ACKNOWLEDGEMENTSI wish to thank Marion Berghahn for her support and encouragementthroughout the process of publication. Andrew Beatty read the entire manu-script and made very useful comments on it. Mark Stanton was very helpfulwith the technical aspects, as was Nicki Averill who drew the maps. Quite a few years ago now, Mark Hobart, of the School of Oriental andAfrican Studies (SOAS), University of London, was a most supportive MAtutor. It was at SOAS that I discovered the work of Benedict Sandin, the Ibanethnohistorian, and reread Derek Freeman’s classic Iban work. The presentbook grew out of a doctoral thesis at University College London (UCL)presented in 1999. I would like to thank Simon Strickland and Chris Tilley,my supervisors, for all their advice and faith in the project. Research for thethesis was generously supported by the Anthropology Department at UCL,the Graduate School at UCL, the Central Research Fund of London Univer-sity, and the Evans Fund of the Anthropology Department, CambridgeUniversity. My postdoctoral research at the Staatlichen Hochschule für Gestalr-ung, in Karlsruhe, was supported by the German Research Foundation (DFG).In Sarawak I was attached to Majlis Adat Istiadat (Council for CustomaryLaw) and the Sarawak Museum. I was also assisted by staff from the StatePlanning Unit, Tun Jugah Foundation, Bahagian Teknologi Pendidikan, theIban Section of RTM in Kuching and Sri Aman, and CATS Radio. The StateGovernment of Sarawak kindly allowed me to undertake research in Sarawakand facilitated my work there. There are so many people in Sarawak who helped me along the way thatI can only name but a few here in alphabetical order. My warmest thanks toIndai Amoi, Edward J. anak Alban, TR Baling and family, Nicholas BawinAnggat, Dr Madeline Berma, Alfred Buma, Chai Soong Yee and family, TRJabu anak Chaong, Dr Sandy Craig and Kirsten A. Edey, Dr Ipoi Datan, MarySian anak Dugat and family, Alfred Dass, TK Dayan F. Dunggie, D.O. Gani,TR Garan, Henry Gerijih, Stevenson anak Ingkon, Tan Sri (Dr) Alfred Jabu,Dr Jayum anak Jawan, TR Layang anak Jelian, Datuk Amar (Dr) LinggiJugah, Father Jugah, TR Randi anak Julak and family, Dr Peter Kedit, RolandD. Klabu, Thomas T. Laka, Empani Lang, Nichol R. Lang, Jayl Langub, the000_Postill_Q3.3_Prelims_10L 24/1/06 11:31 AM Page xii
Rt. Rev. Datuk Made Katib, Dr James Masing, Luta anak Nalang, Janet R.Noel, Mr Pulin, Penghulu Thomas Dundang anak Ringgie, Robert MenuaSaleh, Laja Sanggin, Datuk Chris Sim and family, Sim Kwang Yang, Dr OttoSteinmayer, Prof Vinson Sutlive, Jimbun Tawai, Edward Untie, and Datin TraZehnder. In particular, I am extremely grateful to all the residents of Entanakand Nanga Tebat Longhouses for inviting me to live among them and fortheir generosity during my stay. Aku tu, Bujang Rengayong, deka meri tabienggau besai terima kasih ngagai kita semua. Arap ka kita semua gerai nyamai,lantang senang baka ka selama. During my UCL years (1995 to 2000) I benefited greatly from thecomments and encouragement of Adam Drazin, Michelle Lee, Daniel Miller,Alex Pillen, Chris Pinney, Mike Polterack, Sarah Posey, Andrew Skuse, ElenaYalouri and other staff and doctoral students, as well as from the advice ofTerry King and Roger Silverstone, my thesis examiners who wrote a verydetailed report. I also wish to thank Dorle Drackle and all other staff, volun-teers and students at the memorable summer school in media anthropologyheld at the University of Hamburg in 1999. In Bucharest, Vintila Mihailescu,Iulia Hasdeu, Urban Larssen and my students at the National School of Polit-ical Science and Administration (SNSPA) adopted me into a thrivinganthropological scene. At the Staatlichen Hochschule für Gestaltung, in Karls-ruhe, I have to thank my colleagues Hans Belting, Martin Schultz, BirgitMersmann and all the Bildanthropologie doctoral researchers for their interestin my postdoctoral work on Iban visual media (2001 to 2002). In Heidel-berg, Olli Hinkelbein and Julia Schunck were very welcoming, as were JürgWassmann and everyone at the Anthropology Department.More recently, as a sessional lecturer at SOAS, the City Literary Institutein London and Loughborough University, I have been fortunate to teachoutstanding students who have asked difficult questions about some of thematerials presented here. In preparing this book over the years I have alsoderived much inspiration from friends and colleagues at other institutions,especially Shamsul A. Baharuddin, Véronique Béguet, Cora Bender, ClareBoulanger, Alex Drace-Francis, Jens Franz, Jack Goody, Eric Hirsch, RonInden, Tim Ingold, Mercedes López Invarato, Ken Nakata-Steffensen, FilipeReis, Anthony Richards, Jeff Roberts and Reed Wadley.Special thanks to all those who have read and commented on earlier versionsof parts of this book: Fausto Barlocco, Maurice Bloch, Nick Couldry, MikeCrang, Faye Ginsburg, Eric Kaufmann, Samuel Onn, Mark A. Peterson,Annalisa Piñas Postill, Carlos Piñas Postill, Gini Ras, Clifford Sather, as wellas all participants in the 4thEASA Media Anthropology Network e-Seminar,19–26 April 2005 (www.philbu.net/media-anthropology/workingpapers.htm)and several anonymous readers for the Borneo Research Bulletin, Time &Society, andSocial Anthropology. These publications also deserve my gratitudefor allowing me to use revised versions of previously published articles in aAcknowledgementsxiii000_Postill_Q3.3_Prelims_10L 24/1/06 11:31 AM Page xiii
number of chapters, namely chapter 3, ‘Propagating the State, Phase I’ (Postill2001), chapter 4, ‘Propagating the State, Phase II’ (Postill 2002a), chapter 6,‘Writing Media’ (Postill 2003) and chapter 8, ‘Clock Time’ (Postill 2002b). Finally, I have to thank my scattered friends and family for keeping intouch all along. I am most grateful to my parents, Francisco and Jennifer, forsupporting my early encounters with anthropology, and to my partner, SarahPink, for persuading me to write this book knowing what it would entail. Acknowledgementsxiv000_Postill_Q3.3_Prelims_10L 24/1/06 11:31 AM Page xiv
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