The twentieth century has spawned a great interest in Indonesian music, and now books, articles, and manuscripts can be found that expound exclusively about karawitan (the combined vocal and instrumental music of the gamelan). Scholar Judith Becker has culled several key sources on karawitan into three volumes and has translated them for the benefit of the Western student of the gamelan tradition.The texts in her collection were written over a forty-five-year time period (ca 1930–1975) and include articles by Martopangrawit, Sumarsam, Sastrapustaka, Gitosaprodjo, Sindoesawarno, Poerbapangrawit, Probohardjono, Warsadiningrat, Purbodiningrat, Poerbatjaraka, and Paku Buwana X. The final volume also contains a glossary of technical terms, an appendix of the Javanese cipher notations (titilaras kepatihan), a biographical listing, and an index to the musical pieces (Gendhing).

Seminar paper from the year 2008 in the subject Politics - International Politics - Topic: European Union, grade: 85% = 2,0/A-/GPA 3.7, Peking Universitat (School for International Studies), course: Southeast Asian Regional Studies, 19 entries in the bibliography, language: English, abstract: The relations between the EU and ASEAN are characterized by many achievements and many drawbacks in the last decades. Additionally, even though the relations date back to the beginning of the 1970s, they have not fulfilled the expectations of many people in both Europe and Southeast Asia for two main reasons. Firstly, the context in which these relations take place has significantly changed with the end of the Cold War and the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. Naturally, the aims and objectives of the relationship have to be much broader than thirty years ago, because they have to take into account these changed international circumstances since they do not take place in a vacuum. Secondly, both ASEAN and the EU developed internally, for example through different rounds of enlargements. These internal developments of the two partners have to be taken into account as well, just as the changed international environment. Since 2001, owing to the reasons mentioned above, new initiatives were proposed to reinvigorate the relationship and to make it more effective in facing the new, profoundly changed international arena. Can these initiatives achieve the aim of improving the relationship and consequently prepare it for the challenging future? The essay will proceed as follows. Firstly, the 'spider-web' of relations between the EU and ASEAN will be portrayed to give an impression of the complexity of the relationship. Secondly, the main developments since 2001 will be introduced and analyzed to be able, thirdly, to conclude if the relations are healthy enough to face the challenges of the future.

Seminar paper from the year 2008 in the subject Politics - International Politics - Region: Far East, grade: 85% = 2,0/A-/GPA 3.7, Peking Universitat (School for International Studies), course: International Securtiy in East Asia, 29 entries in the bibliography, language: English, abstract: Germany achieved what Korea still can achieve, namely peaceful unification. There are several similarities between the divided Koreas and the formerly divided Germanys. In both cases, the division grew out of the Second World War and the following Cold War. The divided nations have totally different systems of government. North Korea, as a communistic one-party state, is similar to the GDR and South Korea, as a democratic republic, is similar to the FDR. Major differences are apparent in the economic development between North and South Korea, which again corresponds to the situation in Germany at the end of the 1980s. In light of these similarities, an important question to answer is the following one: what lessons can the Korean Peninsula learn from German unification? Thus, this essay will proceed as follows. Firstly, the developments in Germany, leading to the opening of the Berlin Wall and the subsequent unification will be described and analyzed. Secondly, the economic and socio-cultural outcomes of the unification will be briefly analyzed. Thirdly, recommendations for the Korean Peninsula will be formulated and finally, the essay will conclude its findings.

Master's Thesis from the year 2007 in the subject Politics - International Politics - Topic: European Union, grade: 8,0= 1,6, Maastricht University (Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences), 79 entries in the bibliography, language: English, abstract: Even though the accession negotiations between the EU and Turkey are projected to last at least another ten to fifteen years, or in the worst case even twenty years, Turkey could become an important member state for the EU and an asset to its foreign policy . For this to happen, the foreign policies of the EU and Turkey will have to be supplementary, even and especially now in the phase of negotiations. Thus, the relationships between Turkey, on the one hand, and Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan, on the other hand, have to be friendly to be an asset for the EU. However, the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP) and enlargement, especially with regard to Turkey, are mainly researched separately, because they are two distinctive EU policies. Are the interests and aims of the EU and Turkey in their relations to the countries of the Southern Caucasus compatible and can they lead to synergies?

"A fascinating thesis and a timely synthesis.... Becker urges the reader to view certain arcane cultural rituals as being in the mainstream of spiritual development and argues that the resulting trance-like states may relate to the basic fabric of emotions and consciousness, which are our ancestral, animalian heritage. This is both a risky and courageous undertaking that challenges both cultural and neuroscientific studies."
Jaak Panksepp, author of Affective Neuroscience: The Foundations of Human and Animal Emotions

In Deep Listeners, Judith Becker brings together scientific and cultural approaches to the study of music and emotion, and music and trancing. Becker claims that persons who experience deep emotions when listening to music are akin to those who trance within the context of religious rituals. Using new discoveries in the fields of neuroscience and biology, Deep Listeners outlines an emotion-based theory of trance using examples from Southeast Asian and American musics. A companion CD includes excerpts from several of the musical genres under discussion, and a 16-page color insert presents vivid documentation of the global experience of "deep listening.""