CENTER FOR SOUTHEAST ASIAN STUDIES UNIVERSITY OF HAWAI‘I AT MĀNOA CSEAS Bulletin Aloha from the Director Aloha and greetings. I am very Several films won prizes, the most notable pleased to report on the recent achieve- being the festival’s Golden Orchid for ments of the Center for Southeast Asian Best Feature, which went to Berbagi Suami Studies. (Love for Share), from Indonesia. INSIDE THIS ISSUE The jewel in our crown for the Director Nia Dinata and actress Jajang academic year 2006-07 was undoubtedly C. Noer were our guests. Another signifi- 1 the initiation of an ambitious subtitling cant film was Gubra (Anxiety), written and FACULTY project for Southeast Asian film, which directed by Yasmin Ahmad. Producer Aloha and Welcome, Conferences was conceived during our weekly Elyna Shukri and actress Sharifah and Papers, Research and Travel, screenings of Southeast Asian films on Amani attended the festival, and last Awards and Fellowships, Publica- campus. The workshop was held last April the Center organized a retrospec- tions, etc. summer, and the special class conducted tive of all of Ahmad’s films at the by John McGlynn (who came from Ja- Honolulu Academy of Arts. We were 2 karta) resulted in the subtitling of ten honored that Yasmin herself found time STUDENTS films from Southeast Asia which have in her busy schedule to come to this retro- Awards and Fellowships, Research never been viewed overseas. In the first spective, and the large audiences who and Travel, Conferences, etc. stages of this project we see the distribu- attended very much appreciated her gra- tion of these films to universities and cious and open responses to their ques- 3 colleges as an important addition to the tions. Among our plans for future initia- OUTREACH teaching of Southeast Asian languages tives is the streaming of interviews and Brown Bag Series, Film Series, and societies. We envisage, for example, podcasts of talks with Southeast Asian Photograph Exhibition, Film students and teachers becoming engaged filmmakers on our revamped website, Festival Partnership, Malaysian in electronically-conveyed conversations which should be up and running this Fall. Cinema at the Honolulu Academy about alternative translations or the Despite the enormous amount of of Arts, etc. cultural significance of a particular scene work involved in putting this ambitious and so forth. program together, we did not neglect our A second aspect of this project was other academic programs. The Center is in terms of Outreach, for by making new working hard to build connections with films available we hope to literally “reach the professional schools, and in that re- out” to the community and attract spect a new venture was a Fall 2006 individuals who may not otherwise have seminar on natural disasters in Southeast any knowledge or interest in Southeast Asia, conducted by the Department of Asia. In this context, a highlight was the Urban and Regional Planning under the showing of more than a dozen films from direction of Michael Douglass and Southeast Asia at the Hawaii James Spencer. It was truly amazing to International Film Festival in October see how much expertise and experience 2006. Supported by its NRC funding, the we had on campus related to all aspects of Center was able to bring in ten directors, earthquakes, hurricanes, and epidemics. producers and actors, and through ar- Greg Bankoff, from the University of rangements with the festival, to host Auckland, a historian who has worked panel discussions after the film showings. extensively on Natural Disasters, CSEAS BULLETIN, SPRING 2007 www.hawaii.edu/cseas CENTER FOR SOUTHEAST ASIAN STUDIES UNIVERSITY OF HAWAI‘I AT MĀNOA cially in the Philippines, was a valuable around to various schools on Oahu. We including a Balinese adaptation of Shake- guest, delivering several lectures and con- are most grateful to Punahou School and speare’s The Tempest, by resident guest tributing to our ongoing Brown Bag lun- Terrina Wong, Program Coordinator at artist Larry Reed, who uses a giant screen chtime talks. the Wo International Center, for their and live performers to create a shadow If anything, the Spring semester was support in this endeavor. theater performance. This will be man- even busier than the Fall, for we had nu- We are also grateful to Terrina, the aged under the direction of Kirstin merous visitors. The course on Literature Freeman Foundation and the State Pauka, who will also be serving as Acting in Translation (IP 361) in Southeast Asia, Department of Education for providing Director while I am away on sabbatical for instance, brought in several overseas opportunities for myself and Muham- (until July 2008). Indeed, when I looked mad Ali, who has just completed at the list of events for the coming twelve his Ph.D. in history, to conduct a months, I was almost (not quite) tempted workshop for school teachers to to cancel my leave! learn more about Islam in In