9 September 2010 – 9 January 2011 at the Honolulu Academy of Arts

For its major fall exhibition, the Academy highlights its important but little seen collection of Southeast Asian Art. On view will be approximately 150 works of art from Thailand and Cambodia, many of which have never been displayed at the museum.

Visitors will travel through time and regions via three sections: The Neolithic and Bronze ages in Thailand and Cambodia; the Khmer kingdom, which dominated the central Southeast Asian peninsula from the 9th through the 15th centuries; and the Sukhothai kingdom, generally considered the first major Thai kingdom and the progenitor of the modern Thai state, which flourished from the 13th through the 15th centuries. The exhibition will cover the artistic and cultural developments of three important Southeast Asian cultures (Ban Chiang, Khmer, and Sukhothai) over more than 4,000 years, going from vibrantly decorated Neolithic earthenware ceramics to a dazzling gold Buddhist sculpture.

This exhibition is a chance for the public to discover a major resource in Hawaii for the study of Southeast Asia, and it promotes a greater awareness and appreciation of Southeast Asian cultural and artistic traditions in the Hawaii community.

The exhibition and its educational programs are supported in part by a grant from the Hawaii Council for the Humanities.

Lecture series:
Public lectures by University of Hawaii professors Miriam Stark and Paul Lavy will greatly illuminate the works on view in the exhbition. Lectures will be held on Thursdays throughout October at 4 p.m. in the Doris Duke Theatre. Admission is free.

Oct. 7:From Stone to Bronze and Village to City: Southeast Asia’s Buried Past
Presented by Miriam T Stark, PhD; Professor, Department of Anthropology, University of Hawai’i at Manoa
Southeast Asia’s earliest archaeological remains date back more than 1.8 million years. Through the millennia, Southeast Asians crafted their lives and shaped their landscapes in ways that ultimately produced kingdoms and empires. This lecture surveys Southeast Asia’s history from an archaeological point of view, and highlights key developments from the Neolithic through the Classical period.

Oct. 14:Vishnu’s Heavenly Realm: Angkor Wat and Ancient Khmer Architecture
Presented by Paul Lavy, PhD; Assistant Professor of South and Southeast Asian Art History, Department of Art and Art History, University of Hawai’i at Manoa
Angkor Wat (12th century), one of the worlds largest and most complex religious monuments, was built as a temple dedicated to the Hindu god Vishnu and later transformed into a Buddhist sanctuary. This lecture will examine Angkor Wat’s history, architecture, and symbolism and explore its central role in Khmer (Cambodian) culture.

Oct. 21:Cultivating the Image of Compassion: Power, Propaganda, and the Statuary of Ancient Angkor
Presented by Paul Lavy, PhD; Assistant Professor of South and Southeast Asian Art History, Department of Art and Art History, University of Hawai’i at Manoa
Hindu and Buddhist sculpture was central to both religion and politics in ancient Angkor. This lecture will investigate the intersection of politics, religion, and art at the peak of Angkors power during the reign of its most colorful king, Jayavarman VII, a ruler who cleverly utilized unusual Buddhist art to express both his personal piety and political ambitions.

Oct. 28:Walking with the Buddha: The Art of Sukhothai
The kingdom of Sukhothai (13th-15th centuries) was the first major Thai kingdom and it is often regarded as the Golden Age of Thai civilization. This lecture will provide an introduction to the art of Sukhothai and explore the symbolism and style of Sukhothai Buddha images, renowned worldwide for their elegance and distinctive stylistic qualities.

Teacher Workshop
All teachers are invited to attend a teacher workshop on September 25, 2010 9:00 AM – 1:00 PM in the Museum Lecture Hall. For reservations, please call Betsy Robb 532-3666. This teacher workshop is fully sponsored by the Hawaii Council for the Humanities.

more info

8 June – 16 October at the Hawaii Children’s Discovery Museum

A traveling exhibit on the world’s refugees has made its way to Honolulu. “Torn From Home: My Life as a Refuge” takes young visitors and adults on an inspiring, hands-on journey into the lives of millions of children who were forced to flee their homes in conflict regions throughout the world.

