Jan 20, 2016
In this episode, Matt and Dave
discuss the place of Southeast Asia in world history with Eric
Jones, an associate professor of history as well as assistant
director of the Center for Southeast Asian Studies at Northern
Illinois University. During our interview, he talks about how he
fell in love with the region and key aspects of its history,
including the role of women like Sitie in pre-colonial trading
organizations, the birth of the Dutch East India Company, colonial
forms of exploitation in Java, the spread of Islam into the region,
and the local significance of WWII and the Vietnam War. His
recently published book Wives, Slaves, and Concubines: A History of
the Female Underclass in Dutch Asia is available on Amazon and
speaks to several of the examples listed above. He also mentions
other teaching resources including Bradley’s Imagining Vietnam and
America. Finally, special thanks go out to him for creating the
music you hear on this podcast and the special live version of the
theme used at the beginning of this podcast – his band is called
Buffalo Jump and if you live in the Chicagoland area, you should
totally check them out! Book recommendations are as
follows:
Dave
– Keys, Catastrophe
Matt
– Wang, White Lotus Rebels
Eric
– Scott, The Art of Not Being Governed