Angry Malay Woman

A story from the past for Valentine’s Day 2023

There was once a perfume merchant who lived in the 3rd century BC called Upagupta. One day, he caught the eye of the beautiful courtesan Vasavadutta. Desiring his audience, she sent her servant to arrange a meeting with him. He declines her invitation to meet him, however, responding enigmatically that he will see her ‘when… Continue reading A story from the past for Valentine’s Day 2023

‘Between laughter and silence’

Part of the joy of being in the business of teaching and learning is that the learning never quite ends, and if you’re lucky, you get masterclasses from with some of the greatest minds in the business. I was incredibly privileged to attend a personal tutorial session with Professor Catherine Grant recently to work on… Continue reading ‘Between laughter and silence’

Reading the Malay-Indonesian Film syllabus

It’s now 4th week of term, and so obviously I’m only sharing this for the benefit of non-students of this course. Designed for final year undergraduates majoring in Malay Studies, this course is an intensive critical engagement with key film and scholarly texts on Malay/Singaporean and Indonesian cinema. It was a pleasure creating this syllabus,… Continue reading Reading the Malay-Indonesian Film syllabus

From ‘nowhere’ to ‘somewhere’

In her famous essay on situated knowledges, Donna Haraway writes about why the place of ‘subjugated knowledges’ is more politically privileged and ‘preferred’ over the position of established authoritative knowledge: ‘… they are preferred because in principle they are least likely to allow the denial of the critical and interpretive core of all knowledge. They… Continue reading From ‘nowhere’ to ‘somewhere’

Voiceover exercise for Doing Women’s Global Horror Film History

For the second exercise of the AHRC-funded project, I have created an experimental voiceover video that combines an unrelated audio recording with scenes from a horror film, in this case Amanda Nell Eu’s It’s Easier to Raise Cattle (Lagi Senang Jaga Sekandang Lembu, 2017). Amanda’s film is excellent for this exercise; it’s largely devoid of… Continue reading Voiceover exercise for Doing Women’s Global Horror Film History

Pecha Kucha video for Doing Women’s Global Horror Film History

At long last, the world premiere of my first video essay exercise as part of the Women’s Global Horror Film History project funded by the AHRC, led by Associate Professor Alison Peirse. Being a complete beginner, it took me 10 days to learn how to use Adobe Premiere and create a one-minute video! It’s in… Continue reading Pecha Kucha video for Doing Women’s Global Horror Film History

Upcoming roundtable discussion on the ‘Labour of Piety’ at AAS 2023, Boston

I’m quite thrilled to announce that my colleagues and I will be in Boston next March for the 2023 Association for Asian Studies conference to participate in a roundtable discussion panel on the ‘Labour of Piety in Southeast Asia’. This roundtable discussion focuses on an under-examined aspect of religious life that is, piety as labour,… Continue reading Upcoming roundtable discussion on the ‘Labour of Piety’ at AAS 2023, Boston

An article for Penang Monthly

It was a blistering end of June day in Paris, I was in the Aubervilliers neighbourhood of the city, presenting at the first in-person Euroseas conference since the pandemic. Taking refuge in between panels – it was both exhilarating and overwhelming to be surrounded by so many people, many friends at the same time after… Continue reading An article for Penang Monthly

Mystics in Bali: a warning to the western gaze

The following is a piece I wrote for a special issue on global folk horror in Altyazi, the leading Turkish-language film magazine, in a project funded by the British Academy. Other contributors of the issue include Rosalind Galt, Bliss Cua Lim, Gary Needham, among many otehrs. Turkish version here. *** By the 1980s, Bali had… Continue reading Mystics in Bali: a warning to the western gaze

My talk at IIAS, 30th March 2022: From the factory floor to the page

I will be giving a short talk on my current project on modern Malay print romance at Leiden University on 30th March 2022 via Zoom. For more info on registration, click here. About the talk: What is the significance of place and space in the print culture of Malay romance? My presentation demonstrates how print… Continue reading My talk at IIAS, 30th March 2022: From the factory floor to the page