in Southern Thailand"
Dr Pasuk Phongpaichit and Dr Chris Baker will speak informally about the current situation in Thailand and problems in the far south.
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Seminar hosted by Monash Asia Institute and the Asia Society AustralAsia Centre
“The emerging Indo-US strategic partnership: How George W. Bush made India more pro-American than Australia”
Mr Pramit Pal Chaudhuri, Asia Society Bernard Schwartz Fellow
Tuesday 17 July 2007, 2.00 pm
Theatre L5, Level 2, Building 12 (Law Faculty)
Monash University Clayton campus
Pramit Pal Chaudhuri is a Bernard Schwartz Fellow at the Asia Society, New York, and a foreign editor of the Hindustan Times, New Delhi. He is a member of the Aspen Institute Italia, the Institute for International Strategic Studies in London, the Mont Pelerin Society and the Liberty Institute, New Delhi.
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Monash Asia Institute Postgraduate Seminar
Wednesday 11 July 2007, 1.00 pm
Room S822, Level 8 South, Building 11 (Menzies)
Monash University Clayton campus
“ASEAN’s Maastricht: A Roadmap to Financial Cooperation and Integration”
Mr David Treisman, PhD Candidate, Monash Asia Institute
The Association of South East Asian Nation’s (ASEAN) regional economic integration scheme calls for greater financial market integration between its members. However, the political, economic and social diversity that characterizes ASEAN have led to a complex array of vested interests and national differences/tensions. It is on the basis of these national interests/tensions that several barriers exist, impeding ASEAN’s attempts at financial market integration. This seminar will outline the evolution of financial market cooperation in ASEAN and the existent barriers impeding the progress of its financial market integration.
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MAI 'Reports from Asia' Seminar
Wednesday 27 June 2007, 1.00 pm
Room S822, Level 8 South, Building 11 (Menzies)
Monash University Clayton campus
"Malaysian and Singaporean state policies and their effects on local Chinese entrepreneurs"
Dr. Sikko Visscher
Department of Asian History, University of Amsterdam
Chinese entrepreneurs in Malaysia and Singapore partly share a colonial past and a brief period of independence. After Separation in 1965, the two countries and economies have taken different routes to economic development and modernity. Through the case studies of the Singaproe Chinese Chamber of Commerce and the IT and real estate development sectors in Penang, Dr Visscher will analyze the effects of state policies on local entrepreneurs. He will look particularly at socio-political behavior and attempts at representation.
Dr Sikko Visscher, a lecturer in Asian History the University of Amsterdam, coordinates both the Minor Asian Studies and the Masters in Contemporary Asian Studies. He is also Project Manager of Asian Studies in Amsterdam (ASiA) at the International Institute of Asian Studies, which organizes and supports research and outreach activities on Asia. He has conducted fieldwork in Singapore and Penang, Malaysia. His main topics of interest are ethnic Chinese entrepreneurs and their social and political behaviour, as well as local processes of social and economic development and their interaction with globalization. His work has been published in edited volumes and refereed journals, and his main monograph is: The Business of Politics and Ethnicity; A History of the Singapore Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry, (2007), NUS Press. His current research includes knowledge production and management in ethnic Chinese family businesses in a comparative perspective, and alternative histories of social and political development in Singapore.
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MAI 'Reports from Asia' Seminar
Hosted by Monash Asia Institute, Global Terrorism Research Unit and Asia Society AustralAsia Centre
Wednesday 13 June 2007, 1.00 pm
Room W204, Menzies Building (11)
Monash University Clayton campus
“The rise of radical Islam”
Mr Sadanand Dhume, Journalist and Writer, Indonesia
Bernard Schwartz Resident Fellow, AsiaSociety New York
Sadanand Dhume is a journalist and writer with a long-standing interest in Asia. He will speak on his recently completed a book on the rise of radical Islam in Indonesia. As a former Indonesia correspondent of the Far Eastern Economic Review and The Asian Wall Street Journal in Jakarta, Sadanand covered Indonesia's economic, political, security and social scene. Before that he was the New Delhi bureau chief of FEER.
The Asia Society (NY) Bernard Schwartz Resident Fellows Program promotes public dialogue on issues relating to the importance of Asia in the world and global economy. Participants in this one-year in-residence programme have a record of distinction and a commitment to engaging the broader public in better understanding Asia, and are selected from among the most respected leaders in the Asia Pacific and the US.
