October 2007 events

October 4, 2007
Politics and Planning: Bangkok and Manila
Allen Hicken, Department of Political Science, U-M
Gavin Shatkin, School of Urban Planning, U-M
In conjunction with SEAS 501, our graduate student introduction to Southeast Asian Studies, this public lecture series on the "state of the field" in Southeast Asian Studies features talks by members of the U-M faculty and distinguished visitors.
7:00-8:30pm, 2609 SSWB
Series: Introducing Southeast Asia

October 11, 2007
Researching the Religious: Roman Catholicism and Theravada Buddhism
Deirdre de la Cruz, Michigan Society of Fellows
Erik Davis, University of Chicago
In conjunction with SEAS 501, our graduate student introduction to Southeast Asian Studies, this public lecture series on the "state of the field" in Southeast Asian Studies features talks by members of the U-M faculty and distinguished visitors.
7:00-8:30pm, 2609 SSWB
Series: Introducing Southeast Asia

October 12, 2007
Foodgetting, Ritual, and Values in Cambodia
Erik Davis, University of Chicago
TBD
12:00pm, 1636 SSWB
Series: Fridays-at-Noon

October 18, 2007
Traditional Modernity and Modern Traditions: A Panel Discussion on Identity and Culture in Asian Performing Arts
A panel of performing artists and scholars will explore the "identity" and "culture" of contemporary Asian performing arts in China and Southeast Asia. What is "Asian" about emerging performing arts in these areas? How do performing artists balance the "traditional" and the "modern", the old and the new, "Eastern" and "Western" themes and forms, etc. and still be "Asian"? How do the performing arts relate to local social concerns, and how do professional performing artists deal with the ethical challenges of their role as "cultural brokers" in each society? How does the tension play out between commercial viability and cultural representation? The discussion, which will include video clips of recent performances, will be convened by Linda Lim, Professor and Director of the Center for Southeast Asian Studies, and moderated by Joseph Lam, Professor of Musicology and Director, Stearns Collection of Musical Instruments.


Panelists include: Haiping Yan (China), Pornrat Damrhung (Thailand), Sophiline Cheam Shapiro (Cambodia), Judy Mitoma (Indonesia), Emiko Susilo and I Dewa Putu Berata (Indonesia), Anis Mohd Nor (Malaysia/Southeast Asia).
4:00-6:00pm, 1636 SSWB
Cosponsors: University Musical Society, Center for Chinese Studies, Center for World Performance Studies, Institute for the Humanities, Stearns Collection of Musical Instruments
Series: ?

October 19, 2007
Islamic Perspectives in Southeast Asian Performing Arts
Anis Mohd Nor, University of Malaya
TBD
12:00pm, 1636 SSWB
Cosponsors: Islamic Studies Initiative
Series: Fridays-at-Noon

October 19, 2007
Western Animosity toward the Muslim: The Historical Background
Tomaz Mastnak, Slovene Academy of Sciences and Arts, Ljubljana
Prophetic Representations: The Rushdie Affair and the Danish Cartoons
Marcia Hermansen, Loyola University, Chicago
U-M's newly formed Islamic Studies Initiative hosts a two-day conference: "Islamophobia/Islamophilia: Beyond the Politics of Enemy and Friend." The conference will address questions of: When people fear Islam, what do they fear? When they admire it, what attracts them? Given the scant knowledge of Islam most Americans and Europeans use to construct popular images of Muslims, can we be sure these images, or the anxieties and affections that shape them, are ultimately about Islam at all? This is the conference's opening session.
2:00-5:00pm, Hussey Room, Michigan League
Cosponsors: Islamic Studies Initiative of the International Institute, with thanks to the following co-sponsors: The Center for Middle Eastern and North African Studies, the Center for Russian and East European Studies, the Center for European Studies, the European U

October 19, 2007
Odalan Bali
Cudamani
The Balinese music and dance ensemble Cudamani makes its UMS debut with Odalan Bali, providing a unique window into the spiritual and cultural source of Balinese performing arts. Inspired by Bali's timeless cycles of ceremony and ritual, Cudamani's work transports the audience from the everyday world with its virtuosic detail, emotion, and energy. An exquisite synthesis of music, drama, and movement, Odalan Bali captures the exhilarating splendor of the Balinese temple festival, bringing to life vivid tales of gods and heroes of Balinese mythology and history. From the clamor of villagers working at dawn to the calm of prayer and worship, and from the meditative resonance of voice and flute to the breathtaking dances for which Bali is famous, this original work traces the life of a ceremony, from the awakening of the ritual site to purification, and, finally, to spiritual union. For tickets, call 734.764.2538 or visit www.ums.org.
8:00-10:00pm, Hill Auditorium
Series: ?

