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MONASH ASIA INSTITUTE BULLETIN [1/2008]
1 February 2008
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In this bulletin
1. 17th ASAA biennial Conference
2. Asian New Year celebration at Monash
3. Seminar: Bangla Bhai
4. Vacancy: CSEAS PostDoctoral Fellow
5. Seminar: Thai Buddhism
6. New releases: MAI Press
7. Seminar: Economics and Politics of China-Japan and Australia
8. Seminar: SoFiA Network
9. Lecture: Science, Technology & Sustainable Development in India
10. 15th Global Finance Conference, China
11. HPAIR Global Conference
12. Conference: Moving Tides
13. Conference: Community development and ecology
14. Conference: After Reformasi & New Social Movements in Indonesia
15. Website of the month: ROAMSproject.orgx
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Monash Asia Institute and Monash University News and Events
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Item 1. 17th ASAA biennial Conference
Asian Studies Association of Australia (ASAA)
17th biennial conference: Is this the Asian century?
1-3 July 2008, The Sebel Albert Park Hotel, Melbourne
Due date for submission of abstracts: 30 March 2008
The theme of this conference invites you to assess how the Asian regions and related issues are faring. Specialists will assess trends in Asian law, medicine and health, science, ethics/human rights, politics, regional security, economics, culture, religion, environment, media, the performing arts and many other fields.
Join us either as a presenter of a conference paper or as a participant to debate what is happening in the Asian region and its impact on the rest of the world. In some fields, trends in Asia are driving world affairs but in other areas Asia lags behind. What is the case in your field? Will this be the Asian century?
Submit your abstract by 30 March 2008 and read the latest news about keynote speakers and abstract submissions at:
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Item 2. Asian New Year celebration
Thursday 14 February 2008, 4:00-5:30 pm
Japanese Studies Centre (Building 54), Monash University Clayton campus
An Asian New Year celebration to mark the beginning of the Year of the Rat will be held on Thursday February 14th, from 4:00-5:30 pm at the Japanese Studies Centre (building 54). This special celebration is being sponsored by the Asian language programs of the School of Languages, Cultures and Linguistics. It is timed to follow closely on the Chinese New Year, which is February 7th.
Asian snacks and Australian drinks and some Asian cultural entertainment will be available for your enjoyment. We are extending the invitation to anyone at Monash who is interested in Asian societies and cultures. We hope that it will contribute towards collaboration between colleagues working in areas relating to Asia, whether in the Faculty of Arts or elsewhere.
RSVP by Monday February 11th to
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Item 3. MAI Postgraduate Seminar
Tuesday 12 February 2008, 12.00 noon
Room S822, Level 8 South, Menzies Building (11), Monash University Clayton campus
"The rise of Bangla Bhai & his merry men: State patronage, political complicity & religious militancy in Bangladesh"
Speaker: Iftikar Rashid, Monash Asia Institute
In 2004, Bangla Bhai came into the national spotlight for running a so-called vigilante movement against outlawed leftist groups in the northern districts of Rajshahi division. Bangla Bhai took the law into his own hands, consolidated the JamatulMujahidden Bangladesh (JMB)'s position and established an illegal Islamic regime across enclaves in the region. Bangla Bhai quickly emerged as a household name synonymous with rising religious militancy in Bangladesh - home to 140 million people and the worldís third largest Muslim community after Indonesia and India. He eventually led Bangladesh's first overt insurgency campaign targeting state institutions and agencies.
This presentation discusses the emergence of Bangla Bhai as Bangladeshís top terrorist to understand the countryís first overt religious militancy campaign from 2002 to 2005. It will discuss the organizational background of JMB followed by profiles of Bangla Bhai and other leaders. It will also focus on the JMB's terror campaign from 2002 to 2005, including a detailed case study on the infamous Rajshahi operation in 2004.
The findings from the discussions will encourage an in-depth understanding of the religious militancy campaign that developed into a sustained overt insurgency movement led by Bangla Bhai. The analysis of the relationship between trends, motives and factors underlying JMBís terror campaign will help provide recommendations to counter imminent terrorist trends in the future.
Ifti Rashid is a Masters of Arts (Research) student under the Monash Asia Institute. He is an AusAIDAutralian Leadership Awards (ALA) and Golden Key scholar.
