8 th Euroseas conference Vienna, 11–14 August 2015

book of abstracts
8
th
 EuroSEAS Conference
Vienna, 11–14 August 2015
http://www.euroseas2015.org

contents
keynotes
3
round tables
4
film programme
5
panels
I. Southeast Asian Studies Past and Present
9
II. Early And (Post)Colonial Histories
11
III. (Trans)Regional Politics
27
IV. Democratization, Local Politics and Ethnicity
38
V. Mobilities, Migration and Translocal Networking
51
VI. (New) Media and Modernities
65
VII. Gender, Youth and the Body
76
VIII. Societal Challenges, Inequality and Conflicts
87
IX. Urban, Rural and Border Dynamics
102
X. Religions in Focus
123
XI. Art, Literature and Music
138
XII. Cultural Heritage and Museum Representations
149
XIII. Natural Resources, the Environment and Costumary Governance
167
XIV. Mixed Panels
189

euroseas 2015 . book of abstracts
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keynotes
Alarms of an Old Alarmist      
Benedict Anderson
Have students of SE Asia become too timid? For example, do young researchers avoid studying the power of the 
Catholic Hierarchy in the Philippines, the military in Indonesia, and in Bangkok monarchy? Do sociologists and 
anthropologists fail to write studies of the rising ‘middle classes’ out of boredom or disgust? Who is eager to research 
the very dangerous drug mafias all over the place? How many track the spread of Western European, Russian, and 
American arms of all types into SE Asia and the consequences thereof?  
On the other side, is timidity a part of the decay of European and American universities? Bureaucratic intervention to 
bind students to work on what their state think is central (Terrorism/Islam)? Commercialism in the form of Business-
men taking over university leadership? Senior professors force students to stay inside the walls of the Disciplines, and 
learn the unreadable (to citizens) argot of each? And what about the rising hegemony of ‘English’ around the world? 
Isn’t the consequence that the SE Asian scholars are pushed to write in this ugly prose not their own language, while 
at least in lazy UK and America competence in SEA languages gets worse?
The Spirit of Indonesia: Rasa, Reason, Religion
Ayu Utami
History has shown that for centuries people of the now Indonesia’s archipelago lived in harmony despite their het-
erogeneity. An “ethic of harmony” has been described by many scholars. Temples and old scripts prove syncretism 
between Hinduism, Buddhism and other beliefs. Their classical literatures and traditional daily life show a somehow 
contradicting mixture of monotheism and local spirituality. The Republik Indonesia’s state foundation and emblem 
confirm its spirit of unity in diversity.
However, after the Reformasi we have seen an increasing trend of religious intolerance and violence in the name of 
God, parallel with global terrorism. The ethic of harmony is being contested by the modernist need for clarity, and 
ancient syncretism is being challenged by “modern dogmas”. Religion is no longer a traditional phenomena. The dog-
matic strain of it survives very well in the digital era. 
In my opinion, Indonesia can no longer keep its harmony through syncretism and the ethic of harmony. Modern edu-
cation have taught Indonesia’s new generation to demand “a sense of clarity”. Both old mechanism could not satisfy 
it due to their inherent lack of logical consistency.  On the other hand, unfortunatelly, this desire for clarity can be 
fulfilled in a superficial level by dogmas and short texts of the now prevailing social and mass media. 
Indonesia still has spiritual assets to resist dogmatic views. It has proved a relatively smooth transition to democracy, 
especially if compared to the Arab Spring. The danger keeps lurking. As the ancient ethic of harmony is failing, the 
future resistance against dogmatism is not secularism per se, but critical thinking that opens itself to the yet unknown. 
I’d like to call it “critical spirituality”.  I will narrate my opinion using also ghost stories, myths, personal history, lan-
guage cases and social or mass media content.

