Organizer: Southeast Asia Initiative at Harvard University Asia Center

Type/Location: Hybrid / Cambridge, MA

Description:

This talk examines how Bornean women's wisdom disrupts rigid academic boundaries, urging a rethinking of knowledge beyond institutional gatekeeping. Drawing on three years of feminist anthropological fieldwork with irregular migrants, Indigenous persons, and trans women in Sabah, Malaysia, I explore their chronicles of survival—marked by Death, Desire, and the Divine. These harrowing yet surreal narratives challenge conventional truths, revealing alternative epistemologies. Rather than dismissing them as anecdotal, this talk argues for their legitimacy, inviting us to embrace the radical potential of wisdom from the margins.

About the Speakers:

Dr. Vilashini Somiah is an anthropologist and Senior Lecturer at Universiti Malaya’s Gender Studies Programme. Her research explores the underrepresented narratives of women, migrants, and Borneans in the interiors. She is the author of several award-winning and locally well-read ethnographic books on Borneo and Malaysia. Dr. Somiah was a 2024 Visiting Fellow at LSE’s Saw Swee Hock Southeast Asia Centre and is a 2025–2026 Harvard Asia Center Associate. She currently serves on the Southeast Asia Council of the Association for Asian Studies (AAS). Beyond academia, she writes on Malaysia’s socio-political landscape. More at www.vilashinisomiah.com.

Discussant: Damina Khaira, Harvard University

Registration Links:

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