Ifti has previously served as Lecturer, Independent University Bangladesh; Research Analyst, Social Development Team, World Bank; and, Assistant Program Coordinator for the Institute of Governance Studies in Bangladesh. His current involvements include serving as Member, Board of Trustees, for the Bangladesh Youth Employment and Advice Help Centre under the HRH Princes of Wales Youth Business International Program. He holds a Bachelors in Business & Commerce (Economics & Management) and Master of International Development & Environmental Analysis (Governance & Civil Society).
A light luncheon will be served before the seminar.
RSVP by 8 Feb; RSVP ESSENTIAL for catering purposes. Send email to with "Bangla Bhai" in subject heading.
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Item 4. Postdoctoral Fellow sought for Monash Centre of Southeast Asian Studies (CSEAS)
Closing date for applications 29/2/2008
A twelve-month Postdoctoral Fellowship (2008-09) in the Centre of Southeast Asian Studies, Monash University, has recently been advertised electronically and on the Monash University website, see:
A088576. Postdoctoral Research Fellow
Closing date for applications 29/2/2008 $60,019 - $64,427 pa Level A PhD plus superannuation
Centre of Southeast Asian Studies Monash Asia Institute, Clayton campus.
The Centre of Southeast Asian Studies seeks a Postdoctoral Research Fellow to conduct research on Southeast Asia from a humanities or social science perspective, prepare their research for publication and apply for an ARC APD to continue their career at Monash University. This is a fixed-term, 12-month contract. Relevant PhD and languages are essential, while Southeast Asian field experience, a record of publication and grant success are desirable.
Applications must address the selection criteria; include a curriculum vitae; outline research conducted on Southeast Asia and proposed for this Postdoctoral Fellowship; indicate publication plans; specify approach and eligibility in respect of ARC APD; and provide the names and contact details (prefer email addresses, telephone and fax numbers, as well as postal addresses) of three referees, who have agreed to write on your behalf if contacted by the Selection Committee. Applicants should specify email, fax and/or phone contact numbers where they can be reached during March 2008.
For full selection criteria, follow the links beneath the heading 'More Information' at the base of the advertisement to "Download Position Information" and "How to Apply for Monash jobs". When you click on "Download Position Information" you get an MS Word Position Description that contains essential information on how to prepare your application.
Please post news of this early-career opportunity to your networks.
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Item 5. Seminar on Buddhism
Wednesday 19 March 2008, 6:00 for 6:30 pm
Monash Conference Centre
Level 7, 30 Collins St, Melbourne CBD
"Thai Buddhism in the 21st Century: Contested Views"
Prof Donald K. Swearer, Center for the Study of World Religions
Critics of contemporary Thai Buddhism point to a stultifying, hierarchical national Sangha; flagrant cases of monastic malfeasance; Buddhist practices out of touch with modern idioms; and the increasing marginalization of the role of the monk in Thai society. Other more optimistic voices cite increasing monastic involvement in forest conservation; innovative doctrinal interpretations; the strengthening of monastic higher education; the emergence of Buddhism women's movements; and socially engaged Buddhist lay NGOs. This lecture argues that such generalizations are inherently problematic and proposes that the diverse forms of contemporary Thai Buddhism might be better understood through the lens of a descriptive typology.
Donald K. Swearer is the Director of the Center for the Study of World Religions and Distinguished Visiting Professor of Buddhist Studies at Harvard Divinity School, Cambridge, MA., U.S.A. His research has focused on Buddhism in Southeast Asia, especially Thailand. His recent monographs and edited volumes include: The Buddhist World of Southeast Asia (1995/2008); The Legend of Queen Cama: BodhiramsiísCamadevivamsa (1998); The State of Buddhist Studies in the World, 1971-1997 (2000); Becoming the Buddha: The Ritual of Image Consecration in Thailand (2004); Sacred Mountains in Northern Thailand and Their Legends (2004)
RSVP by email to with "Thai Buddhism" as subject heading.
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Item 6. Recent releases from the MAI Press
"Business in Asia" edited by Russell Smyth and MarikaVicziany
ISBN 978 1 876924 53 9, rrp $32.95, Paperback, 240pp page size A5 210 x 148mm
The extraordinary economic performance of Asia is arguably the most important economic phenomenon of the last fifty years. Recovering from the shocks of colonial control, today, the world of Asian business is a rapidly changing scenario in which home-grown companies compete against multinationals for market share and market access. This collection focuses on the role of entrepreneurshipóboth private and stateóin propelling Asian economic growth in the five decades since the end of the Second World War. The volume places the familiar names of Asian business in a long term historical and policy context. The 21st century is now being heralded as the ëAsianCenturyí. This book helps us to understand what has made this possible.