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round tables
Nikkei Round Table I: Towards Greater Regionalism in Southeast Asia
Chair: Takehiko Koyanagi (Nikkei Asian Review)
discussants: Maria Strasakova (Metropolitan University Prague), Sebastian Bobowski (Wroclaw University of Eco-
nomics), Jeremy Grant (Financial Times), further discussants TBA
Nikkei Round Table II: Myanmar’s Election Year: Challenges and Trajectories
Chair: Gwen Robinson (Chulalongkorn University)
discussants: Ardeth Thawnghmung (UMass Lowell), Kyaw Yin Hlaing (Center for Diversity and National Harmony), 
Marcus Brand (University of Vienna), Wolfram Schaffar (University of Vienna)
Nikkei Round Table III: Political Trends in Southeast Asia
Chair: Gwen Robinson (Chulalongkorn University)
discussants: Duncan McCargo (University of Leeds), Nathan Quimpo (University of Tsukuba), Ardeth Thawngh-
mung (UMass Lowell), Tuong Vu (University of Oregon), Gerry van Klinken (KITLV)
Round Table: Southeast Asian Studies Is an Area-Oriented Endeavor or It Is Nothing  
Chair: Christoph Antweiler (University of Bonn)
Participants: Henk Schulte Nordholt (KITLV), Rommel Curaming (Universiti Brunei Darussalam), Dayana Parvanova 
(Austrian Academy of Sciences), Vincent Houben (Humboldt University Berlin), Helmut Lukas (Austrian Academy 
of Sciences)

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euroseas film programme . southeast asia on screen
12. – 14.08.2015 | 14:00 | Auditorium Maximum
Accompanying the EuroSEAS conference a daily film program of documentaries from and about Southeast Asia will 
take place in the Auditorium Maximum of the University of Vienna. The screenings focus on Indonesia (Wednesday), 
Thailand (Thursday), and Myanmar/Burma (Friday). The program will also provide a forum for the presentation 
of recent initiatives from and in these countries, like the “Yangon Film School” (Myanmar) and the “International 
People’s Tribunal 1965” (Indonesia).
The EuroSEAS Film Programme is curated by Ascan Breuer (documentary film-maker and lecturer in film studies) 
and Rainer Einzenberger (University of Vienna).
Wednesday, 12.08.2015
INDONESIA on Screen
Last summer Indonesia elected its first president who is not a part of the military nomenclature of the overthrown 
regime. This is but one of many steps in the slow transition process to overcome the heritage of the dictatorship (1966-
1998). To discuss the societal changes on multiple levels, the films of “Trilogi Jawa” (Javanese Trilogy) by Vienna-
based filmmaker Ascan Breuer will be presented and discussed: Over several years “Jakarta Disorder” (Trilogi Jawa 
II, 2013) observes the development of a grassroots movement of slum-dwellers that try to engage in the presidential 
election process. In “Riding My Tiger” (Trilogi Jawa III, 2014) the filmmaker makes the migration history of his own 
family of Chinese-Indonesian origin, a subject of discussion: Main topic of this film is the mass murder of 1965. Fifty 
years later Indonesia still isn’t coming to terms with that dark side of its past. But the survivors don’t want to keep 
quiet, and they plan to constitute a so-called people’s tribunal in The Hague. Two representatives of the IPT1965, Sri 
Tunruang and Artien Utrecht, are invited to discuss their efforts.
— Mass Grave (2002), 26 min, by Lexy Rambadeta
>>> AUSTRIAN PREMIERE <<<
This sad and sensitive account records the unearthing of an actual mass grave in Indonesia, which contained the 
corpses of alleged political activists, namely communists, who were murdered during Suharto’s regime. The film fol-
lows the course of the victims’ relatives’ plea to exhume the remains with dignity in a forest in Wonosobo, Central Java 
in 2000, only to be faced with harsh resistance from the locals.
>>> BEST DOCUMENTARY <<< – Festival Film Video Independen Indonesia 2002
— Riding My Tiger – Trilogi Jawa III (2014), 42 min, by Ascan Breuer
>>> VIENNA PREMIERE <<<
The filmmaker searches for the spirit of a tiger said to have haunted the house of his ancestors on Java. Locating this 
spirit is no easy matter, as it must be summoned in a respectful manner. A number of stories have grown around it, 
personified as the family´s grandfather, as the ghost of an old man who resides in the garden and finishes off thieves 
and poor craftsmen. It also recalls the resistance against Dutch colonialism and the conflicts that played out during 
the Cold War. By using the old art of Javanese shadow puppetry, Wayang Kulit, Breuer creates a new genre of docu-
mentary: a “magical documentary”.
>>> BEST FILM / MOST INNOVATIVE FILM <<< (nominee) – Visions Du Réel 2014

