COLLABORATIVE COLLOQIUM | Upcoming Sessions for Summer Term 2019

Tuesday 21 May

Prof. Ward Keeler (Anthropology, University of Texas, Austin): "The Aesthetics of Restraint in Tumultuous Times"

Time: 6 PM - 8 PM

Location: Werthmannstraße 10, Level 1, Seminarraum

Abstract

Southeast Asian courts long supported the performing arts to an extraordinary degree. Classical genres, such as puppetry and dance, illustrated the notion that individuals of distinct statuses comport themselves in distinctive ways. For many Southeast Asians today, hierarchical ideology has lost its ideological persuasiveness. Yet it has not given way to Western secular, egalitarian ideals but rather to a greater emphasis upon material wealth and reformist religious practices: status concerns remain compelling but justified with reference not to aristocratic lineage and physical and emotional restraint but rather to consumerist and spiritual modernity. These changes are reflected aesthetically in a number of developments: the modification of classical genres to render them more popular, and a shift in interest to sporting events, soap opera, and religious performances. My presentation will consider the nature and appeal of older genres, now in partial (in some cases total) eclipse, and of these newly popular genres.

Biography

Ward Keeler is Professor of Anthropology at the University of Texas at Austin. He has conducted extensive fieldwork in Java and Bali (Indonesia), and in Burma. His work has focused on performance, gender, language, and hierarchy in all three societies. His publications include monographs on Javanese shadow plays, and on Burmese Buddhism and gender, a textbook for the Javanese language, his translation of an Indonesian novel, and CDs of classical Burmese music, as well as a number of academic journal articles. As a fellow this academic year at the Hansewissenschaftskolleg in Delmenhorst, Germany, he is currently researching shifting aesthetic preferences in the three societies in Southeast Asia where he has been conducting fieldwork since the 1970s. His upcoming presentation will be based on that current project.

Wednesday 5 June

Dr. David Malitz (BALAC, Faculty of Arts, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok): "Picture-Book Democracy: Teaching Authoritarian values in Thai 'Democracy-Picture-Books' for Preschool Children"

Time: 6 PM - 8 PM

Location: Werthmannstraße 10, Level 1, Seminarraum

Abstract

While Thailand underwent a period of democratization in the 1990s, which saw the introduction of democratic institutions, the country's educational system has remained authoritarian in its organization and in regard to the values taught in its schools. The rejection of democratic institutions and processes by an educated middle-class in Bangkok in the early 21st century, can be explained by this mismatch between formal institutions and values. But it also points to the existence of a hybrid discourse which merges authoritarian values with the key terms of the discourse of democracy introduced from abroad. After all, the demonstrations and election boycotts leading to the military coups in 2006 and 2014, ostensibly aimed to enable reforms to install a more true or fuller democracy. This paper introduces and discusses a previously unnoticed medium for an on-going authoritarian socialization in Thailand: Picture books on democratic government for preschool children published by private companies. Around the world, picture-books attempt not only to entertain, but also to educate. In democratic societies this includes values, which are regarded as the basis for a functioning democracy. What differentiates the genre of Thai 'democracy-picture-books' from broadly similar educational picture-books in for example in Germany or Japan, is that they explicitly refer to democracy in their titles. Furthermore, they ostensibly attempt to explain and teach democracy, rather than to simply teach values, which preschool children can relate to such as teamwork or respect for others. It is argued here that for two reasons this genre actually serves to perpetuate authoritarian values. First, the Sanskrit/Pali-derived word for democracy (prachathippatai ประชาธิปไตย) is by far the longest and most complicated word to be found in these books, which unsurprisingly and appropriately for the vocabulary of their audience, mainly use monosyllabic Thai-words. The term is furthermore neither translated into more accessible Thai nor is it explained. Arguably, democracy therefore acquires a mysterious, if not magical, nature rather than being introduced as a topic, which can be understood and discussed rationally. Second, democracy is not presented as a way to overcome or manage social conflicts. Rather it is consistently argued that before a democracy can be successfully established, everyone has to know and discharge their duties. Rights in contrast are not mentioned. For democracy to work, there can be nor conflicts in society.

Tuesday 9 July

Dr. Andrey Damaledo (Southeast Asian Studies, Kyoto University): "Dealing with refugees at the local level: A politico-historical perspective from an Eastern Indonesian province"

Time: 6 PM - 8 PM

Location: Werthmannstraße 10, Level 1, Seminarraum

Abstract

Recently, the newly inaugurated Vice Governor of Indonesia’s province of East Nusa Tenggara (NTT) announced a proposal to relocate more than 400 refugees currently transiting in the province, to Ndana Island, an outer uninhabited southernmost island in Indonesia, adjacent to Australia As one of the poorest regions in Indonesia, NTT is facing daunting task to provide support for refugees as mandated by the Presidential Regulation 125/2016 on the Treatment of Refugees and Asylum Seekers. This paper examines how local government deals with refugee issues. Rather than focusing solely on the recent phenomenon, the paper adopts a politico-historical approach and considers some of the responses that have been undertaken in the past. Located at the border of East Timor and Australia, NTT province has been dealing with different refugee crises over the last 40 years. This means to understand the current local policies requires a perspective on the historic local responses on refugees as a whole. The paper also requires that careful attention be given to (1) the dynamics of central to local relationship; (2) the complexity of local planning

Biography

Andrey Damaledo is a research fellow at the Center for Southeast Asian Studies (CSEAS) at Kyoto University. He holds a PhD in Anthropology from The Australian National University and an MA in Advanced Development Studies from the University of Queensland. He is the author of Divided Loyalties: Displacement, Belonging and Citizenship among East Timorese in West Timor (ANU Press 2018). In addition to academic scholarship he has years of experience in the Indonesian local government planning and budgeting as a senior official at the Regional Development Planning Agency (BAPPEDA) in Indonesia’s Province of East Nusa Tenggara.