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Special lecture on Buddhism in the Monash University Faculty of Arts inaugural "Arts in ACTION" festival
Saturday 9 June 2007, 2.00 pm
Room H2 37, Monash University Caulfield campus
900 Dandenong Road, Caulfield East 3145
"The movement of Buddhism into Central Asia"
Mr. David Templeman, PhD Candidate, Monash Asia Institute
Buddhism is frequently associated with the lands of India, China and Japan as well as South East Asia. However it has also had a long and interesting history in Central Asia. As the teachings of the Buddha followed trade routes into the heart of Asia, so the artistic and monumental forms which it adopted changed quite noticeably. This short talk will examine some of the teachings and how they altered to harmonize with the new Central Asian audiences. It will also examine some of the artistic forms which Buddhism adopted in the deserts of Asia's heartland.
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Monash University Library Display on Tibet
June to July 2007
Books and other library materials on 'Tibet' are on display in the Matheson Library, Monash University Clayton campus, to mark the visit of the Dalai Lama to Monash University. The display includes some rare Tibetan manuscripts and other items, which have been generously loaned to the Library by Mr David Templeman, a scholar of Tibetan Buddhism in the Monash Asia Institute. It also highlights a significant donation to the Library of serials, pamphlets and other material about the Tibetan democracy movement and human rights situation, received recently from the Australia-Tibet Council. Other items in the display are from the Rare Books, Chinese and Music & Multimedia Collections. The display is installed in the Music & Multimedia and Asian Studies Research Collection display cases, both located in the ISB wing of the Matheson Library.
For more information, see: http://www.lib.monash.edu.au/news/2007/05-tibet.html
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MAI PhD Seminar
Friday 25 May 2007, 10.00am
Room S822, Level 8 South, Building 11 (Menzies) Monash University Clayton campus
"Educating Future Military Officers: The Demands for a New Learning Environment at the Military Academy of Malaysia "
Ms Jowati Juhary, PhD Candidate, Monash Asia Institute, Monash University
The presentation is about the potential of e-learning and simulation technologies in developing the required skills in a 21st century military. It is important to investigate this potential since military institutions allocate a huge budget to improve the conditions of learning for their personnel. This investigation uses the United States Military Academy New York (West Point) as the reference point because it integrates e-learning and simulation technologies in the curriculum. At the same time, the Military Academy of Malaysia (MAM) is in the process of determining the best learning approach for its students; benchmarking against the West Point model will help with the process. When visiting West Point, it was found that the new technologies were not the only features that made West Point into, arguably, the most effective and efficient military academy in the world. The required skills for the 21st century military officers do not rely solely on the new technologies. Non-technical characteristics of West Point, including the broader context of its learning environment and the values of military professionalism have significantly contributed to the prestige of West Point.
Mrs Juhary, J is a PhD candidate at the Monash Asia Institute. This presentation is part of her PhD dissertation. She is a teaching member at the National Defence University Malaysia, formerly known as the MAM.
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'Meet the Melbourne Archaeologists' Lecture Series
Presented by
Heritage Council of Victoria and
Monash University's:
Centre of Archaeology & Ancient History
School of Geography & Environmental Science
Monash Asia Institute
Sunday 20 May 2007, 12.45pm – 5.00 pm
Clemenger BBDO Auditorium
NGV International, 180 St Kilda Road, Melbourne
The lectures will focus on Melbourne’s archaeologists and their latest fieldwork and research in Australia, Papua New Guinea, China, Egypt and Italy.
Details about Speakers and Programme
This lecture is supported by the National Gallery of Victoria Public Programs. It is funded by the Heritage Council of Victoria and Monash University.
For further information email: Lucia.Lancellotti@arts.monash.edu.au or visit http://www.archaeologyweek.com
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Book Launch hosted by Monash Asia Institute
"East Timor: Beyond Independence"
Edited by Damien Kingsbury and Michael Leach
Monash Asia Institute Press, 2007.
Friday 18 May 2007, 6pm for 6.30pm start
Victoria University "Learning Commons"
15th Floor, 300 Flinders St, Melbourne*
To be launched by: Mr. Kevin Bailey, Honorary Consul for Timor-Leste, Victoria.
* East Timor: Beyond Independence will also be launched in Dili, in late June. Details to follow.
Book details: http://www.arts.monash.edu.au/mai/press/seabooks.html#etimor
Seminar: Indonesian earthquake-proof housing
Hosted by Monash Asia Institute
Monday 14 May 2007, 1.00 pm
Room S822, Level 8 South, Building 11 (Menzies) Monash University Clayton campus
"BARRATAGA and RULINDA: Simple, safe, affordable houses in response to 2006 Yogjakarta earthquake and Merapi volcanic eruption "
Speaker: Prof. Sarwidi, Ph.D.
CEEDEDS (Center for Earthquake Engineering, Dynamic Effect, and Disaster Studies) Civil Engineering Department, Universitas Islam Indonesia (Islamic University of Indonesia), Yogyakarta, Indonesia
E-mail: sarwidi@fstp.uii.ac.id, sarwidi@yahoo.com
Abstract
Over two-thirds of Indonesia is prone to earthquakes. The earthquake that occurred on 27 May 2006 devastated parts of densely populated areas of Yogyakarta and Central Java Provinces, killing more than 6,000 people and destroying more that 2,300 structures, mostly simple houses. The eruption of the Merapi Volcano in the border of the provinces occurred two months later, causing two deaths and destroying a part of a tourist destination.