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— Presentation of International People’s Tribunal 1965, with Sri Tunruang and Artien Utrecht (IPT1965), Alex Flor 
(Watch Indonesia!)
“As a people’s tribunal, the ‘IPT 1965’ derives its power from the voices of victims, and of national and international 
civil societies. The IPT 1965 has the format of a formal human rights court. It is not a criminal court in the sense 
that individual persons are indicted. The prosecutors will indict the state of Indonesia, based on the proofs presented 
of responsibility for the widespread and systematic crimes against humanity committed after the ‘events of 1965’ 
in Indonesia. The proof presented consists of documents, audiovisual materials, statements of witnesses and other 
recognized legale means. The power of this Tribunal is to examine the evidence, develop an accurate historical and 
scientific record and apply principles of International law to the facts as found. The judges produce a verdict based on 
the material presented and call upon the Government of Indonesia to realize that so far they have failed to take legal 
and moral responsibility for the victims. This verdict can also be used as a basis for an UN resolution on these crimes.”
Link: Source (http://www.1965tribunal.org/about)
— Jakarta Disorder – Trilogi Jawa II (2013), 89 min, by Ascan Breuer and Victor Jaschke
Present-day Jakarta: The rapidly growing housing development leads to the displacement of many traditional living 
quarters. The documentary tells the story of two courageous women in Jakarta who fight for the participation of the 
urban poor in the young democracy. Together with their friends, the two women decide to fight against this injustice 
and to engage in the currently running presidential elections.
Over several years Jakarta Disorder (2013, 88 min) observes the development of the Indonesian civil society which 
leads to the election of Joko Widodo as the country’s new president.
>>> BEST FILM 2014 <<< – Int. Doc. Film Festival on Human Rights, Bishkek, 2014
>>> BEST FILM 2015 <<< – Eine Welt Filmpreis NRW 2015 (One World Film Award North Rhine-Westphalia), 
Cologne, Germany
Thursday, 13.08.2015
THAILAND on Screen
In 2014 Thailand once again made international headlines after the military staged another coup to overthrow an 
elected government. It was the 12th successful coup in Thailand’s modern history. The coup was just the latest climax 
in a profound political conflict that divides the country and imperils the future of the well-known “tourist paradise”. 
The roots of the conflict go deep and the traces fizzle out in history. Lacking any clear explanations one of Thailand’s 
most celebrated directors Pen-ek Ratanaruang, already before 2013 set out on a journey exploring the fraught and 
complicated modern political history of his homeland in a documentary he says was made with only the Thai audi-
ence -- and his own curiosity -- in mind. “Paradoxocracy”, co-directed by Pasakorn Pramoolwong, begins with the 
1932 Siamese Revolution -- which transformed Thailand from an absolute monarchy to a constitutional one -- and 
works its way to the present day, chronicling the country’s major political revolutions, movements and countless coups 
along the way.
— Paradoxocracy (2013), 85 min, by Pasakorn Pramoolwong and Pen-Ek Ratanaruang
Using a combination of archival footage, voice-overs and interviews with 15 unnamed academics, activists and politi-
cal leaders from Thailand, “Paradoxocracy” presents a personal journey to come to an understanding of how Thailand 
arrived at its current state of political struggle. Given Thailand’s strict lese majeste laws the film is heavily self-censored 
and also suffered several significant requests for “adjustments” from the Thai censorship board before it could be 
publicly screened. The censored parts were kept in the film but the censored dialogues made silent and the English 
subtitles blackened. During a two-week screening run in Bangkok in June 2013 the Major Cineplex Group that was 
screening the film was intentionally trying to dissuade people from buying tickets fearing that too much exposure for 

