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Webinars and Talks Issue no. 2 | 2022

FASS History Talks UM ANTROSOCIO

By Prof Dr Farish A. Noor Seminar Series
This year the Department of History of the Faculty of Arts By Dr Welyne Jeffrey Jehom
and Social Sciences FASS played host to a series of
international online talks related to the subject of history- This quarter the Department of Anthropology & Sociology
writing and research, as well as talks related to academic hosted two interesting public seminar series. The first of
publishing. Among the prominent scholars who were the two UM ANTROSOCIO SEMINAR SERIES 22/1, held on
hosted by the department were Professor Peter Carey the 15th April 2022 was kicked off with “The Digitalization
(Trinity College, Oxford University/Universitas Indonesia) of the Red Packet and the Individualization of Chinese
and Professor Dinah Roma (De La Salle University, Manila). Society: An Interpretative Analysis” by Dr. Louis Augustin-
Professor Carey’s talk (23 Jean, a Senior Lecturer at the Department of Development
March 2022) was entitled Studies, Faculty of Business and Economics.
‘The Uses of History:
History and The discussion unpacked the Hongbao, or “red packet”, a
Decolonization’; and monetary gift given during the Chinese New Year and on
special occasions like a wedding or the birth of a baby. In
during the talk he
addressed the thorny 2015, the Tencent company created an electronic version
question of how and why of hongbao for the Chinese market. The introduction of
history has been the e-hongbao has altered the original meaning; it signals
significant social and economic changes, the most
instrumentalized and
appropriated in many parts of the world in recent times. important being the blurring between gift and market
Commenting on the fact that in many postcolonial exchange.
societies today a proper and thorough recounting of the
legacy of Empire has yet to happen, he observed that The second UM ANTROSOCIO SEMINAR SERIES 22/1,
historical narratives have instead been put to use in other held on the 3rd June 2022 highlighted a more pertinent
ways, including as a means to serve the ends of certain local debate on “An Enchanted Landscape: Rethinking
ethno-nationalist agendas that have left many of the ‘Irrational Ideas’ of Human Relations to Nature” by Dr.
presuppositions of Empire intact. Kamal Solhaimi Fadzil from the Department of
Professor Roma’s talk (19 Anthropology & Sociology.
April 2022) was an The presentation touched on the challenges of working in
exploration of the partnership with indigenous communities in natural
intersections between
History and Literature, resource management. It argues from the position that to
engage meaningfully, one has to recognize indigenous
drawing upon her own work claims to land. The UM ANTROSOCIO SEMINAR SERIES is
and experience as both a organized bi-monthly coordinated by Dr. Welyne Jeffrey
scholar and writer.
Jehom who is also the moderator.
The discussion revolved around the many ways that
history and literature can and do often overlap, and why it
has taken so long for scholars to accept that literary works
can also be regarded as historical material worthy of
research and historical analysis.

Both talks were very well attended, with around two
hundred participants, and the discussions that followed
were lively and animated. Additionally it was also noted
that the attendees came from all over the world, with some
joining in the discussions all the way from the Netherlands
and Brazil. In future the department of History will
continue in its effort to invite scholars of note from all over
the globe to continue this international dialogue on
history, historical research and writing, and the myriad of
ways through which historical research is being
conducted today.
8 | Pulse @ FASS