Showing papers in "Sojourn in 2011"

Working in the Islamic Economy: Sharia-ization and the Malaysian Workplace

Abstract: This article demonstrates how sharia, the source for developing products in Malaysia's Islamic economy, has also emerged in some Malaysian businesses as a form of corporate culture, reconfiguring workplace identities and social relations. It takes the form of what I call "corporate sharia", a set of ideas consciously and deliberately shaped by executives who seek to build corporations based on the rules for commerce and management contained within the Qur'an and Hadith. Corporate leaders also fashion what I call "personnel sharia" — "human resources" rules to ensure that employees exhibit the ethical values and moral principles set by their superiors. As such, the "Islamic workplace" becomes shariai-zed, where the piety and Islamic subjectivities of personnel are shaped, monitored, and enforced, not left to individual, personal choice.

Advertising Phuket's Nightlife on the Internet: A Case Study of Double Binds and Hegemonic Masculinity in Sex Tourism

Abstract: One significant human rights violation in Southeast Asia is the exploitation of women through sex tourism. Such sexual exploitation occurs in Thailand because institutions are complacent and society accepts the practice. This case study, guided by the concepts of double binds and hegemonic masculinity, sought to understand if Thai culture is symbolically constructed in ways to portray Thailand as a desirable "sex tourist" destination. Websites portray Phuket as a patriarchal world where men can live their fantasies of being perfect hegemonic males because Thai bar girls are young nymphomaniacs that have no need to be talked to or understood.

The Ambiguous Allure of the West: Traces of the Colonial in Thailand (review)

Abstract: Thai studies often emphasize Siam’s lack of formal colonization and push the exceptionalism of Thailand and of “Thainess” to mythical levels. But scholars of Thailand are well aware of the provisions and adaptations made by Siamese rulers to Western colonial powers as well as the ambivalent role that the West plays in Thailand today. Yet Thailand is often treated as a place fundamentally different from its neighbours because of the lack of direct European colonization, and therefore it is often seen to be impervious to theoretical insights drawn from other countries. This overemphasis on the uniqueness of Thailand has led to the downplaying of comparative theoretical research concerning Thailand. The Ambiguous Allure of the West seeks to remedy this lacuna by looking at Thailand’s relationship with Western powers and the figure of the Westerner (farang) in the Thai cultural imagination through examples drawn from history, cultural studies, and anthropology. The edited volume provides a compelling case for new research on the (post)coloniality of Thailand as well as some opening steps in this direction by leading scholars in Thai studies today, including Thongchai Winichakul, Pattana Kitiarsa, Tamara Loos, and Michael Herzfeld. However, The Ambiguous Allure of the West is more challenge than conclusion: despite some attempts to tie the chapters together, the real success of the book is in offering a springboard for new research. The authors successfully show that thinking about Thailand’s relationship with the West through ideas about hybridity taken from postcolonial studies (especially the writings of Homi Bhabha) can both yield new and exciting analyses of the country as well as provide new twists on theory — although these works provide only a beginning step. Additionally, as Peter Jackson suggests in his afterword, England (and later America) is not the only country which held or holds an “ambiguous allure” for Thailand.

The Genesis and Demarcation of the Religious Field: Monasteries, State Schools, and the Secular Sphere in Lao Buddhism (1893-1975)

Abstract: Until the 1950s Lao monks and monasteries still had a crucial role in providing education for large parts of the population. With an increasing encroachment of the state, however, educational politics shifted towards the establishment of a state school system and marginalized the monks' role in public education. The training in monasteries became increasingly linked to a separate, religious field. This article explores the implications and dynamics of these processes with regard to Bourdieu's theory of differentiation of the religious field and contemporary discussions of secularization. By employing a historical perspective spanning from the colonial period to 1975, the article explores the emergence and the shifting boundaries of the religious field. Largely focusing on institutional structures, I argue that through functional differentiation we witness a demarcation of a religious field and a simultaneous emergence of a secular sphere.

