and subjectivities in the region is the disjuncture between theory and lived realities. As regional scholars interrogate the differences between the region and the Western world, as well as "local imperatives behind the production of knowledge in both the West and the region, moments of the highly local in the constitution of Western humanities and the social sciences are better revealed, and notions about its universality questioned .
The narratives presented in this book offer us alternative perceptions of Southeast Asia from scholars coming from the region. This volume represents one response by regional scholars to the call to decentre and diversify knowledge production. The disciplinary configurations and epistemological considerations highlighted in this book suggest that we need a great deal more versatility than we can get from sticking rigidly to conventional disciplinary and theoretical categories, if we want to grasp the complex dimensions of human existence and meanings in Southeast Asia better.