Laurie J. Sears, Professor of History at the University of Washington, Seattle, received her Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin Madison. A specialist in Southeast Asian, and particularly Indonesian history, Dr. Sears’ research interests include comparative colonialisms, psychoanalysis and colonialism, history and memory, gender, and issues related to culture, including both literary and performance traditions. Among works she has edited or authored are Aesthetic Tradition and Cultural Transition in Java and Bali, editor, with Stephanie Morgan (1984); Boundaries of the Text: Epic Performances in South and Southeast Asia, editor, with J. B. Flueckiger (1991); Autonomous Histories, Particular Truths: Essays in Honor of John R. W. Small, editor (1993); Fantasizing the Feminine in Indonesia, editor (1996); Shadows of Empire: Colonial Discourse and Javanese Tales (1996/1999); and Knowing Southeast Asian Subjects, editor (2007). Her current book project is entitled Dread and Enchantment in the Indonesian Literary Archive. Other areas of research include the transmission of Amir Hamzah stories from Persia to Java.