Strangers at Home : History and Subjectivity Among the Chinese Communities of West Kalimantan, Indonesia

Yew-Foong Hui

ISBN 10: 9004173404 / ISBN 13: 9789004173408

Published by Brill Sep 2011, 2011

About this Item

Neuware - This is an ethno-historical study of Chinese from West Kalimantan, Indonesia that, unlike other Chinese Diasporic studies, takes its departure from the away position. The study aims to interrogate how, where, and in what terms home is defined for the stranger. Through examining historical events such as the Japanese Occupation, the repatriation of overseas Chinese to China, and ethnic and state violence in West Kalimantan, this study highlights the plight of the Chinese as political orphans in search of a home that eludes them, whether in Indonesia or China. Through a rich array of different kinds of data, including oral histories and memoirs of the Communist underground, this book offers novel perspectives on the role of history in subject formation. Here are two treasures for the reader. On the one hand the book offers a highly nuanced and sensitive exploration of the identity dilemmas of diaspora-dom as they affect a particularly conflicted Indonesian community. The imagining of homeland for his young and idealistic subjects had real-world consequences and speaks to a universal condition. On the other hand 'Strangers at Home' provides for the first time a reliable insight into the conflicts of the 1940s and 1960s which tore apart a corner of Indonesia which was exceptionally Chinese . The author has consulted an unprecedented range of newspaper articles, memoires and other writings by West Kalimantan Chinese-educated literati, as well as the necessary Indonesian and English material. More importantly, he has gained the confidence of key Chinese-Indonesian informants sufficient to tell their story personally and evocatively. - Anthony Reid, 'Australian National University'.

Seller Inventory # 9789004173408

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Strangers at Home : History and Subjectivity Among the Chinese Communities of West Kalimantan, Indonesia
• Publisher: Brill Sep 2011
• Publication Date: 2011
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 9004173404
• ISBN 13: 9789004173408
• Binding: Buch
• Condition: Neu
• Dimensions: 244W x 165H x 23D millimeters 244 millimeters width by 165 millimeters height by 23 millimeters depth
• Weight: 748 grams

About this title

Synopsis

This is an ethno-historical study of Chinese from West Kalimantan, Indonesia that, unlike other Chinese Diasporic studies, takes its departure from the “away” position. The study aims to interrogate how, where, and in what terms “home” is defined for the stranger. Through examining historical events such as the Japanese Occupation, the repatriation of overseas Chinese to China, and ethnic and state violence in West Kalimantan, this study highlights the plight of the Chinese as political orphans in search of a home that eludes them, whether in Indonesia or China. Through a rich array of different kinds of data, including oral histories and memoirs of the Communist underground, this book offers novel perspectives on the role of history in subject formation.

About the Author

Hui Yew-Foong, Ph.D. (2007) in Anthropology and Southeast Asia Studies, Cornell University, is a Fellow at the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies. He has conducted multi-sited field research in Indonesia, East Malaysia, China and Hong Kong.