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Cultural Studies and the Multiple

Sites of Knowledge Production:

Indonesia in 2010s

Melani Budianta

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Studying in the US, looking at Indonesia in

1990s,

Practicing cultural studies in Indonesia,

looking at the US in 2010s

Changes of the condition of knowledge

production: challenges and prospects for

American-Indonesian studies

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Studying in the US in 1990s

1990s: Studying English means reading the Classics(Milton, Shakespeare, 17thcentury Prose)Americanliterature in the margin

Cultural studies : being proposed as concentration bystudent body

Post-structuralist theories & African StudiesMarxism(two separate camps within the faculty)

Hispanic student movement & anti-racism awarenessgroups

Segregated multiculturalism and political correctness

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Indonesia in the 1990s

Indonesia during the height of New Order

Authoritarianism

Cornell papersBenny MoerdaniGus Dur

Pramoedya Ban

Massacre in Timor Leste

General Election and the end of CornellKelurahan.

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Practicing Cultural Studies 1990s -

2010s

1990s: cultural critique from the Satya Wacanascholars (Ariel Heryanto, Arief Budiman, GeorgeAditjondro) & campus politics

Plesetan, postmodernism -- literature andcultural workers

American literature as double mirror : course onmulticulturalism

Cultural activist groups doing cultural critique(Kunci cultural studies, JKBISSI, oral historymovement )

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Two revolutions : 9/11 and Reformasi

movements

The Reformasi movement: doing cultural

studiessocial movements

Democratization: decentralization and return

of patriarchy & nativism

Mass media and the uncivil civil society

The 9/11 tragedy and the war on terror Rise of anti-West sentiments

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Inter-Asia globalization (1)

Changes in geopolitical configuration:

Economic crisis & shift in demographics

&orientation

Inter-Asia globalization: Shanghai, Beijing,

Taipei, Manila, Singapore, Hongkong, Kuala

Lumpur

East Asia competition in becoming the hub of

Asian culture

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Inter-Asia globalization (2)

Migrant workers in Asia: Indonesian diaspora

Cultural flows (to Indonesia: always multiple sourcessince the pre-colonial period -- during the New Order :Cold War American centric orientation; post reformasi

: East Asia K-Pop) New Islamic cultural expressions: from FPI, FBR to

young, cosmopolitan Hijabers community and MetalSatu Jari

Social media as the sites of community building, trans-border alliances, life-styles & also anti-liberalmovement using the very means of democraticsocieties.

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Conditions of Knowledge Production Decline of Indonesian studies in Europe and US

Asian studies in Asia movementKorea, Japan, Singapore(Australia?)ARENA, IACS & CIACSI, AUN (from sharingmodul, credit transfer, summer school to joint degree)

Iwabuchi (2010), Kuan Hsing (2011) :Asia as Method, Goh

Beng Lan (2011) , Diversifying and Decentralizing SoutheastAsian studies,

Indonesia: Increase of State sponsorship of postgraduatescholarship (DIKTI fellowship)

Increased access to online sources for Indonesian scholars Translation of the scholarship on Indonesia for the wider

public

New generation of Indonesian studies scholarship (dialogue

& partnership

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Conditions of Knowledge Production

Corporatization of academic institutions,democratization & power of civil society(Constitutional court decision to revoke BHMN),academic autonomy and the state university, state and

party politics in the campus & issue of identity politics.

New ways of doing scholarship (blog, multimedia, self-publishing, workers-scholars collaboration, e.g. SEACS.

Local interest in Indonesian studies and Southeast

Asian concentrations, centers, programs within andoutside universities.

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Challenges

Multiple sites for knowledge production (within andoutside the campus, virtual, new alliances & modes andpossibilities, inter-disciplinary ) : serve as challenges aswell as opportunities

AIFIS : engage in the multiple sites

- Translation

- Resource sharing & linkages between inter-Asia &EuroAmerica & local groups

- Access and support for publishing

- Topics discussed above: as areas for future collaboration(research, workshop, making use of existing

international associations/local/regional conferences)