Understanding the ancient history of Asia is increasingly becoming a significant part of historical studies for Australian school students. Sydney University Museums Education Officer and PoP's Archaeologist Michael Leadbetter explores some of the ways Asian artefacts are being incorporated into the museum’s school educational activities. The Asian art collection in the Sydney University Museums collection provides … Continue reading Crossing the Wall: Teaching Asian archaeology with the University of Sydney’s collections
Month: August 2016
Interrogating the Dictator
PoP's textual historian Wayan Jarrah Sastrawan reads Suharto nostalgia videos against the grain, to show how Indonesia's most authoritarian regime struggled to conceal the everyday injustices that it perpetuated. Nostalgia for Suharto is an ever-present annoyance in contemporary Indonesia. The rhetorical basis of this nostalgia is a whitewashed caricature of his military-dominated regime: that it provided a stable political … Continue reading Interrogating the Dictator
Of Puppets and Polyvocality: The XIXth International Oral History Association Conference in Bengaluru, India 27 June – 1 July 2016
In early July, our oral historian CHENG Nien Yuan attended the International Oral History Association’s 2016 Conference in Bengaluru, India. What did she expect of the conference and how did it turn out? How was Southeast Asian oral history represented in the panels? Read on to find out! I didn’t really know what to expect before arriving … Continue reading Of Puppets and Polyvocality: The XIXth International Oral History Association Conference in Bengaluru, India 27 June – 1 July 2016
Finders, not keepers
In 1942, HMAS Perth and USS Houston sank in the Sunda Strait, taking with them over 1000 lives (and one cat). These wrecks have been at the mercy of the ocean - and scavengers - for over 50 years. Now, cultural institutions in Australia and Indonesia are collaborating to protect the wrecks from further damage and … Continue reading Finders, not keepers