The exhibit is on a national five-year tour and will celebrate its grand opening at the Hawaii Children’s Discovery Center on June 20, recognized as World Refugee Day, with vibrant cultural performances, ethnic foods and more from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. The exhibit will remain in Hawaii through October 16, 2010.

“Torn From Home: My Life as a Refugee” gives children and adults an opportunity to gain a firsthand look into the often challenging realities faced by refugee children and their families, and yet experience the personal triumphs of rebuilding their lives in a new land. It showcases seven exhibit areas: Home, Losing Home, Registration, Refugee Camp, Medical Clinic and Going Home.

The self-guided tour walks museum visitors through exhibit areas where they will learn about the shelter, food, medical care, schooling, and play activities of children in refugee camps. The exhibition features interactive multimedia, as well as photographs, artwork and testimonials of refugee children from countries such as the Democratic Republic of Congo, Colombia, and Afghanistan.

“By hosting this exhibit, we hope that children and adults in Hawaii become more aware of what is happening in other countries throughout the world,” says Loretta Yajima, president of the Board of Directors at the Hawaii Children’s Discovery Center. “We hope that awareness will help them to develop a sense of empathy and compassion, while also exploring themes such as “What makes a home?” and “What is peace?”

The Hawaii Children’s Discovery Center has partnered with local community organizations, as well as individuals from regions including Laos, Vietnam and Burma, to recognize Hawaii’s own refugee populations. Monthly cultural events will showcase each culture through food, performances, and more.

The Center has also crafted extension exhibits specifically designed to address Hawaii’s diverse immigrant communities. Children will gain traits such as understanding the beauty of our differences by participating in various projects, such as creating a peace quilt. The Center itself has galleries of hands-on, interactive exhibits that help children learn about themselves and the world beyond our Island shores through exploration and guided self-discovery.

“Torn From Home: My Life as a Refugee” was developed in partnership with Lied Discovery Children’s Museum in Las Vegas, Nevada, and international aid organizations including UNHCR, the UN refugee agency. Philanthropist and part-time Hawaii resident, Pam Omidyar helped conceive the exhibit and personally provided core funding. Transportation funding to Hawaii was provided by Unbound Philanthropy.

Hawaii Children’s Discovery Center | Torn From Home: My Life as a Refugee Exhibit

Looking for a place to listen to radio from across southeast asia? The CSEAS staff recently discovered radiotime, a free streaming radio program online called radiotime! All the major southeast asian countries are listed, in addition to other countries across the globe. Some countries are even further categorized by locality! Check out the site and be sure to let us know what you think!

Until today, the Muslim Societies in Asia & the Pacific program (MSAP) only had a facebook presence online, so we are very excited to announce their new website: http://www.msiahawaii.com!  We hope our readers enjoy the site as much as we do!

The Center for Southeast Asian Studies would like to recognize the incredible efforts of graduate assistants, Nezia and Effendy, who were instrumental in the building of the Muslim Societies in Asia program.  The quality and success of the current MSIAP is a testament to their hard work and the CSEAS wishes them the best of luck on their future endeavors.

The First International Conference on
HUMAN RIGHTS in SOUTHEAST ASIA

Organized by the Southeast Asian Human Rights Studies Network and the Center for Human Rights Studies and Social Development (CHRSD), Mahidol University, Thailand.

14-15 October 2010
Bangkok , Thailand
www.seahrcon.org

Human rights in Southeast Asia are at a critical juncture. There are a number of positive developments in the promotion and protection of human rights, such as, the institutionalization of the ASEAN Inter-governmental Commission on Human Rights (AICHR), formation of national human rights commissions or institutions and the development of a dynamic human rights discourse within the region. These occur, however, alongside a significant amount of human rights violations in a wide variety of areas. There is still much work to do in the promotion and protection of human rights of ASEAN peoples.

