NEWS-BLOG RETIRED!

This news-blog is now retired.
The revamped AASRN website (aasrn.wordpress.com) now has its own "News" functionality and all Asian Australian Studies news + announcements will be updated there.

This news-blog remains as an archival resource, but will no longer be updated.

NEW BOOK - The Dragon and the Taniwha: Maori and Chinese in New Zealand (Manying Ip)

The Dragon and the Taniwha: Maori and Chinese in New Zealand

Ed. Manying Ip

Auckland University Press

ISBN: 9781869404369

Analyzing for the first time the relationship between the tangata whenua and the country’s earliest non-European immigrant group, this study investigates how two different marginalized groups in New Zealand society—the Maori and the Chinese—have interacted over the last 150 years. Various aspects are explored, such as how Maori newspapers have portrayed Chinese publications and vice versa, the changing demography of Chinese and Maori populations, Maori-Chinese marriages, and the ancient migration of both groups. The ethnically diverse contributors—from Maori to Chinese to European scholars—tackle numerous questions from many angles as well, such as Do the Maori resent Chinese immigrants? Do Chinese New Zealanders understand the role of the tangata whenua? and Have Maori and Chinese formed alliances based on common values and history? The result is an engaging portrait of the past and present relationships between two important peoples. Since race relations in New Zealand have usually been examined in terms of Maori and Pakeha, this unique exploration of Maori–Chinese relations portrays a much richer and more complex social fabric.

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About the Editor:

Manying Ip came to New Zealand in 1974 from Hong Kong where her family lived for five generations. Her interest in Maori-Chinese interactions started from the mid 1980s when she conducted extensive qualitative interviews among the pioneering Chinese families, which grew ever stronger with the immigration and ethnic identity debates of the recent decade.

She is Associate Professor in Asian Studies at The University of Auckland and the author of several critically acclaimed books on Chinese in New Zealand. These include: Aliens At My Table: Asians as New Zealanders See Them (2005), Unfolding Identity, Evolving Identity: The Chinese in New Zealand (2003) as well as numerous journal articles and book chapters on issues pertaining to recent Asian immigrants. She is a respected advocate for Chinese communities living in New Zealand.

FESTIVAL - Indonesian Festa (15 March 2009; Immigration Museum, Melbourne)

Indonesian Festa
Sunday 15 Mar 2009
Immigration Museum, Flinders St, Melbourne

A festival celebrating the diversity of Victoria’s Indonesian community. Join in this one-day festival celebrating the diversity of Victoria’s Indonesian community, through performances, activities and food. From north to south and east to west – or, as the Indonesians say, “from Sabang to Merauke” – each of the more than 13,500 islands of the Indonesian archipelago has its own character and traditions.

Experience the breadth of Indonesian local cultures and customs, and see how the community continues to practise these in Melbourne and Victoria – the sounds of the gamelan orchestra, the taste of Indonesian food, shadow puppetry, as well as dances and crafts from various parts of the country.

You can learn some moves in a dance workshop, or have a go at pencak silat (a form of martial arts).

Sunday 15 Mar 2009
11:00 AM - 4:00 PM
Immigration Museum

** Free with Museum admission **

NEW POETRY COLLECTION - _Eighth Habitation_ by Adam Aitken (Giramondo Press)

ADAM AITKEN's new collection of poems, Eighth Habitation, is published this week by Giramondo Press.

The launch will be held at Gleebooks, 49 Glebe Point Rd, Glebe, on Sunday, 5 April 2009, 3.30 for 4pm. Marcelle Freiman will be launching the new publication.

The following is taken from the Giramondo site:

"Eighth Habitation takes its name from the Buddhist notion of purgatory, a mystic realm where the meaning of human lives are judged. The poems inhabit a range of landscapes and perspectives, in Indonesia, Cambodia, Thailand and China, with an empathy and understanding that suggests a consciousness imbued with an Asian sensibility. Blending the cosmopolitan, the traditional and the unexpected, in their accumulation of detail they register the dignity and resilience of a world recovering from personal tragedy and the trauma of history.

‘a lucid and finally lyrical voice… wholly original on the Australian scene’ - michael brennan

Adam Aitken grew up in London, Thailand and Malaysia, before coming to Australia in 1968. His collection Romeo and Juliet in Subtitles, was shortlisted for the South Australian Festival Award for poetry and the Age Book of the Year Award. Eighth Habitation is his fourth collection."

Poetry, Paperback, 160 pp, $24.95
9781920882464
Publication: March 2009

CFP - "2009 Australian Chinese Political Participation conference" (Deakin U, Melbourne; deadline: 29 March 2009)

Deakin University will be holding the 2009 Australian Chinese Political Participation Conference on 15-16 August 2009.

Venue: Burwood Campus, Deakin University

You can download an invitation and conference information sheet (both in English and Chinese) HERE [PDF; 220Kb].

It would be much appreciated if you could distribute this flyer to your colleagues or friends who might be interested in getting involved.

We hope to bring together people from various areas (including politicians, community leaders, and scholars ) to present and exchange their opinions on the relevant topics.

Their opinions, achievements and experiences are valued and important not only to academic study but also to political practice, especially the future practice of Chinese political practice.

Deadline for abstracts is 29 March 2009. Final versions of conference papers should be submitted by 26 July 2009. Please be advised that all preferred topics and brief abstracts of presentation can be emailed to me at shupin @ deakin.edu.au

We look forward to your participation in this great event of 2009 which may be one of the milestones in the history of Chinese political participation.

NEW NETWORK - Launch of the Indian Ocean and South Asia Research network at UTS

The UTS Indian Ocean and South Asia Research Network will be launched by Sujatha Singh, High Commissioner of India, as part of the "Intercolonial Networks; Oceanic Circulations: Rethinking the Indian Ocean" conference on Wednesday, 11th March, 5 pm. See conference documents below.

RSVP is required: cornelia.betzler@uts.edu.au

Directions to UTS Blackfriars: http://www.uts.edu.au/about/mapsdirections/citymap.html

Other events associated to the conference:

Monday, 9th March
Film Screening: NAATA (The Bond)
Anjali Monteiro & K.P. Jayasankar, Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai, India, 45 min5 pm, TfC Bagel (Bldg. 3, Level 4, Room 4.02)

Tuesday, 10th March
TfC Lunchtime Talk: "Protean Constructions of Self and Nation: the Sea as Archive and Trope in Post-Apartheid South African Literature and Culture", Meg Samuelson, Stellenbosch University, SA12.30 pm, TfC Bagel (Bldg. 3, Level 4, Room 4.02)

==> D'load conference flyer HERE (275Kb; Word doc).
==> D'load conference program HERE (274Kb; Word doc).