National Conference on Preservation and Promotion of Heritage
Organised by the School of Social Sciences of Universiti Sains Malaysia and the Department of Heritage Malaysia
Date: 24-26 November 2010
Venue: Parkroyal Hotel, Penang, Malaysia

A heritage is something that is inherited from previous generations and maintained by the present generation for the benefits of future generations. It is a national treasure that was once owned by individuals or communities and is now the responsibility of all to protect and conserve. Our heritage is also the knowledge and expertise we inherited by ways of life and of beliefs transformed in a form of cultural objects. According to the Akta Warisan Kebangsaan 2005 (Heritage Act 2005), heritage is classified as tapak warisan (heritage sites), objek warisan (heritage objects), warisan kebudayaan bawah air (underwater cultural heritage) and warisan orang hidup (living person heritage).

The concern on the preservation heritage is still a new subject in Malaysia and is getting more attention from various parties. Our heritage is our national tradition and needs to be conserve to ensure continuity of the tradition. However, efforts to preserve the heritage often face many problems and challenges particularly with respect to development, when it involves the heritage site, the high costs and the low awareness among the public. Some other issues include aspects of legislation, political interferences and preservation efforts itself. The recognition given by UNESCO to George Town and Malacca has put Malaysia on the world map of heritage and tourism. Inevitably, this has raised the “Semangat Cintakan Warisan Negara” (or the Love for National Heritage) and has increased awareness and participation in the efforts to preserve our national heritage.

Heritage preservation requires the commitment, involvement and assertive efforts of all particularly the younger generation. Therefore, the National Conference on the ‘Preservation and Promotion of Heritage’ is a good platform for academicians, heritage activists and various agencies to discuss matters related to heritage preservations and promotions. This conference hopes to discuss new paradigms from theoretical, empirical and practical perspectives. Focus of the conference will not be limited to local heritage but preservation and promotion experiences of other countries are also welcomed.

International Conference on Inter-Asian Connections II: Singapore
Singapore: December 8-10, 2010

Workshop Title: Inter-Asian temple and trust networks within and out of Southeast Asia
Workshop Director: Kenneth Dean East Asian Studies, McGill University
Deadline: 31 May 2010

Although considerable empirical research has been done on Southeast Asian trading networks, so far less attention has focused on the role of Chinese and Indian temples and Islamic institutions in fostering, facilitating, and shaping the flow of people, capital, and cultural resources within these trust networks. With some notable exceptions, so far there has been little examination of the historical role of these temples and community networks in the spread of the Chinese, Indian, and Islamic communities into Southeast Asia. Nor has their current role in reviving connections between Overseas Chinese, Indian, and Islamic communities, and their ancestral temples, communities, and holy sites in China, India, and the Middle East been explored.

The study of these intricate, overlapping networks is one way to prevent local history from falling into the trap of endless recuperation by national history. In that model, local history can be nothing more than an endless series of minor variations on a theme, with the underlying issue being the process of cultural unification of the locale with the state. A focus on trans-national, and even global networks, works against the prevalent model of hierarchical encompassment and state control of local society by introducing multiple planes of reference, alternative and transversal sources of cultural invention and investment, and the possibility of local cultural self-definition drawing creatively from multiple sources.

Study of the historical development and recent renewal of these networks –whether through ritual or other socio-cultural processes–should reveal essential aspects of the process of globalization and its impact on specific locales. This workshop will raise important questions about the ability of local cultures to negotiate the forces of capitalism, ethnic identity and cultural nationalism sweeping through Asia today. For instance, ritual practices among Chinese networks show extraordinary versatility and flexibility in creatively engaging with these forces without losing relevance to their participants. This in turn raises broader questions about the impact of modernity on contemporary Asia and the value of theories of alternative modernity for the study of these developments.