"Colonial" and "Postcolonial" Views of Vietnam's Pre-history

Abstract: Until recentiy, nortiiem Vietnam was beiieved to be a receiver or a ioan cuiture of a unidireotionai diffusion and migration trom the advanced Ciiinese oivilization. By the eariy 1980s, a new prehistory ot northern Vietnam was becoming increasingiy apparent. Yet, new discoveries by both Vietnamese and Western schoiars possess existing biases, interestingly, as a response to the above, today's Western schoiars are attempting to "resoue" the "casualties" of nationalist history in Vietnam. iHowever, it is not ciear whether this new schema would oniy carve out a topic of expertise for Western historians or oniy further marginalize particular Vietnamese nationalist histories that did not neoessariiy constrain "independent histories",

Only Now Can We Speak: Remembering Politicide in Yogyakarta

Abstract: In 1965 the Indonesian Communist Party (PKI) was the second largest communist party in Asia. Indonesian politics was predicated on a precarious balance of nationalist (PNI), Muslim (Masyumi) and communist (PKI) political parties, the military, and the country's charismatic president, Sukarno (Feith 2006; Lev 1967). In the wake of an abortive coup on 30 September, the military, Muslim, and nationalist death squads killed at least 200,000 people thought to be party members or supporters. This orgy of violence brought the authoritarian military-dominated New Order government of Indonesia's second president, Soeharto, to power. He was to rule Indonesia with an iron hand until 1998.

The Traditional Decision-making Process of Berkaul in Tanjung Emas, West Sumatra: Its Nature and Significance

Abstract: Berkaul is a traditional practice associated with the rice cultivation cycle in West Sumatra, Indonesia, intended to seek consensus within the local community about agricultural practices and management of water for irrigation. Berkaul is deeply rooted in the adat and worldview of the region but is much less commonly practiced today than in the past and has disappeared in many parts of the region. This article describes the process of berkaul in Tanjung Emas, West Sumatra, places it within the context of Minangkabau adat and tradition, and considers its value in fostering participation, empowerment, and social inclusion in the context of rural development. Background Indonesia is unique in the variety of its cultures, languages, and people. While this diversity is perhaps most apparent between different ethnic groups, considerable differences are also observable within a given ethnic group at the local level. The customs that are traditional in a particular community in Indonesia are intertwined with the particular adat (local law and customs) practiced in that area and shape the institutions of regional society. Adat maintains a position of particular importance in West Sumatra among the Minangkabau people, who pride themselves

Civic Space Production and Local Government Capacity: Lessons from Muang Klang, Thailand

Abstract: Thailand's ongoing efforts to decentralize authority continue to reveal municipal strengths and weaknesses. This article describes how the Thailand Environment Institute, a non-governmental organization, has been building capacity in the municipality of Muang Klang by means of civic space production. The production of a new recreation complex involved processes that began institutionalizing participatory planning, is nurturing civil society, and may, over time, bolster broad and more balanced municipal governance. This case illustrates the significant role of the non-governmental organization in decentralization and how the explicit consideration of civic spaces can improve participatory planning in the public sphere.

Differentiated origins: trajectories of transcultural knowledge in Laos and beyond.

Abstract: Ethnicity belongs to the most important types of differentiation in Laos. Among the means to establish such differences is the ascription of bodies of knowledge to various ethnicities. Ritual healing knowledge is often associated with the foreign and the culturally different. The attribution of differentiated categories of foreignness thus supports the emergence and reproduction of ethnic differentiation and interethnic communication in this region. This article compares ritual healing among Rmeet in Laos, Karen in Thailand, and Iu Mien in both countries in respect to the ethnotopography of its origins.

