The Indonesianists Indonesia Project

Elizabeth Drysdale was the Assistant (and later Associate) Editor of the Bulletin of Indonesian Economic Studies (BIES) for twenty-five years until 2012, when she retired from ANU. During her tenure, Liz produced 72 issues of the journal, containing over 300 articles, countless book reviews and PhD abstracts. She was a key figure in making BIES what it is today - the leading journal on Indonesia's economy and society. In this episode, Liz discussed challenges in delivering the "four-monthly miracle" that is BIES, her passion for the written words and her deep connections with Indonesia.

In this episode, Tony Johns is in conversation with Greg Fealy at his home in Canberra.

Anthony (Tony) Hearle John was a key figure in the founding of Asian studies at ANU and is one of the seminal figures in the study of Southeast Asian Islam. He spoke about his early life and academic career, and particularly about how he came to be interested in Islam and Qur'anic exegesis. At the age of 93,  he is still engaged in research and publishing.

Greg Fealy is a scholar of Indonesian politics and history who specialises in Islam.

Professor Virginia Hooker is widely known for her works on Islam in Southeast Asia, literature and social change in Malaysia and Indonesia, and Indonesian political culture. In this joyful conversation, she shared her recollection about living as a daughter of a Navy father, about her PhD on Riau-Lingga islands—including a fascinating story about Raja Ali Haji, and many more. We also sneaked into seven of her many books that define her career, including one recent illustrated book for children about Southeast Asia. At the end of the conversation, Mbak Nia talked about her appreciation of Islamic calligraphy.

Professor George Quinn is one of the world’s most prolific observers of Indonesian and Javanese language, literature, and society. In this first installment of ‘The Indonesianists’, we chat with Pak George about his upbringing in New Zealand to his accidental field trip to Indonesia to his new book, Bandit Saints of Java, and of course about the sad decline of Indonesian language as a study subject in Australia.