This workshop will examine and compare a number of specific temple networks or parallel trust networks that operate within and out of Southeast Asia. Papers will trace the spread of specific cults of regional deities and particular ritual practices (local Daoist traditions, collective spirit medium training and group trance dance) out of China, across Southeast Asia into Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, and into a wider inter-Asian region, where they often evolved new ritual forms. We will also explore the return flow of ritual knowledge and economic support within these networks during the massive revival of popular religion in Southeast China over the past 30 years. Papers will be presented on Islamic trust networks and networks of Indian temples and their links to trade and other cultural networks. The workshop can also showcase new technologies for the mapping and analysis of religious networks (GIS and spatial network analysis). Case studies of specific sites (Malacca, Penang, Singapore, Semarang, Kuching, etc.) will examine the complex interactions between different temple communities, and their interactions with other ethnic and religious communities.
For additional details and application guidelines, please visit the Conference website:

http://www.ssrc.org/pages/conference-on-inter-asian-connections-ii-singapore-december-8-10-2010/.

photo credit: hathu-

Seminar To Mark Cheng Ho’s Voyage To Melaka
Bernama, 11 May 2010

he Melaka government is to mark the 605th anniversary of Cheng Ho’s voyage from China to Melaka by organising a seminar on the admiral in July.

Melaka Museums Corporation Board of Directors chairman Datuk Wira Hamdin Abdollah said Tuesday the seminar, the first of its kind, would discuss differing views on the admiral, and would see the presentation of working papers.

The four-day seminar beginning July 5, entitled “Cheng Ho and Asia-Africa”, is organised jointly by the Melaka Museums Corporation, the Malaysian Museums Department, the Malaysian Museums Department, the International Zheng He Society and the Cheng Ho Cultural Museum.

5th Singapore Graduate Forum on Southeast Asia Studies
Date: 5 – 9 Jul 2010
Venue: Faculty of Law, National University of Singapore @ BTC
Deadline for submission: 09 April
Details here

The Asia Research Institute (ARI) of the National University of Singapore (NUS) invites applications from postgraduate students who are engaged in research on Southeast Asia to attend the 5th Singapore Graduate Forum on Southeast Asian Studies on 7-9 July 2010.

This 3-day forum will be part of ARI’s 5-day Graduate Development Institute and Forum, which in addition to the forum will include two full days of sessions aimed to develop graduate student understandings of academia and relevant skills, through roundtable discussions with faculty, focused practical seminars and breakout group discussions.

This event coincides with the Asia Research Institute’s Asian Graduate Student Fellowship Programme 2010, which brings some 33 graduate students to ARI for a two and a half month period. These students will also participate in the Graduate Forum.

Postgraduate students working on Southeast Asia are invited to submit abstracts based either on work in progress that is at an advanced stage (i.e. already completed data collection and analysis), or on completed work. NUS students are encouraged to take advantage of this unprecedented opportunity to interact and exchange ideas with students from ASEAN as well as those from other regions whose interests focus on Southeast Asia.

This three-day forum, the fifth of an annual series of forums for graduate students who work on Southeast Asia, will be organised thematically. Themes broadly reflect (but are not limited to) the core research strengths of the Asia Research Institute, including the Asian dynamics of religion, politics, economy, gender, culture, language, migration, urbanism, science and technology, population and social change.

This 3-day conference will examine these two Indian Ocean port zones in
various respects – the specific natures and the roles of these zones as well
as comparisons between these; mutual perceptions between the peoples of the
two zones; the links between these regions in terms of commercial
interactions over time and the effects of such commerce; cultural and
religious interflows between these two ends of the Indian Ocean;
transmission of the ideas of modernity, urbanism, and cosmopolitanism
between these two areas; the effects of European imperialism and commerce;
the commercial and religious networks connecting the two places; migration
between the two places; pilgrims and tourists; as well as the role of India
and Indians in these interactions. There is no restriction on the periods to
be examined.

Paper proposals are invited from scholars engaged in any aspect of related
studies. Proposals should be received by 20 March 2010 and successful
applicants will be informed of their acceptance by 1 April 2010. Paper
proposals should include a title and a 400-word abstract, together with a
short biography of the applicant.

All participants will be provided with four nights accommodation in
Singapore. Requests for assistance with airfares, especially from
participants based in Asian countries, will be sympathetically considered.

More information on the Nalanda-Sriwijaya Centre website.

photo credit: Adam Jones, Ph.D.

Summit may see return of artefacts
Phnom Penh Post, 08 January 2010

CAMBODIA will likely take part in a conference in Egypt later this year demanding the return of stolen antiquities that are on display in museums worldwide.

The Kingdom would be one of 30 countries worldwide invited to the conference, which is scheduled to be hosted by Egypt in April.
Cambodian officials applauded the initiative.

“This will be a gathering to send a message to the world, as well as individuals, to return antiquities to their origin countries,” said Hab Touch, director of the National Museum in Phnom Penh.