The First International Conference on Human Rights in Southeast Asia intends to bring together academics, researchers, graduate and post-graduate students, civil society organizations and government agency representatives who work on the research and greater understanding of human rights in Southeast Asia . It seeks to explore the ways researchers and civil society have begun to make more critical contributions to deepening the understanding of human rights-based framework and actual issues through in-depth engagement with localized sites within the Southeast Asian region. Likewise, as human rights is an emerging area of study at universities and academic institutes in Southeast Asia , the conference also aims to provide a venue for the increasing body of research work being done by academics and graduate students on Southeast Asian human rights.

Possible Panel Themes will include:
1. Universality and particularity of human rights
2. Individual and collective rights
3. Gender, sexuality and women’s rights
4. Rights of vulnerable and marginalized groups
5. Peace, conflict, security and human rights
6. Challenges to human rights in Southeast Asia
7. Media, advocacy and popularization of human rights

Paper Submission Details
Those who wish to present a paper at the conference are invited to submit an abstract of 300-350 words and a short biographical paragraph of 150 words in English by 30 June 2010 to Ms. Saksinee Emasiri at seahrcon@gmail.com. Please indicate to which proposed panel you think your paper would best fall under. The full paper should be about 5,000-6,000 words.

Successful applicants will be notified by 15 July 2010. Full papers are due on 30 September 2010.

Photo taken from flickr user j l t under creative commons license

CSEAS is proud to announce our newest weekly feature–a song of the week!  Using technology from Grooveshare, CSEAS will bring you a new Southeast Asian inspired tune each week.  This song may be accessed from the main page of our site or through the post describing the song.  We hope you enjoy this new aspect of our weekly programs and look forward to your comments/suggestions/etc.  The first song of the week is noted below:

Dengue Fever is Chhom Nimol – who sang regularly for the King and Queen of Cambodia – Ethan Holtzman (keyboards), Zac Holtzman (guitar), David Ralicke (horns), Senon Williams (bass) and Paul Smith (drums). The band’s music has been featured in a number of film and television shows including CITY OF GHOSTS, MUST LOVE DOGS, BROKEN FLOWERS, HBO’s hit series TRUE BLOOD and twice on Showtime’s, WEEDS. They have released three albums, Dengue Fever, Escape From Dragon House, Venus On Earth and released their DVD/CD soundtrack to the documentary Sleepwalking Through The Mekong on April 14, 2009.

The band’s eponymous debut was mostly covers of Cambodian classics. Their second album, Escape From Dragon House, written almost entirely by the band, was more psychedelic, freer, looser and more experimental than the debut. Their next release, 2008’s Venus on Earth, consisted entirely of original material, with several songs performed in English, furthering the band’s overall goal to fuse American and Cambodian styles. In 2009, the band earned kudos for the DVD/CD soundtrack release of the documentary film Sleepwalking Through The Mekong, which chronicled their 2005 trip to Nimol’s homeland during the water festival. They also wrote and performed in front of live audiences a commissioned soundtrack for the 1925 silent film classic The Lost World.

Earlier this year, the band curated a collection of classic Cambodian rock songs from the pre-Khmer Rouge era called Dengue Fever Presents: Electric Cambodia.
(exert taken from the band’s MySpace page)

Official Website | NPR Article/Interview | Facebook Page | NYTimes Article

All of us at the Center for Southeast Asian Studies at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa wish everyone a wonderful Songkran/Bpee Mai/Chol Chnam Thmey/Thingyan!