closing, I wish to express my Southeast Asia so that they feel heartfelt appreciation to the Executive comfortable in teaching the new Board of our Center, which continues to standards and benchmarks. offer invaluable advice and support. I I would also like to comment on a would like to record my gratitude to the further development in relation to Center staff – of course, Paul Rausch, the award of FLAS grants. The and Anthony Medrano (to whom we bid Center for Southeast Asian a fond farewell as he settles into his new Studies at the University of Ha- position with Ohio University’s Southeast Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit. Morbi euismod. Ut consequat felis sit amet. wai‘i continues to support the Asia program), but especially to Helen concept of a Summer Institute for Lee, our long-suffering secretary – and to guests; Alam Payind, Director of the Southeast Asian Studies, which, over the the School’s fiscal officers, Myra Ya- Center for Middle Eastern Studies at last twenty years, has made a significant mamoto and Joyce Morikuni, whose Ohio State University, gave several pres- contribution to teaching about this part of patience and advice has made it possible entations; Jonathan Rigg, from the the world. However, we also believe that to bring our ambitious plans to fruition. University of Durham, spent a week on there are now enhanced opportunities for To all those who helped make the campus during which time he gave sev- students to spend their summer in- past year such a success, I again offer my eral lectures, including the third in a spe- country at approved language schools sincere thanks. cial School of Hawaiian, Asian and Pa- where they can also benefit from living in cific Studies lecture series. Because of the the relevant culture. In summer 2007, we BARBARA WATSON ANDAYA prominence of the Ilokano program at therefore used the equivalent of three the University of Hawai‘i, the Center FLAS grants to support language also contributed to the 2007 Nakem study for five students (two in Conference, this year held at Mariano Indonesia, one in Malaysia, two Marcos State University in the in Thailand). Philippines Finally, I should express our One of the developments of which delight that two new faculty we are especially proud is the initiative of members, Ehito (Political our graduate students, including our Science) and Aya Kimura FLAS recipients. This year we have is- (Sociology/Women’s Studies), sued two volumes of Explorations, our will be joining us in the Fall. As student journal, which is available in hard Indonesian specialists, they will copy and on line. In addition, the enhance our program considera- Center’s Graduate Assistant, Anthony bly and will be of special benefit Medrano, was successful in obtaining a to the growing number of grant from the Hawai‘i Council for the Indonesian students on our Humanities which enabled him (with the campus. support of Punahou School as a home The schedule for the new base) to mount a traveling exhibition of academic year is already filling photos on Muslim Asia, which was taken up with a list of exciting projects, Barbara Watson Andaya, Professor of Asian Atudies and Director CSEAS BULLETIN, SPRING 2007 www.hawaii.edu/cseas CENTER FOR SOUTHEAST ASIAN STUDIES UNIVERSITY OF HAWAI‘I AT MĀNOA Belinda Aquino presented papers at of Interpretation.” Professor Aung- Faculty News and Activities several institutions and universities in Thwin was invited to give a lecture on Barbara Watson Andaya, Director the Philippines including the University his latest book, titled The Mists of Ra- of the Center for Southeast Asian of the Philippines, University of North- manna: the Legend that was Lower Burma, Studies and Professor of Asian Studies, ern Philippines, St. Louis College, Cebu at Harvard University’s Center for the has had a full year of activities and Normal University, and the Department Study of World Religions. commitments. She participated in three of Foreign Affairs. conferences in Washington, Finland, and Hawai‘i, respectively. In Washington, she Aside from her teaching and lecturing, J a c k B i l m e s , P r o f e s s o r o f presented a paper at the NRC Directors Professor Aquino also edited One Hun- Anthropology, has an article coming out Conference entitled, “Challenges and dred Years and Beyond and authored an entitled, “Kinship Categories in a North- Rewards of Administering an NRC article entitled, “The Filipino Century in ern Thai Narrative.” It will appear in the grant.” In Finland, Professor Andaya read Hawaii: Out of the Crucible.” Moreover, edited book, Conversation Analysis: Cross- a paper titled, “Oceans Connect? Asian she chaired and presented a paper at the Linguistic Perspectives. Jack Bilmes will Studies in a Globalizing Era.” In Hawai‘i, A s s o c i a t i o n f o r A s i a n S t u d i e s present an abbreviated version of this she presented a paper at the 2007 Conference in Boston.