wellen[at]kitlv.nl
Wellen, Dr. Kathryn
Kathryn Wellen is a historian of Southeast Asia specialized in South Sulawesi. Her innovative methodology for interrogating indigenous sources resulted in the development of a new paradigm for early Bugis history which reconciles the historical, archaeological and mythological records.
Kathryn studied Southeast Asian history at the University of Hawaii (BA, PhD) and the University Malaya (MA) and was the first western exchange student at the University of Brunei Darussalam. In 2003-2004 she held a postdoctoral fellowship at the Belle van Zuylen Institute for Multicultural and Comparative Gender Studies at the University of Amsterdam. She has also served as an area specialist at the Library of Congress in Washington and a consultant to the Borneo Studies Centre in Bandar Seri Begawan. Her work in Brunei inspired her current research project about the intersection of Bruneian intellectual, cultural and political history.
In addition to Southeast Asian history, Kathryn is also interested in Pacific Islands and world history, particularly how microhistorical studies can inform large-scale paradigms and vice versa.
Selected Publications
With Muhlis Hadrawi & C. C. Macknight, ‘The case against La Maddukelleng: Bugis diplomacy in the 18th Century’, Bulletin de l’École française d’Extrême-Orient 109, pp. 159-207, 2023.
Perpustakaan Karaeng Pattingalloang, original art installation curated by Museum Karaeng Pattingalloang, Makassar, 2023. See video.
‘Exhuming buried stones: The Treaty of Timurung (1582) during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries’, Archipel 103, pp. 59-86, 2022.
‘Filling the gap; Insights into early eighteenth-century Brunei Darussalam from Dutch archives’, in: V. King & S. Druce (eds.), Origins, history and social structure in Brunei Darussalam, pp. 147-170. Oxon & New York: Routledge, 2021.
‘Recollections of a lost kingdom; The varied interactions between history and memory in South Sulawesi, Indonesia‘, Memory Studies, pp. 14-15, 2021.
With Ian Caldwell, ‘Finding Cina: A new paradigm for early Bugis history’, Bijdragen tot de Taal-, Land- en Volkenkunde 173-2-3, pp. 296-324, 2017. Bahasa Indonesia: ‘Menemukan Cina: Paradigma baru masa awal sejarah Bugis‘.
With Ian Caldwell, ‘Family matters: Bugis genealogies and their contribution to Austronesian studies’, International Journal of Asia-Pacific Studies 12-1, pp. 119-141, 2016. Bahasa Indonesia: ‘Kaum keluarga: Silsilah-silsilah Bugis dan kontribusi mereka bagi kajian Austronesia‘.
‘The Danish East India Company’s War against the Mughal Empire, 1642-1698‘, Journal of Early Modern History 19, pp. 439-461, 2015.
The open door: Early modern Wajorese statecraft and diaspora, De Kalb: Northern Illinois University Press, October 2014.
‘Melayu Islam beraja: Brunei’s tripartide ideology’, in: Chong Shin, Karim Harun and Yabit Alas (eds.), Reflections in Borneo rivers: Essays in honor of Professor James T. Collins, pp. 227-242. Pontianak: STAIN Pontianak Press, Book I, 2006.
