Probing boundaries between cultures and disciplines

Academia may be one of the world’s most globalized industries, but the humanities and social sciences are not immune to parochialism at various levels. In this interview with Media Asia editor Cherian George, Krishna Sen reflects on an academic career spent transcending national and disciplinary boundaries. Born in India, she made her mark as a leading scholar of Indonesian media and a senior administrator in Australian academe. Sen explains what drew her to study a country she had never visited, and the parallels she found with her own homeland. She shares the advice she gives to junior scholars when charting a course between disciplinary depth and breadth. And she wonders if the breaking of walls has gone too far, flattening qualitative distinctions that are required for sensible moral and esthetic judgment.