2026 Immersia: Book Launch | The Precarious Past in Premodern Java

Long before modern archives and digital records, communities found powerful ways to preserve their stories.

As part of Immersia, join ANU historian Dr Wayan Jarrah Sastrawan for the launch of The Precarious Past in Premodern Java — a compelling example of research excellence in action, revealing new ways to understand how societies record, transmit and remember their past.

The book will be launched by Professor Matt Tomlinson, Director of the School of Culture, History & Language, and Robert Cribb, Emeritus Professor of Asian History, will be the book's discussant.

Drawing on sources in Javanese, Sanskrit, Malay and other languages of the Indonesian archipelago, Sastrawan explores how Javanese communities between the fifth and fifteenth centuries preserved knowledge through manuscripts, oral traditions and cultural practices.

This groundbreaking research challenges assumptions about what counts as “history” and reveals the many ways language, culture and memory shape our understanding of the past.

Join us to celebrate a new perspective on Java’s history — and the power of research to bring forgotten stories back into view.

Light refreshments will be served from 5pm to 5.30pm.

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Please note: If you require accessibility accommodations or a visitor Personal Emergency Evacuation Plan please contact the event organisers. 

This event may be photographed and recorded. The recorded material may be used to promote future ANU events and programs. By attending the event you are giving us informed consent. If you DO NOT wish to be recorded, please let ANU event staff know on the day. We will be mindful and ensure not to photograph any faces of children present.