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MONASH ASIA INSTITUTE BULLETIN [12/2007]
3 December 2007
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In this bulletin
1. Seasons Greetings from the Director, MAI
2. Seminar: Can Japanese universities become global leaders?
3. Seminar: Indonesia's economy & society post 1997 financial crisis
4. The Pacific Exhibition at Monash University
5. Mobs4D: China, India & South Africa mobile phones research project
6. Book launch: ìMaking Scenes: reggae, punk and death metal in 1990sí Baliî
7. Public Lecture: The protection of women and children during armed conflict
8. New films on Asia by Ellen Bruno
9. Website of the month: The Red Kebaya
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Monash Asia Institute and Monash University News and Events
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Item 1. Seasons Greetings from the Director, MAI
The Director, staff, students and Executive Committee of the Monash Asia Institute take this opportunity to wish you a happy and safe break over the coming New Year holidays. We also thank you all for your interest and support in our activities during what has again proved to be a most exciting and productive year.
Monash Asia Institute, as with Monash University, is closed from 21 December 2007 until 1 January 2008. The university will reopen on 2 January 2008.
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Item 2. Japanese Studies Seminar
"Can Japanese universities become global leaders in an era of the knowledge-based economy?"
Friday 7 December 2007, 2:00pm
Auditorium, Japanese Studies Centre (Bldg.54), Monash University, Clayton
Speakers: Kazuhiro Kudo (Dokkyo University, Japan), and Hiroko Hashimoto (Monash University, Australia)
In the last few decades the Japanese government has emphasised international cooperation and understanding in her missions and implementations of international higher education, particularly in accepting overseas students. Now, with the growing influences of globalisation, many Japanese universities are urged to become internationally as well as domestically competitive, and internationalisation is one of the prevalent concepts that have shaped the cosmopolitan discourses of these universities. This paper discusses successes and challenges in internationalisation of Japanese universities, factors that differentiate proactive and reactive universities in regard to international engagements and the future of Japanese universities. We take up these issues by exploring the Japanese psychology of welcome-unwelcome ambivalence toward the foreign others and some of the confusions and contradictions facing Japanese universities over the interpretation of gurobaruka (globalisation) and kokusaika (internationalisation). We then challenge optimistic views of Japanese universities becoming global leaders in an era of the knowledge-based economy. The paper also sheds light on the issues of institutional priority in internationalisation, for example, the recruitment of international students and teaching staff, study abroad and international exchange programs, transnational/offshore programs, English as a medium of instruction, and global university rankings.
About the speakers
Kazuhiro Kudo is a lecturer at the Faculty of Foreign Languages, Dokkyo University, Japan. He completed his M.Ed. by research at La Trobe University in 2000, and has investigated aspects of intercultural communication in Japanese and Australian universities such as international student adjustment, intercultural friendship and discourses and practices of intercultural learning.
Hiroko Hashimoto is a lecturer at the School of Languages, Cultures and Linguistics, Monash University. She completed her doctoral thesis on "Globalisation and the Internationalisation of Universities in Japan: Issues of Identity in Student Exchange" under the supervision of Professor Simon Marginson, and finished a PhD at Monash University in 2004. Her research interests include policy towards international students, and issues in relation to student exchange.
ALL WELCOME
Enquiries:
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Item 3. 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, , using the subject line "Indonesian economy seminar" in your email.
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Item 4. The Pacific Exhibition
This is an exhibition of around 100 items ranging from the early eighteenth-century to the early twentieth-century. It covers European discovery and exploration of the Pacific, the activities of the missionaries, traders and blackbirders, as well as accounts by those who visited for pleasure. The material forms part of our extensive collection of travel literature.
The exhibition will run till 29 February 2008. It can be viewed at Level 1, ISB wing, Sir Louis Matheson Library, Clayton campus.
For more information visit the exhibition website at
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Item 5. Mobs4D
Research into the benefits of mobile (or cell) phones for development in China, India and South Africa.
A research team based at Monash University in Australia is investigating the role of mobile phones for enhancing the opportunities for self-employment, growth of micro-enterprises and development of social capital, amongst the poorest households and communities in urban and rural areas in China, India and South Africa.
The research will investigate a range of socio-economic issues relating to the deployment and use of mobile phones for social and economic development, and poverty alleviation in communities.
