2025 AIFIS-MSU Conference on Indonesian Studies - 5th Annual
“Indonesia in Motion: Aspirations and Apprehensions”
June 17-21, 2025 (Virtual)
The American Institute for Indonesian Studies (AIFIS), in collaboration with Michigan State University (MSU) Asian Studies Center, will hold the 5th annual AIFIS-MSU Conference on Indonesian Studies from June 17 - 21, 2025. Celebrating the growing and evolving academic study of Indonesia, the conference aims to expand research dissemination and collaboration by connecting Indonesian scholars with international colleagues in a bilingual and virtual format.
This year’s conference explores the theme “Indonesia in Motion: Aspirations and Apprehensions” to examine the intersections of precarity, resilience, and transformation in Indonesia and beyond. Building from last year’s focus on Indonesia’s global ascendance, our theme this year highlights uncertainties prompted by emerging trends in all aspects of life in Indonesia, past, present, and future. The conference considers the shared hopes and anxieties shaping the experiences of Indonesian and global communities.
Central to this year’s theme is the duality of volatility and potential for change. We highlight national and local, formal and informal institutional initiatives aimed at fostering resilience and ensuring the well being of Indonesia and the Indonesian people. Through interdisciplinary conversations, the conference seeks to illuminate pathways forward, emphasizing collective action and shared resources to navigate an era of uncertainty. Join us as we reflect on the tensions and possibilities of a world in motion and envision futures shaped by both aspiration and apprehension. Proposals for panels and presentations engaging with this theme or on any other theme focusing on Indonesia and its place in the world are welcomed. Abstracts are accepted in Indonesian and English.
Conference Highlights Include:
150+ paper presentations representing an array of field areas in Indonesian studies.
Tuesday, June 17, 2024 | 9:10–11:20 PM EDT - Opening session presenting Javanese Dance Performance by artists from UKMTK Ghitanala Nusantara, Universitas Nusantara PGRI Kediri, East Java: In “Warah Suara,” traditional dance forms from Kediri are combined with modern music and dance composition to explore the journey of finding one’s true voice. By harmonizing ancestral echoes, folk songs, and inner expression through movement, the artists reveal timeless narratives that connect past and present, and offer us a shared moment of respite and enjoyment of embodied sound at the start to our conference.
Followed by our first Keynote Presentation by Professor Budy Resosudarmo (Australian National University):“Bridging the Divide: What’s Missing in Indonesia’s Long-Term Regional Development?”Wednesday, June 18, 2024 | 9:40–11:10 AM EDT - Keynote Presentation by Professor Anna Tsing (UC Santa Cruz): “Mud Manifesto” – A storytelling exploration of maritime Southeast Asia through the lens of mud, offering ethnographic and historical insight into a forthcoming, collectively authored book.
Thursday, June 19, 2024 | 9:40–11:10 PM EDT - Balinese Wayang Listrik Performance & Discussion of “The Last King of Bali.” Directors Kirstin Pauka and I Made Moja will reflect on educational collaborations between Balinese master artists and students at the University of Hawai’i Asian Theater Program in the development of contemporary shadow puppetry (wayang listrik), offering insights about cross-cultural pedagogies and performance practice.
Saturday, June 22, 2024 | 9:40–11:30 AM EDT - Closing Session and special musical presentation by Franki Raden: “Indonesian National Orchestra: Music of the New Millennium,” a groundbreaking symphonic ensemble composed of indigenous Indonesian instruments, that seeks to inspire a new global musical era by challenging the dominance of European traditions and inviting musicians worldwide to create and collaborate in shaping a symphonic culture for the new millennium.
