NALANDA-SRIWIJAYA CENTRE
WORKSHOP ON
CIRCULATING THE BAY OF BENGAL, MIRACULOUSLY:
TRANSLATING WONDER AND TRAVEL IN SOUTHEAST ASIA
About the Workshop
How do we write a history of travel and wonder? Can we enchant the history of Southeast Asia? Are there histories of wonder, saints, gods and spirits in societies of Southeast Asia that we can trace or write? How have Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, Christianity and ‘Chinese religion’ interweaved across the Bay of Bengal? These are just some questions that this workshop aims to explore systematically.
This workshop aims to collect histories of travel, enchantment and wonder in Southeast Asia across the longue durée. It will bring together scholars whose work spans the geographic and temporal scope of societies, from the medieval era to the modern period, with a focus on ‘magical’ connections. The geographic and temporal scales of this conference are deliberately broad, largely because these are concepts and phenomena that traverse the length and breadth of religious history and experience. This workshop also aims to collect materials essential for writing a connected history of the Bay and Bengal, and for investigating the interweaving histories of Islam, Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, and ‘Chinese religion’.
Workshop Programme
Tentative programme
Tentative programme
Registration
Attendance to the Workshop is free of charge but registration is required. As seats are limited, please register early. Admission to the Workshop can only be taken as confirmed upon receiving the written acceptance from ISEAS.
To register, please complete this form and return it by fax to 6775-6264 or email at iseasevents2@iseas.edu.sg by Monday, 6 February 2017.
About the Workshop
The role of art in nation-building is not new. From French history paintings that glorified Napoleon’s reign to Soviet Socialist Realism, art has not only been yoked to the political objectives of the elite but also served as a narrator of nationhood. In this context, art has been deployed as sophisticated means to express political values and ideals seeking to capture the spirit and mentalities of successive periods.
Southeast Asian nations emerged from a whirlwind of ideologies such as anti-colonialism, communism, and socialism, with the Cold War as backdrop. These postcolonial nations have produced iconic art works and discourses that have captured the aspirations and struggles of the day. Indeed the political transitions and shifting ideologies experienced by many societies in the region progressively changed the way modern art was produced and perceived in terms of styles, subject matter, iconography, idioms and genres.
This workshop seeks to critically evaluate the ways in which Southeast Asian nations are imagined by artists and other cultural agents such as art critics, gallerists, collectors, independent curators or museums, and the state. It comes at a time when ‘national art’ is being redefined while more public and private institutions in the region are erected to re-imagine the narratives of nationhood. Whether through modern or contemporary art which interrogates the consequences of global capitalism, scholars are invited to explore how art is deployed either as a coalescing force for the imagination of the nation or a critical expression of its flaws and strains.
Keynote speaker: Professor Patrick D Flores
Workshop programme: Tentative programme here.
Registration: Attendance to the Workshop is free of charge but registration is required by Thursday, 12 January 2017. To register, please complete this form and return it by fax: 6775-6264 or email it to iseasevents2@iseas.edu.sg. As seats are limited, please register early. Admission to the Workshop can only be taken as confirmed upon receiving the written acceptance from ISEAS. For any queries, please feel free to email: <iseasevents2@iseas.edu.sg>.
Best wishes,
Dr Terence Chong & Dr Hélène Njoto
Conference Co-conveners
20 December 2016
Call for Papers
Regional Social and Cultural Studies Programme
Workshop on National Imaginations in Southeast Asian Art
The role of art in nation-building is not new. From French history paintings which glorified Napoleon’s reign to Soviet Socialist Realism, art has not only been yoked to the political objectives of the elite but also served as a narrator of nation. In this context, art has been deployed as sophisticated means to express political values and ideals seeking to capture the spirit and mentalities of successive periods.
Southeast Asian nations emerged from a whirlwind of ideologies such as anti-colonialism, communism, and socialism, with the Cold War as backdrop. These postcolonial nations have produced iconic art works and discourses that have captured the aspirations and struggles of the day. Indeed the political transitions and shifting ideologies experienced by many societies in the region progressively changed the way modern art was produced and perceived in terms of styles, subject matter, iconography, idioms and genres.
Many young Southeast Asian nations sought a new artistic identity inspired by western idioms and genres. Suffice to say early concepts of ‘modernisms’ were not unanimously embraced as ‘national’. In Thailand in the late 1950s the second National Exhibition of Art was rejected by local critics for being “imitations of Western art”. Indeed, tension and conflict often accompanied the emergence of modern art. Some Indonesian artists, for example, emerged through the dispute over representations of the “Indonesian identity” between the so-called “pro-West” Bandung School and the “anti-West” Yogyakarta School. Furthermore, the position of the artists and art in the canon is under constant revaluation. So-called “proto-nationalist” or “nationalist” works such as Raden Saleh’s The Capture of Prince Diponegoro (1857) or Juan Luna’s Spoliarium (1884), for instance, may be argued to have been less concerned about creating a sense of local or indigenous identity than the artists’ own desire to create work in colonial idioms.
We seek to critically evaluate the ways in which Southeast Asian nations are imagined by artists and other cultural agents such as art critics, gallerists, collectors, independent curators or museums, and the state. This one-day workshop comes at a time when ‘national art’ is being redefined while more public and private institutions in the region are erected to re-imagine the narratives of nationhood. Whether through modern or contemporary art which interrogates the consequences of global capitalism, scholars are invited to explore how art is deployed either as a coalescing force for the imagination of the nation or a critical expression of its flaws and strains.
The workshop welcomes papers that explore, though not limited to, the following questions:
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How did ‘national art’ take socially shape in Southeast Asia?
