Cross-Cultural Exchange and the Colonial Imaginary. Global Encounters via Southeast Asia ed. by H. Hazel Hahn (review)

Abstract

within the same chapter, is not always negotiated smoothly; readers would have been assisted by section headings that were more clearly connected to the chapter title and that moved systematically to a final paragraph(s) summarising the main points of the chapter and making appropriate connections to that which follows. The huge cast of characters, many re-entering the story at different times and in different places, requires readers to be extremely alert, and will leave them grateful for the index and its sub-entries. It is similarly difficult to follow marriage, kinship and Chinese assistant-Western mentor relationships; a chart depicting these connections visually would have been helpful. We are given a Chinese glossary and a description of archival sources, but a list of the abbreviations applied to missionary societies and churches would also have been useful. In addition, there are minor production issues. The book is amply illustrated, but the reproduction of contemporary postcards and maps is not stellar and the small print is almost impossible to read. Considerations of price certainly justify the paperback edition, but one could wish that the pages would lie flat on the table without being forced. Ultimately, any book must be evaluated on the degree to which it has achieved its goal, which in this case was to track the history of the Brethren movement and to locate it in a global context. DeBernardi’s painstaking research in unearthing this complex story ensures that Christian Circulations will be an indispensable reference source for anyone studying mission history in Asian societies, especially Singapore and Malaysia. Stimulating other researchers to follow paths now opened up, it will remain an invaluable contribution to our knowledge of the Christian endeavour in Asia, and particularly to our understanding of the processes by which evangelistic Christianity has gained such a following.