"The First Indonesian Women's Congress of 1928" edited by Susan Blackburn
ISBN 978 1 876924 48 5, rrp $34.95, Paperback, 256pp page size A5 210 x 148mm
Every year on 22 December, Indonesia celebrates Womenís Day. The date marks the recognised beginning of the organised womenís movement by commemorating the start of the first Indonesian womenís congress in 1928, leading to the first federation of womenís organisations. Although this fact is quite well-known in Indonesia, the details of what happened at the congress are not. This book restores to light the contemporary account of the congress as reported in the womenís federation publication of 1929. Reading the speeches gives lively insights into the minds of young women at the start of the womenís movement and highlights the concerns that have continued to motivate womenís organisations in Indonesia.
Susan Blackburn has translated the congress report into English and prefaced it with an Introduction that sets the background to the congress and analyses its proceedings.
"Indonesian Islam in a new era: how women negotiate their Muslim identities" edited by Susan Blackburn, Bianca Smith and SitiSyamsiyatun
ISBN 978 1 876924 54 6, rrp $39.95, Paperback, 212pp page size A5 210 x 148mm
Indonesian Islam in a new era examines the religious practices and identities of Indonesian Muslim women in the post-Suharto era. After 1998 Indonesian Islam changed socially and nationally as society underwent sweeping alterations. Based on new empirical research by sociologists, political scientists, and anthropologists from Indonesia and Australia, the book underscores the negotiations Muslim women have made in arenas such as schools, organisations, popular culture and village life. Whereas theology has until recently dominated studies of women and Islam in Indonesia, this book breaks new ground by examining from social science perspectives how Indonesian women negotiate their Muslim identities.
"Colonising Poso: the Diary of Controleur Emile GobÈe, June 1909ñMay 1910"
Translated and with an introduction by JoostCotÈ
ISBN 9781876924577, rrp $11.00, 84pp, page size A4 297 x 210mm
While the colonisation of Central Sulawesi was a process that was unique to the particular demographic, social, political and economic characteristics of the region, in broad terms it replicated Dutch colonial policy and practice in the rest of the archipelago at the beginning of the 20th century. The diary of Aspirant Controleur Emile GobÈe, records the process which imposed the relocation and resettlement of the Pamona people of the Poso region of Central Sulawesi into villages and therefore began a dramatic process of change. The document provides a rare example of the process of colonialism and goes to the heart of understanding the nature of the colonial project in the Dutch East Indies.
"Exploring the role of the Sailendras in early eastern Javanese history" by Roy E Jordaan
ISBN 9781876924584, rrp $11.00, 84pp, page size A4 297 x 210mm
The rulers who called themselves ëornaments of the SailendrafamilyíóSailendra meaning Lord of the Mountainówere the patron-builders of many, if not all, of the Buddhist temples in central Java dating from about the last quarter of the eighth to the mid-ninth century CE. Extolled for their might and glory, and represented as the supreme rulers in the Malay Archipelago, the dynasty maintained a vast network of diplomatic and commercial contacts extending as far as India and China. What was their role in eastern Javanese history? This paper offers new data to elucidate this matter.
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Other News and Events
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Item 7. Public lecture by Professor Peter Drysdale
Monday, 4 February 2008, 6pm to 7pm
Theatre 3, ICT Building, 111 Barry Street, Carlton, The University of Melbourne. (See map
ìChina-Japan Economics and Politics and their Importance to Australia, The Region and Beyondî
Professor Peter Drysdale, Crawford School of Economics and Government, ANU
Prime Minister YasuoFukudaís recent 4 day visit to China in December 2007 has been described as ìimportantî and ìof great significance in improving China-Japan relations.î In the period from 2001ñ2006, China refused high-level contact with Japan during the premiership of Junichiro Koizumi.
With Japan and China currently ranked No. 1 and No. 2 for Australian exports - what does this warming of political relations mean for Australia, the Region and beyond?
Professor Peter Drysdale is Emeritus Professor of Economics and Visiting Fellow in Policy and Governance in The Crawford School of Economics and Government at the ANU. Until 2002 he was Executive Director of the Australia-Japan Research Centre. His main areas of expertise are international trade and economic policy; Australia's economic relations with East Asia and the Pacific; the East Asian and Japanese economy and economic policy. Professor Drysdale will discuss how political events, specifically cooperation and conflicts, affect the economic relationship and vice versa.
