History, Culture & Region in Southeast Asian Perspectives (Studies on Southeast Asia, Vol 26) [Paperback]

Oliver W. Wolters (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0877277257 | ISBN-13: 978-0877277255 | Publication Date: February 1, 1999 | Edition: Revised

A study of regional history based on culture and intra-regional relationships, this collection of essays marks a difference in approach and focus on the part of the author himself, who explores questions of historiography (his lengthy postscripts give extensive commentary on the 1982 edition). Arguing for the need for interdisciplinary studies in Southeast Asian Studies, as well as for the necessity of history to establish a basis for such study, Wolters focuses upon classical Southeast Asia (whereas almost all other historical studies focus on modern or contemporary Southeast Asia). He explores ideas of geography, gender, kinship, religion (Hinduism, Buddhism), literature, and past European perspectives on the region.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Wolters...reproduces his 1982 work intact, and then adds an extended postscript, in which he reinterprets his prior analysis.." --New Zealand Journal of Asian Studies

"The revised version of the book, more than double the size of the original, builds on...important themes by integrating --Asian Perspectives

"[W]ill no doubt provide a new source of inspiration for for many readers, including graduate students and instructors... --Journal of Asian Studies

About the Author

The late O. W. Wolters is regarded by many as the most influential historian of early Southeast Asia writing in the English-speaking world. He served in the Malayan Civil Service from 1938 to 1957 after completing his first degree at Oxford University. When the Japanese occupied Malaysia in 1942, he was imprisoned for three years. He embarked on his academic career as a Southeast Asian scholar in 1957, when he was nearly fifty years old, and begin teaching at Cornell University in 1964, where he developed the influential concept of "mandala," a paradigm of the premodern Southeast Asian kingdom.

Product Details

• Paperback: 275 pages
• Publisher: Cornell University Southeast Asia Program Publications; Revised edition (February 1, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0877277257
• ISBN-13: 978-0877277255
• Product Dimensions: 9.9 x 6.9 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,839,210 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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