After Java, South Sulawesi is the largest rice growing and exporting region of Indonesia. Its capital, Makassar, dates back to the fifteenth century and is one of the country’s busiest ports. Despite the region’s economic importance, it does not feature strongly in the national narrative, or in English-language histories of Indonesia.
The lecture will present the sources used to write South Sulawesi’s history. It will contrast local interpretations of the past with the picture obtained by historians and archaeologists. How can these differing interpretations be resolved and incorporated into Indonesia’s history? Evidence of early trading and cultural relations between Sulawesi and the Philippines will also be discussed.
Dr. Ian Caldwell is a retired associate professor of Southeast Asian Studies from the University of Leeds, UK.
This event is part of the Asian Center’s 64th anniversary celebrations. View full list activities and sign up. Professor Caldwell’s lecture is one of four activities scheduled on 13 November:
• Encounters with Silence | A Screening and Forum on ‘Lonely Death’ in Japan
• How Do Elite University Students in ASEAN Look at their Asian Neighbors? | A Lecture
• Ikebana as Sustainable Art: A Lecture-Demo on Japanese Traditional Flower Arrangement
For queries, please email asiancenter@up.edu.ph.