The third week of the program will address rise of
independence movements and the complex trajectories that were taken from colony
to nation across the region. While many Southeast Asians looked with favor on
Japan’s regional ambitions as an Asian “neighbor” and anticipated independence
as a route to greater equality and a shared prosperity, the realities of
establishing national governments after generations of subjection to colonial
powers were a volatile mix of hopes and disappointments. And, without the
overarching umbrella of colonial control, the resentments that found their
roots in colonial policies resurfaced in the form of ethno-nationalism, especially
the animosity towards Indians and Chinese.
Barbara Andaya (University of Hawaiʻi) begins the week with
an overview of independence movements during and after World War Two. Ardeth
Thawnghmung (University of Massachusetts, Lowell) will follow with sessions on
the national experiments with democracy that were conducted in Burma and
Indonesia, and more specifically on how current ethnic division and strife in
Myanmar are historical legacies of British colonialism. On Wednesday afternoon,
George Dutton (University of California, Los Angeles) turns to French Indochina and how the
experience of Vietnam intellectuals studying in Europe helped to launch a
powerful, communist anti-colonial movement. Finally, Patricio Abinales
(University of Hawaiʻi) will address the practice of internal colonization” in
the Philippines as part of the region-wide phenomenon of “strong man” rule by leaders like Presidents Marcos and Suharto.
COLLECTIE TROPENMUSEUM Studioportret
van Pakoe Boewono X Susuhunan van Solo en
resident Willem de Vogel Soerakarta