What is the state of teaching and research on Asia-related topics at Australian universities? Do students have more or less opportunity to learn about Asia than in the past? Is there much variation in Asia content across disciplines? Which Asian languages are in decline at our universities and which are on the rise? What are […]
Can you tell us a bit about your thesis. What’s the problem it explores and what did you find? My thesis, In the Shadow of the Palms: Plant-Human Relations among Marind, West Papua, investigates how Indigenous Marind communities in the Indonesian-controlled region of West Papua experience, conceptualize, and contest the adverse social and environmental impacts […]
Earlier this month a fresh round of commentary kicked off regarding the failure of the long-term cultural and public policy project of fostering the sustained study of Asian languages in Australia. The latest expression of concern was sparked by reports that Australian universities, including La Trobe, Murdoch and Swinburne, were set to close some or […]
The recent decision by La Trobe and Murdoch Universities to discontinue the study of Hindi and Indonesia underlines the challenges that confront those teaching and researching Asia related themes. Further underlining the perception that Asian studies is in crisis are government decisions to scrutinise research collaboration with foreign – especially Chinese – universities, and the […]
In Memoriam: Professor Emeritus Mark McLelland (1966–2020) Sociologist and cultural historian of Japan, Mark McLelland, passed away on 18 November 2020 in Wollongong, New South Wales. Professor McLelland was well-known for his groundbreaking and influential work across a range of fields, including the cultural history of sexualities in Japan, the global history of the internet, […]
On June 30, the most powerful part of the Chinese government, the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress, passed, with immediate effect, the Law for Safeguarding National Security in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR). The Hong Kong National Security Law follows ongoing independence and pro-democracy protests, which in the second half of […]
with contributions by Martin M. van Bruinessen, Richard Castles, Barbara Leigh, Michael Leigh, David Mitchell, Halina Nowicka, Anthony Reid, and Heather Sutherland. Lance Castles, portrait by Yasin Tiar, 1999 Lance Castles died peacefully in Melbourne’s Highgrove Aged Care home on 27th August 2020, his mind remaining lucid to the end. He was a pioneering and […]