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“Paradoxocracy” might result in political reprisal. “Paradoxocracy” was not shown on international festivals abroad. 
The screening in Vienna will be the premiere in Austria.
The film will be discussed and commented by academics and students. 
Friday, 14.08.2015, 2 pm
MYANMAR/BURMA on Screen
Over the last five years Myanmar/Burma witnessed rapid political and economic changes after decades of military dic-
tatorship. A new government entered the arena which was installed by the previous regime, but nevertheless opened 
the space for civil society and political dialogue. But 50 years of civil war and poverty left a difficult legacy that is hard 
to overcome. The Yangon Film School is one of the most prominent observers of Myanmar’s everyday stories as well 
as historic disasters, such as cyclone “Nargis”. Being the first film school for documentary film in Myanmar/Burma it 
plays a crucial role for a growing young generation of film makers in the country. Its numerous short documentaries 
shot over the past ten years, during the annual film workshops, provide a unique glance on a complex country that 
is still little understood. The Myanmar film program will present selected documentary films from the Yangon Film 
School produced over the past few years. The screening in Vienna will be the premiere in Austria. The director of the 
Yangon Film School Lindsey Merrison will be attending the screening for a Q&A.
Films from YFS–Yangon Film School:
— Nargis (2010), 60 min, by The Maw Naing and Pe Maung Same
In May 2008 a cyclone called Nargis raged for hours in Myanmar’s Ayeyarwaddy Delta, killing 140,000 people. Seven 
days after the storm, several young Burmese filmmakers made their way – secretly, since filming was banned by the 
government – to villages that had been utterly devastated, and met people who had lost everything to the cyclone. 
They recorded scenes that touched them to the core, moving through a world that appeared more surreal than real, 
where life and death seemed to coexist. Their images reflect their own feelings as much as those of the people they met; 
these emotions have been woven into a film that conveys what it means when a natural disaster like Nargis changes 
forever the lives of so many.
After being banned in Myanmar under the military dictatorship the film Nargis finally received its long-awaited 
Myanmar premiere during the 2nd Wathann Filmfest in Yangon in September, 2012. After outings at 18 film festivals 
all over the world with many prices won, this festival screening also marked the first time that the filmmakers’ real 
names were mentioned in the credits. Since the film had been shot illegally in the delta, it was deemed safer not to 
mention the creators’ real names at previous screenings in order to protect them. Surprising reforms undertaken by 
Myanmar’s government since the beginning of 2012 convinced the team behind Nargis that the film could at last be 
shown in Myanmar where it was made. 
— Last Kiss (2014), 22 min, by Seng Mai
Onetime film director Jaing Chying runs a women’s shelter near Kachin Independence Army Headquarters in Laiza, 
Kachin State. Every day since civil war resumed between the Myanmar military and the Kachin Independence Or-
ganisation in 2011 she has written and recited a poem, thus giving an unmistakable voice to those caught up in this 
bitter conflict.
— Tyres (2013), 31 min, by Kyaw Myo Lwin
A tyre recycling workshop in Myanmar’s former capital of Yangon is a site of multiple uses and multiple deaths, for 
this is the place where defunct tyres are transformed from their original shape and use, and are reborn into new and 
completely different lives. Filmed almost entirely in black-and-white, this observational documentary gently explores 
a community of tyre cutters and recyclers, young and old, male and female, as they create with their super-sharp 
blades, careful eyes and skilful strokes, buckets, brushes and slippers from discarded rubber tyres. 

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The film Tyres won the “Material Culture and Archaeology Film Prize” at the 14th RAI International Festival of Eth-
nographic Film, Bristol 16 – 19 June 2015
— Burmese Butterfly (2011), 12 min, by Hnin Ei Hlaing
Twenty-one-year-old hairdresser Phyo Lay looks back on a turbulent childhood and adolescence and describes how 
difficult it is to come out in Myanmar. A rare glimpse into the emergent gay community in this hitherto isolated coun-
try.
— Lady of the Lake (2014), 22 min, by Zaw Naing Oo
Governments – even decades-old military regimes – may come and go but, like many rural communities in Myanmar 
(formerly known as Burma), the lives of the villagers of Pyun Su on the banks of Moe Yun Gyi lake are pervaded by 
deeper traditions – above all the lively cult of the nat.
Winner of the 2013 Goethe-Institut Myanmar Jade Award for Documentaries: ‘A beautifully filmed, rare glimpse of 
some of Myanmar’s powerful supernatural beliefs and their meaning for the people who practice them in this stun-
ning Lakeland region not far from the country’s former capital of Yangon.’

