History, Culture, and Region in Southeast Asian Perspectives

A study of regional history based on culture and intra-regional relationships, this collection of essays marks a difference in approach and focus on the part of the author himself, who explores questions of historiography (his lengthy postscripts give extensive commentary on the 1982 edition). Arguing for the need for interdisciplinary studies in Southeast Asian Studies, as well as for the necessity of history to establish a basis for such study, Wolters focuses upon classical Southeast Asia (whereas almost all other historical studies focus on modern or contemporary Southeast Asia). He explores ideas of geography, gender, kinship, religion (Hinduism, Buddhism), literature, and past European perspectives on the region.