Differentiation of Sociocultures, Classification, and the Good Life in Laos

Abstract: Why should we study social inequality? One of the reasons is that some people seem to be in the position to lead a better life than others. This paper interprets inequality both as horizontal and vertical differentiation. It focuses on the unequal distribution of options to lead a life reckoned good by Lao society. Social differentiation of options to lead a life reckoned good by Lao standards has increased rapidly over the past twenty years. At the same time, standards of a good life themselves have become increasingly differentiated. The definition of social standards is dominated by the ruling party, but it is not its monopoly anymore, as social struggles and differentiation extend to the symbolic sphere. Against the background of a historical sketch of Lao social structure, this paper discusses present social and symbolic differentiation in order to understand the differentiation of standards and options of a good life in Laos.

Memory, Tourism, and Development: Changing Sociocultural Configurations and Upland-Lowland Relations in Houaphan Province, Lao PDR

Abstract: Houaphan Province is a peripheral upland region typical for Laos: ethnically heterogeneous, largely rural, economically marginal. Yet recent tendencies of state intervention, upland-lowland relations, and transnational dynamics make the province a special case for the study of Lao upland contexts. Three aspects of these tendencies shall be explored here: state-controlled memory and history politics in the context of ideological nation building, transnational tendencies as embodied by the tourism sector, and upland development politics directed by the state and international agencies. Examples from Viengxay, important revolutionary site of memory and tourism destination, and the surrounding rural areas affected by modernizing development projects will illustrate present sociocultural transformations in upland Laos.

Processes of Social Differentiation and (Re-)Integration in Northern Laos

Abstract: The Lao Government supports different development strategies for the improvement of rural livelihoods within the country. In order to understand the deep transformations effected by these strategies, it is necessary to analyse their impact from the emic perspective of the target groups. As an important "gate to modernity", a source of luxury goods, and an entrance to education and modern health care, the new Highway No. 3 plays an increasing role in the daily lives of the Khmu in Northern Laos. This paper deals with the question, in which way modern structures and institutions are used to enhance people's spiritual and economic well-being. It argues that the Khmu are able to localize the impact of the highway to enhance their lives without losing their own cultural identity.

A Ritual Community: The Religious Practices of Spirit Mediums Who Worship the Spirit of the Chiang Mai City Pillar

Abstract: This article focuses on the creation of ritual communities through the various collective rituals of the group of spirit mediums who worship the tutelary spirit of the city pillar in Chiang Mai, northern Thailand. It explores how these rituals emerge as a manifestation of the group's intrinsic power of accomplishment, adaptation, and invention. Their ritual community demonstrates, in various ways, the diversity of spirit worship in Chiang Mai throughout the year. Moving through ritual spaces at will, these mediums utilize their independent and performative power in order to actively develop their religious practices.

Pop Culture Formations across East Asia (review)

Abstract: Upon first browsing of Pop Culture Formations across East Asia, one is puzzled that this book about popular culture in East Asia does not have a single chapter on popular culture from China, and only has a few pages discussing the culture industries of Japan. It is perhaps more appropriate to title the book as Pop Culture Formations across Asia instead, as there are three chapters in the volume dealing with issues in the national cinemas of Indonesia and Malaysia, which are countries in Southeast Asia rather than East Asia. However, considering that this book is a collection of papers coming out of the 2009 Korea-ASEAN Academic Conference on Popular Culture across East Asia in the 21st Century: Hybridization or Asianization? (held at Burapha University, Thailand), it is little surprise that the book has somewhat disproportionate coverage of the Korean Wave and its influence on countries in Southeast Asia. Nonetheless, this volume provides valuable insights into recent trends and developments in intra-Asian flows of popular culture and raises important questions about the emergence of cultural hierarchies in the “Asianization of cultural production, distribution and consumption” (p. 9). Edited by Doobo Shim, Ariel Heryanto, and Ubonrat Siriyuvasak, the book is divided into three sections. The first section, Media Consumption in Asia and Identity Politics, opens with a chapter by Young-Hee Chung on the pleasures that audiences derive from watching My Name is Kim Sam Soon, a Korean television drama