Author Description

This collection of twenty-two essays in honour of Professor Barend Jan Terwiel deals with a wide range of issues spanning various periods of time, both modern and pre-modern, in countries throughout the Southeast Asia. The contributors have been inspired to challenge and unravel established paradigms of this diverse region's history and in doing so propose new insights and interpretations. Renowned historian Thongchai Winichakul sets the scene by discussing Thai history in the context of Siam's Colonial conditions before B.J. Terwiel himself reviews the controversy surrounding the Ram Khamhaeng inscription to an analysis of Thai History during the Pacific War as seen in Thai textbooks by Hungguk Cho. Other chapters look at issues of ethnicity among the Hmong and Karen (Roland Mishung), as well the constitution of gender in Northern Thailand (Katherine A. Bowie), and the role of magic and religion in contemporary society. The view then widens from Thailand to look at historiography through the lens of textbooks in the Lao Democratic People's Republic (Volker Grabowsky). The dialogue and interaction between Europeans and various Southeast Asian nations are examined in several chapters; using Dutch and Portuguese sources, while perceptions of the Chinese in 17th century Germany is also discussed. Historical exactitude versus national myth is an important topic which forms the basis of four chapters focusing on Burma and Vietnam. Finally, Island Southeast Asia also enters the picture in essays on migration in Sumatra and Java and an examination of letters from West-Java. In effect, this publication sets about debunking the myths and commonly held perceptions of Southeast Asia's vibrant and at times volatile history. AUTHOR: Barend Jan Terwiel was born in the Netherlands in 1941. His first visit to Thailand was in 1962. During the early 70s he spent one rainy season in a Thai monastery as a Buddhist monk. From that period dates his first book, Monks and Magic, which has