October 20, 2007
The God that Failed: the Neo-Orientalism of Today's Muslim Commentators
Moustafa Bayoumi, Brooklyn College, City University of New York
The Madrasa and Its Internal Critics
Muhammad Qasim Zaman, Princeton University
Muslim and Modern: Hizbullah Women's Engagements with Transnational Gender Discourses
Lara Deeb, University of California, Irvine
U-M's newly formed Islamic Studies Initiative hosts a two-day conference: "Islamophobia/Islamophilia: Beyond the Politics of Enemy and Friend." The conference will address questions of: When people fear Islam, what do they fear? When they admire it, what attracts them? Given the scant knowledge of Islam most Americans and Europeans use to construct popular images of Muslims, can we be sure these images, or the anxieties and affections that shape them, are ultimately about Islam at all? This is the conference's second session.
9:00am-12:00pm, Hussey Room, Michigan League
Cosponsors: Islamic Studies Initiative of the International Institute, with thanks to the following co-sponsors: The Center for Middle Eastern and North African Studies, the Center for Russian and East European Studies, the Center for European Studies, the European U

October 20, 2007
European Tolerance, Muslim Intolerance, and the Cultural Politics of "Europe"
Mayanthi Fernando, Washington University, St. Louis
Muslims as Majorities, Muslims as Minorities: Consequences of a New Racialization of Arabness
Engseng Ho, Harvard University
Ethnically German and Muslim: Religious Conversion and the Formation of Indigenous Islamic Communities in Europe
Esra Ozyurek , University of California, San Diego
U-M's newly formed Islamic Studies Initiative hosts a two-day conference: "Islamophobia/Islamophilia: Beyond the Politics of Enemy and Friend." The conference will address questions of: When people fear Islam, what do they fear? When they admire it, what attracts them? Given the scant knowledge of Islam most Americans and Europeans use to construct popular images of Muslims, can we be sure these images, or the anxieties and affections that shape them, are ultimately about Islam at all? This is the conference's second session.
1:00-5:00pm, Hussey Room, Michigan League
Cosponsors: Islamic Studies Initiative of the International Institute, with thanks to the following co-sponsors: The Center for Middle Eastern and North African Studies, the Center for Russian and East European Studies, the Center for European Studies, the European U

October 20, 2007
Pamina Devi: A Cambodian Magic Flute
Khmer Arts Ensemble
The brilliant classicism of imperial Vienna meets the mythic-poetic splendor of ancient Angkor in Pamina Devi: A Cambodian Magic Flute, a contemporary re-imagining of Mozart's fantastical opera by Cambodian-American choreographer Sophiline Cheam Shapiro. Performed in the refined and elaborate movement language of the thousand-year-old Cambodian classical dance tradition and set to traditional musical motifs played out by a pin peat instrumental ensemble, 32 dancers, musicians, and singers take the stage to explore the themes of enlightened change and transformation that frame Mozart's masterpiece. Cultures meld as we follow Pamina's arduous journey to transcend the rivalries and betrayals from which she is born and seek out a middle path of justice, tolerance, and love. For tickets, call 734.764.2538 or visit www.ums.org.
8:00pm, Power Center

October 25, 2007
Title Forthcoming: Modern Southeast Asian History
Rudolf Mrazek, Department of History, U-M
In conjunction with SEAS 501, our graduate student introduction to Southeast Asian Studies, this public lecture series on the "state of the field" in Southeast Asian Studies features talks by members of the U-M faculty and distinguished visitors.
7:00-8:30pm, 2609 SSWB
Series: Introducing Southeast Asia

October 26, 2007
Title Forthcoming
Fridus Steijlen, Royal Netherlands Institute of Southeast Asian and Caribbean Studies (KITLV)
Fridus Steijlen's areas of research have been broad, ranging from ethnic minorities, especially of Moluccan and Caribbean backgrounds in the Netherlands, to the contemporary history of Indonesia. In his research Steijlen has combined different disciplines: criminology in research on delinquent Caribbean youngsters, political sciences in research on nationalism, and oral history in a project on the end of Dutch colonialism. At the moment Steijlen is a senior researcher in a government-sponsored research project on the history of Moluccans in the Netherlands, co-ordinated by the Moluccan Historical Museum in Utrecht. At the KITLV he works on modern Indonesia and is responsible for the new audiovisual project 'Recording the future'.
12:00-1:30pm, 1636 SSWB
Series: Fridays-at-Noon

The center is committed to promoting a broader and deeper understanding of Southeast Asia and its peoples, cultures, and historiesby providing resources for faculty, students and the community to learn and disseminate knowledge about the region.

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