Speakers:
- Jay Cheong Han Wen (MA Candidate, Southeast Asian Studies Programme)
- Preciosa A. de Joya (PhD Candidate, Southeast Asian Studies Programme)
- Annie W. Karmel (MA Candidate, Southeast Asian Studies Programme)
- Pitra Narendra (MA Candidate, Southeast Asian Studies Programme)
- Takamichi Serizawa (PhD Candidate, Southeast Asian Studies Programme)
Date: Wednesday, 15 April 2009
Time: 2:30pm – 5:15pm
Venue: AS3, Level 6, SEAS Seminar Room (06-20)
Synopsis
These presentations by graduate students are intended to facilitate the development of their thesis topics and proposals. They share their preliminary thoughts and findings with the wider scholarly community in the hope of securing helpful comments and feedback.
Seminar Topics
Jay Cheong Han Wen
LOCATING PERSPECTIVES: Naga Fireballs at the Mekong River
I discuss various perspectives from academics, journalists, and travelers on the “half-fiction, half-truth” phenomenon of Naga fireballs that can be observed at the Mekong River along Northeastern Thailand. I primarily attempt to locate these perspectives within their own contexts.
Preciosa A. de Joya
PAKIKIPAGKAPUWA AND KEJAWEN: Reflections on the Paths of Filipino and Javanese Thought
I wish to explore how pakikipagkapuwa and kejawen constitute paths of thinking about the nature and task of human existence. How have these ideas determined the object and expression of thought? How do these words resonate with each other, and where do their meanings diverge?
Annie W. Karmel
THE HOSTESS WITH THE MOSTEST? Singapore, Its Students, and Intercultural Learning
I will be looking at Singaporean undergraduate students and how they perceive their international counterparts. I also aim to explore how these views may be a symptom of Singapore’s need for foreigners and its reactionary efforts to mould a national identity.
Pitra Narendra
LASTING MEMORY, BLURRING IDENTITY: Personal Narratives of Javanese in Singapore
I take a preliminary look into social memory as a source of identity for Javanese in Singapore. I am particularly interested in the dynamics of remembering and forgetting among different generations.
Takamichi Serizawa
DILEMMA OF A JAPANESE HISTORIAN: Tatsuro Yamamoto and Southeast Asian Studies in Japan
Tatsuro Yamamoto’s life and work (1910-2001) reveal how vestiges of the occupation of Southeast Asia reconfigured the study of this area in postwar Japan. I locate Yamamoto’s “forgetting” of the occupation in the interactions among scholars in Japan, the US and Southeast Asian countries.
