Edwina Palmer – författare

To what extent are our futures likely to be determined by our traditions from the past? Asian Futures, Asian Traditions is a collection of conference papers by scholars of Asian Studies, who explore the topics of continuity and change in Asian societies through essays in history, politics, gender studies, language, literature, film, performance and music. Recurring among the themes of the book are the invention and reinvention of tradition, nostalgia, issues of national and ethnic identity, colonial heritage, nationalism, 'reform,' and the effects of globalizing economies. Both the power and the precariousness of several Asian economies are revealed in studies of the 'Asian Economic Crisis' of the late 1990s and the conversion of some communist states to 'market socialism.'

Harima Fudoki, dated to 714CE, is one of Japan’s earliest extant written records. It is a rich account of the people, places, natural resources and stories in the Harima region of western Japan. Produced by the government as a tool for Japan’s early state formation, Harima Fudoki includes important myths of places and gods from a different perspective to the contemporaneous ‘national’ chronicles. This document is an essential primary source for all who are interested in ancient Japan.In this new critical edition, Palmer draws upon recent research into the archaeology, history, orality and literature of ancient Japan to reinterpret this hitherto little-known document. Palmer’s insightful commentary contextualizes the Harima tales for the first time in English.