Heather Amanda Sutherland (born 1943) is an Australian historian and former professor at the

Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam The (abbreviated as ''VU Amsterdam'' or simply ''VU'' when in context) is a public university, public research university in Amsterdam, Netherlands, founded in 1880. The VU Amsterdam is one of two large, publicly funded research universities in ...

in the Netherlands. She specialised in the

history of Indonesia The history of Indonesia has been shaped by its geographic position, natural resources, a series of human migrations and contacts, wars and conquests, as well as by trade, economics and politics. Indonesia is an archipelagic country of 17,000 ...

, and also researched that of other

Southeast Asian Southeast Asia is the geographical southeastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of China, east of the Indian subcontinent, and northwest of the Australian mainland, which is part of Oceania. Southeast Asia is ...

countries. She is the long-term partner of British-Australian actress

Miriam Margolyes Miriam Margolyes ( ; born 18 May 1941) is a British and Australian actress. Known for her work as a character actor across film, television, and stage, she received the BAFTA for Best Supporting Actress for her role as Mrs. Mingott in Marti ...

Biography

Sutherland was born in 1943. She took up

Asian studies Asian studies is the term used usually in North America and Australia for what in Europe is known as Oriental studies. The field is concerned with the Asian people, their cultures, languages, history and politics. Within the Asian sphere, Asian ...

at the

Australian National University The Australian National University (ANU) is a public university, public research university and member of the Group of Eight (Australian universities), Group of Eight, located in Canberra, the capital of Australia. Its main campus in Acton, A ...

in Canberra, obtaining an M.A. in 1967. Her dissertation was on the literary intellectuals of Batavia, the capital of the

Dutch East Indies The Dutch East Indies, also known as the Netherlands East Indies (; ), was a Dutch Empire, Dutch colony with territory mostly comprising the modern state of Indonesia, which Proclamation of Indonesian Independence, declared independence on 17 Au ...

. Her research about the Dutch history and visit to the Netherlands inspired her to work there for most of her later career. In 1970, she started her academic profession as a history teacher at the

University of Malaya The Universiti Malaya (lit 'University of Malaya'; abbreviated UM) is a public university, public research university located in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. It is the oldest Malaysian institution of higher education, and was the only university in ...

in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Learning of her research interest, Lance Castles from the

University of Melbourne The University of Melbourne (colloquially known as Melbourne University) is a public university, public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in the state ...

who had recently enrolled for Ph.D. under the supervision of Harry J. Benda at

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...

asked his supervisor to invite Sutherland to join their team. Under Benda, Sutherland earned her doctoral degree in 1973 on the thesis titled "''Pangreh Pradja: Java's indigenous administrative corps and its role in the last decades of Dutch colonial rule.''" She continued teaching at the University of Malaya for one year. In 1974, Sutherland joined the faculty of the Department of Cultural Anthropology and Non-Western Sociology at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam as a "''

lector Lector is Latin for one who reads, whether aloud or not. In modern languages it takes various forms, as either a development or a loan, such as , , and . It has various specialized uses. Academic The title ''lector'' may be applied to lecturers ...

''" (equivalent to

associate professor Associate professor is an academic title with two principal meanings: in the North American system and that of the ''Commonwealth system''. In the ''North American system'', used in the United States and many other countries, it is a position ...

). She was officially inducted into the teaching position on 22 October 1976 as she delivered her inaugural lecture. Sutherland met Miriam Margolyes in 1967 and they have been partners since then. However, they do not live together and spend sporadic periods in London, Tuscany, and Australia. Margolyes described Sutherland as an "

introvert Extraversion and introversion are a central trait dimension in human personality theory. The terms were introduced into psychology by Carl Jung, though both the popular understanding and current psychological usage are not the same as Jung's o ...

" and the secret to their lasting relationship as "not living together."

Publications

Key research papers

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Books

* * * * * (with Gerrit Knaap) *

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sutherland, Heather 1943 births Living people Historians of Southeast Asia Yale University alumni Academic staff of Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam Australian National University alumni Australian lesbian writers Lesbian academics