The Islamic University of Indonesia (UII) has been involved with gathering data before, during and after the earthquakes and eruption, for the purpose of disaster response and the construction of simple houses. Using the information gathered, CEEDEDS UII innovated the concepts of BARRATAGA, a simple earthquake-resistant house and RULINDA, an emergency protection chamber. The concept of RULINDA was further extended to create RULINDA Merapi, a unique structure, named after the volcanic event, that can withstand the hot air from volcanic eruptions.
Most of the houses constructed using the concept of BARRATAGA prior to the 2006 May earthquake by trained builders survived the catastrophic event without much damage. The three existing RULINDA Merapis, occupied by locals, also survived the volcanic eruption that followed.
In this presentation, Prof Sarwidi will speak on the success story of the BARRATAGA and RULINDA, and the hope and awareness that this affordable solution has been given to the affected people. Prof Sarwidi will also briefly describe the activities after the earthquake and eruption occurrences.
DOWNLOAD: Powerpoint Presentation
MAI 'Reports from Asia' Seminar
Wednesday 9 May 2007, 1.00 pm
Room S822, Level 8 South, Building 11 (Menzies)
Monash University Clayton campus
"Whither the Jain Gurav? A tale of the demise of a priestly community "
Dr Jayant Bapat, Honorary Research Associate, Monash Asia Institute
A Gurav is a priest in the non-Brahminic temples in many parts of Hindu India. Jainism on the other hand is a totally different religion which precedes Hinduism. On the face of it then, the title Jain-Gurav is a contradiction in terms. However, there is strong evidence that about a hundred years ago, a community called the Jain-Gurav did exist in coastal Maharashtra called the Konkan.
This paper discusses my field work in December 2006 in search of the Jain-Gurav community. In addition to field work, I also collected literary and photographic evidence to suggest that such a community did indeed exist. It is a fascinating story of the absorption of Jainism including their images into the Hindu fold.
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Seminar: EU - Hong Kong Relations
You are invited to attend a free seminar hosted by Monash University's
Monash Asia Institute & Monash European and EU Centre
Wednesday 2 May 2007, 10:30 am to 11:30am
Clayfield Room (A1.34), Monash University (Caulfield Campus) 900 Dandenong Road, Caulfield East 3145
" EU - Hong Kong Relations "
Speaker: Mr Thomas Roe, Head of the European Commission's Office in Hong Kong and Macau
Thomas Roe has been Head of the European Commission's Office in Hong Kong and Macau since 2004. Mr Roe has wide experience in the implementation of policies for European external relations. He has been involved with many policy dialogues with Asian countries, on matters as diverse as political, commercial and aid relations with Indonesia and East Timor. He has also been involved in the European Union's policy and financing role in private sector investment worldwide, as well as political relations with, and development aid for Southern Africa and delivery, financing and co-financing of European Commission aid to African, Caribbean and Pacific states.
For full details, see: http://www.hkbu.edu.hk/~gis/RoeCV.htm
Download Flyer
Madras - The first Commonwealth City of the British Empire - An Illustrated Lecture
Friday 27 April, 6.00 pm - 8.00 pm
Lecture Theatre H3, Menzies Building (Building 11), Monash University Clayton campus
On Friday 27 April 2007, the Tamil Society of Melbourne, in association with the Monash Asia Institute and the Monash School of Historical Studies, presents an illustrated lecture by Mr. S. Muthiah (MBE), a journalist & historian from Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India, and formerly Senior Journalist with the Times of Ceylon 1951-1968.
The lecture explains the critical role of Madras in the formation of the British Raj in India and the British Empire across the world, including early Anglo Indian migration to Australia. The lecture is illustrated with a fascinating presentation of heritage buildings & sites from the by-gone era of the British Raj.
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MAI 'Reports from Asia' Seminar
Wednesday 4 April 2007, 1.00 pm
Room S822, Level 8 South, Building 11 (Menzies)
Monash University Clayton campus
"The position of Burma and Bangladesh in India's Neighbourhood Policy "
Mr. Kamala Kanta Dash
PhD Candidate, School of International Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), New Delhi, India
India is rising to become a major power. At this juncture India's foreign policy is being challenged from various fronts. The major challenge obviously comes from the neighbourhood. Being the only country in South Asia which shares boundary with all countries of the region, India's neighbourhood policy has been very rhetorical. India has been suffering from a sense of "superiority and neglect". The feeling that "we have no friends in the neighbourhood" has in fact arisen from India's behaviour and dealings with the small neighbours. The benign power or the big brother debate is still running. India's repeated assurance that "India is not a threat but is committed to creating opportunities in the neighbourhood" has not been of much help. This paper attempts to locate India's most important eastern neighbours, Burma and Bangladesh, within the neighbourhood policy and critically analyse the major disagreements and as well as opportunities for mutual cooperation between the countries. Apart from economic disputes over water, migration and refugees, the paper looks at the perceived threat to India of terrorism in Burma and Bangladesh.