This event is presented by Asialink.
COST: Free
RSVP by email to with "China-Japan" in the subject line.
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Item 8. Seminar hosted by SoFiA Network
Thursday 21 February 2008, 7.30 pm
Carlton Library Meeting Room, corner Rathdowne and Newry Streets, North Carlton (Melways Map: 2B, J2)
"Religious encounters along the Silk Road"
Speaker: Dr Angelo Andrea Di Castro, Monash Asia Institute, Monash University
This public lecture will be presented at the Melbourne Sea of Faith Network by Dr. Angelo Andrea Di Castro from Monash University's Asia Institute. Andrea previously taught at the Melbourne University's Centre for Archaeology & Ancient History on, "The Age of Empires: Assyria, Babylon and Persia, 900-331 BCE".
Sea of Faith in Australia (SoFiA)
The SoFiA Network openly explores issues of religion, faith and meaning. SoFiA is not a church.
National SoFiA Website and Blog -
Don Cupitt Website -
SoFiA Victoria email -
Victorian Convenor - Chantal Babin. Tel: 03 9435 3807
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Item 9. 2008 Asialink Lecture
Monday, 11 February 2008, 1.00 pm prompt start to 2.00 pm
Carrillo Gantner Theatre, Basement, Sidney Myer Asia Centre, University of Melbourne
(For security purposes, please ensure sufficient time for entry and seating.)
"Science & Technology for Sustainable Development in India"
By His Excellency ShriKapilSibal, Minister of Science & Technology and Minister of Earth Sciences in the Government of India
Hear one of India's most eloquent Cabinet Ministers discuss Science and Technology as a powerful instrument for growth and sustainable development.
Minister Sibal has a Masters Degree in Law from Harvard Law School and a Masters in History from Delhi University. He was appointed as Cabinet Minister and Union Minister for Science and Technology and Earth Science in June 2006. He is widely acknowledged as a highly effective Minister, a powerful and entertaining speaker with a commitment to openness and transparency.
Minister Sibal's achievements in his portfolio already include a National Biotechnology Development Strategy, a National Early Warning System for Tsunami and Storm Surges in the Indian Ocean and leading the Indian delegation at the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Bali, successfully negotiating the conclusion on Reducing Emissions from Deforestation in Developing Countries (REDD).
This event is presented by Asialink and is the latest in the Asialink Lecture Series providing a forum for eminent Asian and Australian leaders to present their vision for the Asia Pacific community in the 21st Century.
REGISTRATION: Essential. Please email with "Science Minister" in the subject line. Cost: Free
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Item 10. 15th Global Finance Conference
CALL FOR PAPERS & PROPOSALS
THE 15th GLOBAL FINANCE CONFERENCE
18-20 May 2008
HOSTED BY: Zhejiang University of Technology, Hangzhou, China (
SUBMISSION DEADLINE: February 29, 2008
The 15th Annual Meeting of the Global Finance Conference will be hosted and held at the College of Business Administration, Zhejiang University of Technology, in Hangzhou, China on May 18-20, 2008. The theme of the Conference is "Global Capital Markets & Risk Management".
For further information, contact:
Professor Hui Fang Cheng, The 2008 Program Chair, Dean, College of Business Zhejiang University of Technology
Email: , ,
Tel: +86-571-883-20521 & 23
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Item 11. HPAIR Global conference at Harvard University
The Harvard Project for Asian and International Relations (HPAIR) will be holding its first-ever global conference at Harvard University in April 2008.
Applications for this program can now be made online at More information regarding the conference and application procedure is also on the website.
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Item 12. The 19th Annual University of Hawaiëi at Manoa School of Pacific & Asian Studies Graduate Student Conference
Final paper submission deadline: 15 February 2008
"Moving Tides: Rearticulating Space in Asia and the Pacific"
12-14 March 2008
Korean Studies Center, University of Hawaiëi at Manoa
The 2008 SHAPS Graduate Student Conference is an event open to students from ALL disciplines. Our aim is to provide a forum for graduate students from a broad range of specialties to discuss their latest innovative research relating to Asian and/or Pacific Islands Studies. UH-Manoa students and students from other colleges and universities -- local, mainland, and international -- are all encouraged to participate.