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panels
I. Southeast Asian Studies Past and Present
Panel: Heine-Geldern and the Making of Southeast Asia: Scholarly Connections and 
Cultural Legacies across Regime Changes
conveners: Marieke Bloembergen (KITLV), Andre Gingrich (Austrian Academy of Sciences)
discussant: Andre Gingrich (Austrian Academy of Sciences)
panel abstract
With Conceptions of State and Kingship in Southeast Asia (1942; 1956, first published in German in 1930), the Aus-
trian art-historian, ethnographer and pre-historian Robert (von) Heine-Geldern famously put the region Southeast 
Asia as a unified field of study on academic maps. As a refugee in the US during WW II he was, moreover, one of the 
co-founders (1941) of the Southeast Asia Institute, now dissolved in the AAS. This Institute brought together stu-
dents of Southeast Asia, and aimed at promoting scholarly and cultural exchanges with people from the region. The 
influence of Heine-Geldern – with his global network of scholars and institutions, and with his cultural approach to 
conceptions of power – within the various relevant disciplines has been substantial. On the occasion of EUROSEAS 
2015 taking place in Vienna, where Heine-Geldern’s long time institutional base before and after the Nazi period was, 
this panel takes stock of his influence on the field and on the way we have come to look at the region as one cultural 
unity or field – in comparison to alternative scholarly and moral geographies of Asia, such as Greater India. We aim to 
do so by situating the man, his research practices and his ideas in his transnational biographies, his sites of research, 
and his scholarly and institutional connections across regime changes, War and Decolonization in Asia, Europe, and 
the United States.
The objects of this panel are threefold: 1. To explore the inter-Asian, European and American biographical trajectories 
and scholarly connections of Heine-Geldern, following his career from Austria, via South and Southeast Asia to the 
US and back to Vienna. 2. To discuss the practices of research at the various sites and institutions, and in the contexts 
and networks in Asia, Europe and the US, in which his ideas on the region took shape. And 3., to gain insight in the 
wider impact of cultural approaches to the region, and on how and why we have come to see Southeast Asia as a (cul-
tural) unity of research (or not) – in relation to older, likewise persistent views on the region such as Greater India. 
We invite scholars interested in knowledge production, or working in the field of the history of the relevant disciplines 
in which Heine-Geldern worked. Papers can either focus on the development of Heine-Geldern’s ideas in his various 
scholarly contexts, or on his scholarly connections, his (political, institutional, scholarly) legacies; or on his significant 
students in the various contexts discussed above.
— Southeast Asia, Greater India and Local Genius. Heine-Geldern’s ‘Indonesian’Connections, 1930s-1950s
Marieke Bloembergen (KITLV)
 
For a new research-project on the development of moral geographies of Greater India, this paper tentatively explores 
how Heine-Geldern, through his cultural analyses, and in the context of international knowledge network of scholars 
and friends, situated ‘Indonesia’ in various conceptualizations of the region that now covers Southeast Asia. What was 
the impact of World War II and decolonization on the practice of his research, and the development of his ideas on 
this region (as a region)? And what was the impact of what we might now call a regionalist view, on the field of Indo-
nesian Studies, that developed, along his (post-)colonial scholarly networks in various parts of the world, in the first 
two decades after World War II? The paper follows a sites-centred approach, which looks at the knowledge exchange 
and collection practices at archaeological sites in the region of Heine-Geldern’s interest, and at the related scholarly 
institutions and museums with which Heine-Geldern engaged, in Asia, Europe and the US.

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