About the Speaker
Mr. Kamala Kanta Dash is at present a visiting Australia-India Council (AIC) Fellow at Monash. He is a PhD student in School of International Studies in Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), New Delhi, India. He has his MA (Ravenshaw, Orissa) in Political Science and International Relations and M.Phil in Southeast Asian & SouthWest Pacific Studies (JNU, New Delhi). His area of specialisation and interest is Soft Power in India's Foreign Policy. His other areas of interest include the Indian diaspora, governance and development in India.
MAI 'Reports from Asia' seminar
Thursday 29 March 2007, 1.00 pm
SG02, Ground Floor, Building 11 (Menzies), Monash University Clayton campus
"Personal computer techniques for Tibetan texts"
Dr Jim Valby
In this seminar, Dr Jim Valby will discuss his use of a database of Romanized Tibetan texts to create Tibetan-English dictionaries. He will demonstrate techniques on how to create keyword-in-context (KWIC), indices of technical terms, and discover locations of quotations and other linguistic characteristics in the texts.
This seminar will be of interest not only to tibetologists but to other linguistic researchers because the underlying concepts are applicable to textual research in all languages.
Dr Valby graduated from Middlebury College with a Physics degree and worked as an engineer. Subsequently, he gained Masters and Doctorate degrees in Tibetan Buddhism from the University of Saskatchewan. His theses focused on Shrisingha, Vimalamitra and computers. Since 1989 he has lived in the Tsegyalgar area where he works on translations from Tibetan, transcripts of Chögyal Namkhai Norbu retreats, and other Dzogchen Community projects. He has led a number of Santi Maha Sangha (SMS) practice retreats, and is an authorized SMS instructor for Base and First levels.
MAI 'Reports from Asia' seminar
Wednesday 14 March 2007, 1.00 pm
Room S822, Level 8 South, Building 11 (Menzies), Monash University Clayton campus
"Australian and Indonesian Cartoons"
Rolf Heimann, Vice president, Australian Cartoonists' Association
Cartoonists aim to criticize what's wrong, whether in their own countries or abroad. To do so, they must be well informed, free of prejudice and genuinely interested in their subjects. Mr Rolf Heimann will discuss how cartoons can inform and inspire politicians and people to think about the changing relationship between Australia and Indonesia. He will illustrate his talk with reference to 'Crossing Lines', a co-operative project with Indonesian cartoonists.
Rolf Heimann, born in Dresden, Germany, in 1940 and migrated to Australia at the age of 18. He has received many awards for his cartoons, which have been published in Nation Review, Punch England, The Age, Overland, Matilda, Playboy, Penthouse and a dozen other publications in Australia and overseas. He has also published over 50 books 'Crossing Lines' is a co-operative project of Australian and Indonesian cartoonists, and plans exhibitions, competitions, exchanges and publications. Rolf has collected about 200 cartoons about the relationship between Australia and Indonesia.
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MAI 'Reports from Asia' seminar
Wednesday 28 February 2007, 1.00 pm - 2.00 pm
Room S822, Level 8 South, Building 11 (Menzies), Monash University Clayton campus
"Violence in Southern Thailand: A Clash between Two Islams? "
Virginie Andre is a PhD candidate and researcher with the Global Terrorism Research Unit at Monash University. Virginie's research is focusing on the framing of terrorism in Southern Thailand. Related areas of research are security, disarmament, conflict resolution, ethno-nationalism, separatism, democracy and military, especially in Thailand and Southeast Asia.
The New Year's bombings in Bangkok have once again brought the attention of the security community to the southern border provinces of Yala, Pattani, and Narathiwat, the three Muslim-majority districts, where over 2,000 people have died in the conflict. Despite the reconciliation efforts of the new Thai administration, violence continues to escalate and threatens the stability of the country.
This seminar will contextualise and offer perspective on some of the important events of 2006. Virginie Andre conducted research in Thailand in November 2006 and met with key actors who are shaping an understanding of the conflict in Southern Thailand. She has also worked with NGOs in Thailand on conflict resolution issues. Before coming to Monash University, she was project officer for the International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL) in Brussels, and worked for the Asia-Europe Foundation in Singapore.
Other Monash Asia Institute Seminars held in 2006 | 2005 | 2004 | 2003 | 2002