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Somers Heidhues

Somers Heidhues

Mary Heidhues, born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA, in 1936. Ph.D. from Cornell University, Ithaca. Research Associate in Southeast Asian Studies at the University of Passau.

Visitor (1 September 1995 – 31 January 1996)

My NIAS project involved collecting material, especially archival material, for a book about the history of the Chinese minority of West Kalimantan, Indonesia, and the early stages of writing. The chance to read widely in related fields meant that I was able to relate my research to other, more ‘theoretical’ approaches. In addition, it was both useful and enjoyable to exchange ideas with colleagues here, particularly those interested in Southeast Asia and also those in the Asia-Pacific research theme group.

Thanks to the good working atmosphere, I have managed to write a preliminary draft of the first chapters of my book. Among lectures and articles I wrote or completed while at NIAS were workshop papers, given at the Humboldt University in Berlin and at the University of Bielefeld, about Chinese in Indonesia. ‘Identity and the Minority’ will also be the subject of a keynote address for the Association for Southeast Asian Studies in the United Kingdom to be delivered in April 1996 in London.