Besides Cambodia, other countries participating in the Cairo gathering include Greece, Mexico, Peru, Afghanistan, Iraq and China, officials with Egypt’s Supreme Council of Antiquities announced.

Egypt, under the leadership of the Supreme Council of Antiquities head Zahi Hawass, has been in the news recently for seeking the repatriation of much of Egypt’s archaeological treasures such as the Rosetta Stone, and the concept of repatriation of artefacts is still a hotly-debated issue. The full story about Cambodia’s intention to repatriate artefacts may be found here.

Indo-Pacific pre-historians meet in Hanoi
Nhan Dan, 30 November 2009

The 19th congress of the Indo-Pacific Prehistory Association (IPPA) opened in Hanoi on November 29, attracting more than 400 scientists from 35 countries.

At the week-long conference, the first hosted by Vietnam, Vietnamese scientists will make presentations on Sa Huynh culture and Thang Long ancient citadel.

A large number of reports will be presented at the congress, which is held every four years by the 80-year-old organistion.

Please be advised that the third Southeast Asian Archaeology Workshop will be held on Thursday 10th June 2010 at the Institute of Archaeology in Oxford (http://www.arch.ox.ac.uk/institute.html). As per previous workshops held at University College London in 2006 and 2008, the event is intended to promote ongoing research and foster grass roots interest in the archaeology of both Mainland and Island Southeast Asia – including the countries: Brunei, Burma, Cambodia, China (some southern provinces), East Timor, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, and Vietnam. Although the workshops have primarily been aimed at scholars from UK institutions, attendees from further afield have been and will be very welcome indeed.

Student projects have always featured strongly but for this third event we wish to reach out specifically to junior scholars at any level, who may find attending either the Indo-Pacific Prehistory Association (http://arts.anu.edu.au/arcworld/ippa/ippa.htm) or the European Association of Southeast Asian Archaeologists (http://euraseaa.userpage.fu-berlin.de/index.htm) meetings financially out of their reach or a little daunting. Therefore, we will welcome titles and provisional abstracts for 15 minute papers on all topics, periods, and approaches to regional archaeology. If you are also going to one of the formal conferences you may use the workshop to test your findings in a relaxed setting against a discerning but supportive audience. If there is interest we could certainly run a poster session too. The title submission deadline is 31st December 2009 and abstracts by 31st March 2010. The lecture theatre is limited by health and safety regulations to 40 persons, so an indication of attendance would be useful even if you don’t wish to present – we have typically had 25-30 persons in past years.

The workshop will have an 11:00 start to allow people to catch the first off-peak train from London Paddington (currently the 09:21). Tickets can be bought online (www.firstgreatwestern.co.uk) and, booked as advance singles, are both cheaper and faster than taking the bus. There will be no charge for attending the workshop. We will endeavour to provide refreshments as normal during the day and we have traditionally gone out for dinner afterwards (at personal expense). If people need accommodation you can try the local tourism site (www.visitoxford.org/) or if you fancy the Oxford college experience (www.oxfordrooms.co.uk). I have applied for limited funding for the Workshop and, if successful, we may be able to provide some support for peoples’ travel costs, but please note that preferential assistance will be given to students of any nationality at UK academic institutions.

There will be more information to follow but in the mean time please note the date in your diary and disseminate this email to those who haven’t signed up for SEAANTHARCHHST yet (https://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/seaantharchhist). The London-based workshops have been both rewarding and enjoyable and we are confident the trend will continue at Oxford!

Yours faithfully,
Oli Pryce

Before Siam was Born: New Research on Dvaravati
Date: 03 September 2009
Time: 09:00 am – 04:00 pm
National Museum Bangkok
Information and reservation: Nicolas Revire nicolas@tu.ac.th

What do we really know about Dvaravati? It is often referred to as a kingdom, a time period, a material culture, a geographical entity or an art style in ancient Thailand. But what is the archaeological evidence for such claims? Who were the inhabitants in central Thailand ca. 7th-8th centuries A.D. and what language(s) did they speak or use? What was their relationship with neighboring cultures? Did they share common cultural and religious practices? What about the art produced?

Today, in conjunction with the “Dvaravati exhibition” held at the National Museum Bangkok (August 14- October 2009), The National Museum Volunteers is pleased to present the first international symposium on Dvaravati studies in Bangkok. With the participation of local and international experts from different backgrounds and institutions, it is hoped that the audience will get a better definition and understanding of Dvaravati and the early history of Thailand in its broader context.