Andaya (Asian studies, U. of Hawaii) examines how the arrival of the Dutch and English impacted the relationship between two kingdoms in Sumatra, the Jambi and the Palembang, who had a long history of cyclical hostility and reconciliation. She focuses on three themes culled from legends and folklore
Barbara Watson Andaya is an Australian historian and author who studies Indonesia and Maritime Southeast Asia. She has also done extensive research on women's history in Southeast Asia, and of late, on the localization of Christianity in the region. She teaches courses in Asian Studies as a full professor at the University of Hawaii at Manoa, and is director of the University's Center for Southeast Asian Studies. She was President of the American Association for Asian Studies from 2005 to 2006.