Tomáš Petrů

PhDr. Tomáš Petrů, PhD (1974), is Head of the Department of Asian Studies at Metropolitan University Prague, where he teaches, inter alia, courses on Southeast Asian history, politics and ethnology. As a graduate of Indonesian Studies and with his PhD in Asian Histories and Cultures from the Charles University in Prague, he has a long-term interest in early modern and modern history of Indonesia and the Malay world, which he utilized for instance as a co-author of A History ofIndonesia (2005, Prague, in Czech). His latest research has been focused on the cooperation between the ruling elite and the criminal world, vigilantism and other forms organized violence in Indonesia and the role of Indonesian as a political tool. Tomas has participated as a speaker / panelist in international conferences and seminars in Aarhus, Bangkok, Pilsen, Prague, Vienna, and Yogyakarta.
His working experience has also included employments as an interpreter from the Indonesian language for the Czech government, lecturer of Indonesian, as well as consultant for media like the Czech Television, Rádio Česko and BBC Czech Republic.