Two main objectives:
- This large comparative study of mobile phone use by groups across a range of variables (location, size and type of business, and gender and socio-economic status of mobile owner) will create understanding of the impact of mobile phones on business performance and development objectives, and the reasons for differential patterns of access and usage.
- It will develop policy recommendations aimed at promoting the better deployment of mobile phone technology for development of medium-to-small enterprises, community-based organizations, and other groups.
If you are interested in supporting this project, or you want a full description of the project, please contact:
Associate Professor Graeme Johanson
Director, Centre for Community Networking Research (
Faculty of Information Technology, Monash University.
Email: .
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Item 6. Book Launch
Friday 11 January 2008, 6:00 pm
Stork Hotel - 504 Elizabeth St, Melbourne
(opposite the YWCA and cnr Therry and Elizabeth Streets)
ìMaking Scenes: reggae, punk and death metal in 1990sí Baliî by Emma Baulch
(2007, Durham: Duke University Press)
Dr Emma Baulch is a PhD graduate of the School of Political and Social Inquiry, Monash University.
The book will be launched by Dr Julian Millie (Monash University)
Author of Bidasari: Jewel of Malay Muslim Culture (2004, Leiden: KITLV) and former trumpet player with Melbourne band, "Loin Groin".
Enquiries:
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Other News and Events
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Item 7. The University of Melbourne 2007 Chancellor's Human Rights Lecture
Thursday 13 December 2007, 6pm to 7pm
Carrillo Gantner Theatre, Sidney Myer Asia Centre, University of Melbourne
"The protection of women and children during armed conflict. Whose responsibility?"
Speaker: Radhika Coomaraswamy, the United Nations Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict
Ms Coomaraswamy was appointed to her current position in April 2006 and in this capacity serves as a moral voice and an independent advocate to build awareness and give prominence to the rights and protection of boys and girls affected by armed conflict. A lawyer by training and formerly the Chairperson of the Sri Lanka Human Rights Commission, she is an internationally known human rights advocate who is acknowledged for having done outstanding work as the UNís Special Rapporteur on Violence against Women (1994-2003). In her reports to the United Nations Commission on Human Rights, she has written on violence in the family, violence in the community, violence against women during armed conflict and the problem of international trafficking.
Ms Coomaraswamy is a graduate of the United Nations International School in New York with a BA from Yale University, JD from Columbia University, an LLM from Harvard University and has honorary PhDs from Amherst College, the University of Edinburgh and the University of Essex.
Cost: Free
RSVP (essential) to with "Human Rights" in the subject line. For enquires, phone 03 8344 1176
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Item 8. New films on Asia by Ellen Bruno
Ellen Bruno is a Producer/Director based in San Francisco. She has released several new films on Asian themes ñ all of which have received favourable reviews from The New York Times and The Village Voice. A brief annotation of each film is given below together with a web link.
Samsara: Death and Rebirth in Cambodia
This film documents the Cambodian's efforts to reconstruct a shattered society in a climate of war, bringing a humanistic perspective to a country in deep political turmoil.
To view a clip:
Satya: A Prayer for the Enemy
This film documents human rights abuses in Tibet, focusing on the non-violent activism of Tibetan Buddhist nuns in the struggle for basic human rights and religious freedom.
To view a clip:
Sacrifice: The Story of Child Prostitutes from Burma
This film examines the political and economic forces at work in the trafficking of Burmese girls into prostitution in Thailand.
To view a clip:
Leper: Life Beyond Stigma
This film reveals the myriad stigmas and misunderstandings that surround a disease that marks the bodies and lives of rural Nepali villagers.
To view a clip:
SKY BURIAL
This film documents a burial ritual in northern Tibet where the bodies of the dead are offered to the vultures as a final act of kindness to living beings... the ultimate gesture of generosity. To merge with the sky is a holy event, one that replaces the sufferings of this world with peace.
To view a clip:
For more details visit
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Item 9. Website of the month: The Red Kebaya
The Red Kebaya received four awards (including best narrative on the colonial era) at the 20th Malaysian Film Festival in Penang. News and details about the film can be found at The Red Kebaya website.
The film centres on Latiff, a famous but lonely photographer who was orphaned as a child. Latiff sets out on an expedition to photograph abandoned houses around Malaysia. On his journey he is haunted by images and sounds that remind him of his childhood. At one particular house on the island of Penang he is transported back through time to witness the shocking events that took place in the house over 50 years ago. Though his experiences, he understands the tragic circumstances that led to him being orphaned and also finds an old friend.
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