Borneo Studies in History, Society and Culture

1. Front Matter

   Pages i-xxviii

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2. Introductory Remarks

   • Victor T. King, Zawawi Ibrahim, Noor Hasharina Hassan

   Pages 1-12

3. Borneo-Wide Perspectives

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 13-13

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   2. Some Preliminary Thoughts on Early Anthropology in Borneo

      • Victor T. King

      Pages 15-34

   3. Towards a Critical Alternative Scholarship on the Discourse of Representation, Identity and Multiculturalism in Sarawak

      • Zawawi Ibrahim

      Pages 35-55

   4. Material Culture Studies and Ethnocultural Identity

      • Bernard Sellato

      Pages 57-78

   5. Borneo and Beyond: Reflections on Borneo Studies, Anthropology and the Social Sciences

      • Victor T. King

      Pages 79-124

   6. Devolved, Diverse, Distinct? Hunter-Gatherer Research in Borneo

      • Lars Kaskija

      Pages 125-158

   7. Issues and Trends in Media and Communications in Borneo over the Past 30 Years

      • Fausto Barlocco

      Pages 159-176

   8. Identities in Borneo: Constructions and Transformations

      • Victor T. King

      Pages 177-207

4. State-Specific Perspectives

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 209-209

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   2. The Real and the Ideal: Towards Culturally Appropriate and Collaborative Heritage Practice in Kalimantan

      • Christina Kreps

      Pages 211-234

   3. An Overview of Cultural Research in Sabah

      • Jacqueline Pugh-Kitingan

      Pages 235-259

   4. Whither Gender Studies in Sarawak?

      • Hew Cheng Sim

      Pages 261-272

   5. The Rise of Dayak Identities in Central Kalimantan

      • Kumpiady Widen

      Pages 273-282

   6. An Overview of Anthropological and Sociological Research at the Faculty of Social Sciences, Universiti Malaysia Sarawak

      • Poline Bala

      Pages 283-302

   7. Borneo Research in the Institute of Asian Studies, Universiti Brunei Darussalam

      • Gary M. Jones

      Pages 303-311

   8. Institut Dayakologi: The Challenges of an Information and Advocacy Centre of Dayak Culture in Kalimantan

      • John Bamba

      Pages 313-340

5. Case Studies

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 341-341

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   2. Kenyah-Badeng Displacement: Bakun Hydroelectric Project Resettlement

      • Welyne Jeffrey Jehom

      Pages 343-364

This edited book is the first major review of what has been achieved in Borneo Studies to date. Chapters in this book situate research on Borneo within the general disciplinary fields of the social sciences, with the weight of attention devoted to anthropological research and related fields such as development studies, gender studies, environmental studies, social policy studies and cultural studies. Some of the chapters in this book are extended versions of presentations at the Borneo Research Council’s international conference hosted by Universiti Brunei Darussalam in June 2012 and a Borneo Studies workshop organised in Brunei in 2012. The volume examines some of the major debates and controversies in Borneo Studies, including those which have served to connect post-war research on Borneo to wider scholarship. It also assesses some of the more recent contributions and interests of locally based researchers in universities and other institutions in Borneo itself. The major strength of the book is the inclusion of a substantial amount of research undertaken by scholars working and teaching within the Southeast Asian region. In particular there is an examination of research materials published in the vernacular, notably the outpouring of work published in Indonesian by the Institut Dayakologi in Pontianak. In doing so, the book also addresses the urgent matters which have not received the attention they deserve, specifically subjects, themes and issues that have already been covered but require further contemplation, elaboration and research, and the scope for disciplinary and multidisciplinary collaboration in Borneo Studies. The book is a valuable resource and reference work for students and researchers interested in social science scholarship on Borneo, and for those with wider interests in Indonesia and Malaysia, and in the Southeast Asian region.

• Borneo studies
• Institute of Asian Studies at Universiti Brunei Darussalam
• Borneo Research Council
• Post-war scholarly work on Borneo
• Borneo’s social transformation
• Anthropological studies in Sabah
• Linguistics in Sabah
• Ethnomusicological studies in Sabah
• Sociological research in Sarawak
• Anthropological research in Sarawak
• Ethnic identity in West Kalimantan
• Social change in West Kalimantan
• Social changes and the Tionghua, Dayak and Mel…
• Ethnic identities in Central Kalimantan
• Identities in Borneo
• Gender and urbanisation in Sarawak
• Media and Sociocultural Change in Borneo
• Material Culture and Museum Collections in Borneo
• Material Culture and Museum Collections in Borneo
• Environmental studies in Sabah

“The volume is about not only Borneo but also shifting concerns in anthropology as preoccupations with the primitive have given way to concerns with state-led development schemes, processes of urbanization, and religious conversion. Each chapter has an extensive bibliography, making the volume especially useful for scholars and students working in the region. As a resource, it will be most welcomed in institutions with teaching and research interests in Southeast Asia. … Summing Up: Highly recommended. Upper-division undergraduates through faculty.” (A. Truitt, Choice, Vol. 54 (7), March, 2017)

• Distinguished Visiting Fellow, Institute of Asian Studies, Universiti Brunei Darussalam, Jalan Tungku Link, Gadong, Brunei Darussalam

  Victor T. King

• Professor of Anthropology, Institute of Asian Studies and Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, Universiti Brunei Darussalam, Jalan Tungku Link, Gadong, Brunei Darussalam

  Zawawi Ibrahim

• Lecturer at Geography and Development and Environmental Studies, Institute of Asian Studies and Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, University Brunei Darussalam, Jalan Tungku Link, Gadong, Brunei Darussalam

  Noor Hasharina Hassan

Victor King has been involved in research and publication on Borneo across a range of subjects in anthropology, sociology, environmental studies, tourism studies, cultural studies and tourism and heritage. He has had considerable experience in editing books on Borneo and more widely in Southeast Asian Studies.


Zawawi Ibrahim has published widely on Borneo, has edited and written books on Sarawak and Sabah, and is currently undertaking research in Brunei. He is a leading figure in the call for more attention to be paid to local scholarship and to record and understand the voices and perspectives of local communities.


Noor Hasharina Hassan is an early career researcher who has recently completed doctoral research on Brunei and is developing important research projects for the future.