Another Celebratory Photograh of Songkran

Wednesday, 31 March
6:30 p.m. – Korean Studies Auditorium

Cambodia, 1998 (108 min)
Khmer with English subtitles
Dir: Rithy Panh
Cast: Chea Lyda Chan (Srey Poeuv), Ratha Keo (Maly), Sra N’Gath Kheav (Le Meut)
Peng Phan (Srey Poeuv’s Mother), Narith Roeun (Savannah), Mol Sovannak (Phâl)

When we lose in love, the isolation can reveal our true character. Are we tempted by our lower tendencies, give up in despair, or just somehow find the fortitude to carry on? One Evening After the War is a love story by Cambodia’s greatest film director, Rithy Panh. Shot in visually beautiful neo-realist style, it offers rare insights into Cambodian culture. It is invaluable for scholars of the complex period of history to which it pertains. And without ramming it down our throats, it is a commentary on the political plights of Cambodia and one of its biggest problems – young women forced into prostitution. One Evening After the War was screened in the Certain Regard section at the 1998 Cannes Film Festival. -Edited from a review by Chris Docker (eyeforfilm)

IMDB Website | All Movie Review | Wikipedia Website | Download Poster

American Studies Graduate Student Association Graduate Student Conference
Saturday, 3 April 2010 – Rescheduled due to Tsunami
9:00 AM – 3:00 PM – Campus Center, University of Hawai’i at Mānoa

Inspired by the Mary Kawena Pukui quote, “The top of the cliff isn’t the place to look at us; come down here and learn of the big and little current, face to face,” the ASGSA conference focuses on issues of indigeneity, colonialism, and settler communities around the globe. Check out this free event, with Southeast Asian presentations in these sessions:

War and National Identity
11:15am – 12:15pm – Campus Center 308
Moderator: Yusuke Ikeda
Alvin Lim, Political Science. “Khmerness qua Event.”
Kevin Lim, American Studies. “Debunking The Myth of Canadian Multiculturalism: A Case Study of Select Japanese Canadian Internment Films.”
Linda Michaud-Emin, Political Science. “Identifying Complexities within an Ethnic or Sectarian Post-Colonialist Framework: Turkish Occupation of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC).”

Philippines: Colonized & Settler Colonizer
2:00 – 3:00 PM – Campus Center 307
Moderator: Miguel Llora
Eriza Bareng, American Studies. “The Direction of Modern Philippine Historiography and a Short Case Study.”
Kim Compoc, English. “Filipinos and Statehood: Reflections on American Assimilation and Settler Complicity.”
Melanie Medalle, Political Science and Women’s Studies. “1898 Unfortunates’: Reimagining Sex, Race, and Aesthetico-Sensory Space in the Treaty of Paris and Resistance to US Conquest of the Philippines.”
Theresa Navarro, American Studies. “Exhibiting Nation, Citizenship and Gender in the Philippines: The Pinay as Politico-Historical Prop at the Ayala Museum Diorama Experience.”

more info
| contact ASGSA

This month, NPR Senior Asia Correspondent Mike Sullivan introduces a five-part series focusing on the Mekong River. Beginning part at the river’s source in the central highlands of China, “Sullivan journeys the length of the river and tells the story of the people who live along its banks.” This part-travelogue/part-ethnography is also available via podcast and includes interactive maps, stunning visuals, and Sullivan’s award-winning reporting. Read on for summaries of parts 2 – 4 that chronicle Sullivan’s experience through Southeast Asia; part 5 coming soon!

Part 2: Sullivan reports from east-central Myanmar’s Shan state, which borders the Mekong. It’s a remote area that, like the river itself, has an often troubling past, in a country where reporters aren’t welcome. podcast | full article

Part 3: Sullivan travels to Thailand and Laos, which are on opposite sides of the river known in their local languages as Mae Nam Khong. The two countries found themselves in different camps after the communist takeover of Laos in 1975. Now, they face different challenges. | podcast | full article

Part 4: Sullivan reports from Cambodia, where the river has been central to the lives and livelihoods of many in a country that has seen its share of conflict | podcast – coming soon | full article