William M. Owens, (MA, Asian Studies – Thai, 2006) has been working as a professional writer and editor based in New York City. In addition to professional writing contracts with IT and telecommunications firms, he has been studying and writing about the development of contemporary Thai art cinema as an independent scholar.

Together with Asian cinema scholar, Wimal Dissanayake, PhD, of the University of Hawaii at Manoa, William has written essays on the relationship between Southeast Asian cinema and the public sphere with specific reference to the films of Thai filmmaker Pen-ek Ratanaruang. Last summer, he traveled to Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam to present one of his essays at the 6th annual Southeast Asian Cinemas Conference. This summer, he will attend Mahidol University’s Thai Studies Conference in Bangkok in order to present a paper on the relationship between the work of Apichatpong Weerasethakul and narrative structures, time, and meaning in Thai visual media.

Recently, Pen-ek and Apichatpong have been in New York City as part of the Asia Society’s Blissfully Thai film series, and the New Museum’s showing of Apichatpong’s multi-media installation Primitive. The film series was co-presented with the Thai Artists Alliance (http://www.thaiartistsnyc.org), a group of contemporary Thai artists based in New York City. William has had the pleasure of helping the organization with various writing and editorial tasks related to the film events, as well as an upcoming exhibition which will feature the work of Thai artists in various media, including photography, film, and multi-media installations. This year’s exhibition, called Siamese Connection 2011, will be held July 28 – 31, 2011 at the Invisible Dog Art Center in Brooklyn, New York.  William may be reached at pacificlotusasia@gmail.com.

Congratulation William and good luck with your study of Thai visual art!

Photo credits:
Courtesy of Thai Artists Alliance and c. bay milin; http://www.thaiartistsnyc.org; bay@cbaymilin.com; http://cbaymilin.com

Muhamad Ali (Ph.D. History, Islam, Southeast Asian Studies 2007) is an assistant professor in the Department of Religious Studies at UC Riverside. His most recent works include the books Bridging Islam and the West: An Indonesian View (2009) and Teolgi Pluralis Multikultural (2003) and journal articles “‘They are not All Alike’: Indonesian Intellectuals’ Perceptionsof Judaism and Jews” (2010) and “Religion, Imperialism, and Resistance in the Nineteenth Century’s Netherlands Indies and Spanish Philippines” (2010). Dr. Ali is a member of the Association of Muslim Social Scientists of North America, Association of Asian Studies, American Academy of Religion and the East-West Center Alumni Association.

Congratulations to Dr. Ali and our best wishes on his future endeavors!

CSEAS is proud to promote our alumni achievements and projects. Email updates to us at cseas@hawaii.edu>>>
Join the CSEAS Alumni & Community group on LinkedIn.

Jesica McDonough (MA Asian Studies 2009 – Thai) is living in the province of Nakhon Phanom, which is on the northeastern boarder of Thailand, a stone’s throw from Laos. She describes her home as a relatively undeveloped but very safe and lovely city. She is currently the Field Director for World Teach’s program in Thailand, which has 14 volunteer teachers from America working in this province this year.

Congratulations to Jesica and our best wishes on her future endeavors!

CSEAS is proud to promote our alumni achievements and projects. Email updates to us at cseas@hawaii.edu>>>
Join the CSEAS Alumni & Community group on LinkedIn.

In the last academic year, Lance Nolde advanced to candidacy in the PhD program of the history department at UH Mānoa, published an article entitled “Great is Our Relationship with the Sea: Charting the Maritime Realm of the Sama of Southeast Sulawesi, Indonesia” in the CSEAS journal, Explorations, and was awarded a Kennedy Memorial Fellowship and a Fulbright-Hays DDRA grant to fund dissertation research in Indonesia and The Netherlands during the upcoming academic year.

Congratulations to Lance and our best wishes on his future endeavors!

CSEAS is proud to promote our alumni achievements and projects. Email updates to us at cseas@hawaii.edu>>>
Join the CSEAS Alumni & Community group on LinkedIn.

Christian Razukas (MA, Asian Studies) finished an exchange semester at the National University of Singapore and now works as an editor at the Jakarta Post. Christian and fellow journalist Teguh Santosa (MA, Political Science) welcomed Professor Emeritus Alice Dewey (Anthropology) to Jakarta for a seminar in March 2010 to discuss Anne Dunham-Soetoro’s (Ph.D., Anthropology) dissertation on micro-financing in Indonesia. Dewey spoke on a panel with Teguh, Jakarta Post columnist Julia Suryakusuma, the Minister of Marine and Fisheries Fadel Muhammad, Jakarta’s Deputy Governor Aurora Tambunan, and the Vice President of the Indonesian Senate.

Congratulations to Christian and our best wishes on his future endeavors!

CSEAS is proud to promote our alumni achievements and projects. Email updates to us at cseas@hawaii.edu>>>
Join the CSEAS Alumni & Community group on LinkedIn.

Margaret (Maggie) Bodemer completed her dissertation entitled “Museums, Ethnology and the Politics of Culture in Contemporary Vietnam” as of May 2010. This Fall, Bodemer presented as part of the 75th Anthropology Anniversary Colloquium Series on Museums, Anthropology and the Work of Culture in Contemporary Vietnam: The Politics of Memory in the Exhibit “Hanoi Life under the Subsidy Era” at the Vietnam Museum of Ethnology.

Congratulations to Maggie and our best wishes on her future endeavors!

CSEAS is proud to promote our alumni achievements and projects. Email updates to us at cseas@hawaii.edu>>>
Join the CSEAS Alumni & Community group on LinkedIn.

Are you an alumni of the Asian Studies program at the University of Hawaii?  Are you a Southeast Asia aficionado?  Are you interested in professional networking with SEA specialists?

If you answered yes to any of these questions, the CSEAS Alumni & Community Group on Linkedin is perfect for you!  By joining this group, members will receive a weekly newsletter with 10-20 open positions, fellowships, and opportunities in addition to open positions posted by our colleagues around the globe!  In addition, we have a discussion forum and newsfeed so you can stay up to date with the Center and participate in discussions with Southeast Asian specialists.

Linkedin is the largest professional social networking site with over 60 million users.  The purpose of the site is to connect with professionals and obtain references from those who personally know the member.  Linkedin is rapidly becoming a common name as the company has unique partnerships with larger institutions such as the New York Times, Business Week, and Google among others.  Linkedin also allows users to research companies where they wish to gain employment in addition to searching for open positions in their field.

The Center for Southeast Asian Studies also runs a facebook page, yet our Linkedin page remains separate with differing uses.  Overall, facebook is used to connect friends and family while Linkedin is used to connect professionals.  Therefore, the CSEAS tends to place emphasis on jobs within our Linkedin group while our facebook group is used primarily for local events pertaining to Southeast Asia.  If members are more interested in employment opportunities, Linkedin is a better source while those only interested in UH events would benefit more from our facebook page.  While members can choose which service they wish to join, we hope many utilize both as we continue to grow our online presence.