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How was art used to build “national consciousness” by political programmes?
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How have iconic works of art captured national aspirations and the interests of the political elite?
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How do national art collections contribute to forge or undermine imaginations of the nation?
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What roles do cultural agents such as artists, art critics, curators, patrons and teachers from the region and beyond play in imagining the nation?
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How have institutions such as art academies, exhibitions and biennials, galleries, museums and the state framed ‘national art’ for the nation? What are the tensions and contradictions?
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How has contemporary art engaged with the consequences of neocapitalism in Southeast Asian societies?
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What is the impact of private collections and museums to the building of ‘national art’?
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How were western idioms and genres used to address ‘national art’, and is there a common Southeast Asian modern and national art specificity?
Submission and Deadlines
Please send your abstract (250 words) and brief biography (150 words) to the following address: helene_njoto@iseas.edu.sg.
Deadline for abstract submission is 31 Oct 2016. If your abstract is selected for the workshop you will have to submit your full-length paper by 9 January 2017.
Convenors: Dr Terence Chong and Dr Helene Njoto
NALANDA-SRIWIJAYA CENTRE
ABOUT THE WORKSHOP
MALAYSIA STUDIES PROGRAMME
ABOUT THE WORKSHOP
The Federation of Malaysia was created on 16 September 1963 through the merging of the Federation of Malaya, Singapore, Sabah and Sarawak. Where ethnic demographics were concerned, Sabah and Sarawak, with their large native populations, helped to balance Singapore’s predominantly Chinese population. But when the original configuration of the federation broke down in 1965 and Singapore went its own way, the ethnic balance changed dramatically. The Sabahans and Sarawakians now found themselves small minorities within an increasingly Malay Muslim-dominated country. A gradual centralisation of power did in fact ensue, and more than half a century after the merger, Sabah and Sarawak are among the poorest states in the federation. Not only are Bumiputra minorities economically impoverished, they are also politically marginalized and their identities and languages threatened by aggressive assimilation policies implemented by the central power.
The Malaysia Studies Programme (MSP) at the ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute is pleased to present this one-day forum to discuss the situation of these East Malaysian states. We gather prominent scholars to speak on themes such as the politics and economics of federal-state relations; poverty and human development among the Orang Asal; the emergence and consolidation of Malay Muslim dominance; the social dynamics of the Chinese vote in Sarawak; customary native land rights; bumiputra minorities’ identity formation in the larger context of nation-building; and porous borders and (in)security in Sabah.
ABOUT THE PROGRAMME
As attached here.
REGISTRATION
Attendance is free of charge but registration is required. Please register early as seats are limited.
To register, please complete and email the attached Registration Form to <iseasevents2@iseas.edu.sg> by 1 December 2015.
REGIONAL SOCIAL AND CULTURAL STUDIES
ABOUT THE WORKSHOP
Scholars have recently raised concerns over Southeast Asian Muslims becoming more conservative and radicalised, while others have noted the impact of Islamic influence and politics on multicultural societies in the region. While Southeast Asian Muslims have had a history of integrating local traditions with Islamic doctrines, the dakwah movement (referred to as Islamic resurgence) in 1970s, the increased ‘Arabisation’ of Muslim society, as well as visions of a caliphate in the Middle East, have change the complexion of Muslim communities and their relationship with other communities.
The Regional Social and Cultural Studies (RSCS) Programme at ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute presents the workshop on Islamic Developments in Southeast Asia. This one-day workshop will focus on Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore. It brings together scholars who will speak on themes such as civil society, politics and the ulama in Malaysia; law and education in Malaysia; Middle Eastern influence on Islamic institutions in Indonesia; and Middle East influence on Singapore Islamic institutions.
The workshop’s aim is to explore issues such as the contemporary networks and flows of students, teachers, and literature from the Middle East to Southeast Asia, and within the region; understand the evolving nature of Shariah courts, bureaucracies and civil service; and the emergence and presence of Islamic culture/politics in contemporary society as well as the reaction from both Muslim and non-Muslim communities.
This workshop brings together contemporary research on the ethnic Chinese in Vietnam. The papers in this workshop will examine a variety of issues including the dynamic economic position of the ethnic Chinese in the country, their cultural negotiations with the broader community, business networks and tensions, temple rituals, and the impact that the rise of China has had on them. The aim of the workshop is to present research findings, update the existing literature, and to identify further areas of investigation into the lifeworlds of the Vietnamese Chinese.
This event is open for registration on a first-come, first-served basis.
The programme can be found here.
To register, please complete this form and email it to iseasevents2@iseas.edu.sg by Wednesday, 6 October 2015.
AN INVITATION
With the opening up of Myanmar to foreign researchers over the last decade, more recent empirical research has also emerged concerning the ethnic Chinese of Myanmar. This workshop serves as a platform for reviewing the latest research on the topic from a multidisciplinary perspective.
The workshop covers issues related to political and social history, cultural identity, citizenship and subjectivity, and the impact of the rise of China on the Chinese community. At the same time, the workshop will facilitate networking and the exploration of further collaborative efforts to fill pertinent gaps in research on the Myanmar Chinese.
Best wishes,
Dr Hui Yew-Foong
Co-coordinator of Workshop & ISEAS Senior Fellow
REGISTRATION
All registrations are on a first-come, first-served basis.
Admission to the workshop can only be taken as confirmed upon receiving written acceptance from the Institute.
To register, please complete and email this Registration Form to iseasevents2@iseas.edu.sg, latest by Tuesday, 25 August 2015.