Jarrah’s Indonesian / Australian background and early childhood years growing up in Bali were formative of his interest in the history of Indonesia. During his PhD studies, under the guidance of Professor Adrian Vickers, he began studying the historical texts of Indonesia; the traditional chronicles and genealogies of Bali, Java and the Malay world. Jarrah has continued this focus in his research while broadening his interest in the development of history in Indonesia and in Southeast Asia more broadly. Jarrah seeks to understand history as a set of practices that are embedded in a particular culture or society and thinks we ought to take the practice of history by the people of Asia seriously. Language learning is central to Jarrah’s approach and he recalls an intensive language course in Old Javanese run in Indonesia as formative for his skills and connection to like-minded scholars. Jarrah laments that language opportunities like these are increasingly rare, especially in Australia. Jarrah identifies challenges of budget constraints and small class enrolment numbers in Indonesian language learning in Australian universities, but also sees opportunity in the integration of language learning alongside degrees in disciplinary studies like law, international relations, etc. He thinks that the ASAA is uniquely positioned to advocate within this changing landscape as a national organisation which spans all of Asian Studies. He charts a path forward for the ASAA which includes building the community, particularly of emerging scholars, maintaining the ASAA’s intellectual identity through publications, research and prizes, and further building institutional relationships and links.

Watch Jarrah’s interview below or on the ASAA’s youtube channel here. See the other interviews in the series here.