The American Institute for Indonesian Studies (AIFIS) and Michigan State University (MSU) Asian Studies Center will convene the 6th annual AIFIS-MSU Conference on Indonesian Studies from May 26-30, 2026. Presented in a bilingual and virtual format, the conference is designed to bring together scholars working across geographic and disciplinary frameworks to explore the evolving field of area studies research in Indonesia.

This year’s conference theme, “Making Knowledge, Making History: Producing the Indonesian Past, Present and Future,” invites scholars, students, artists, and practitioners to explore how Indonesia has been imagined, studied, and narrated across time. Knowledge and history are never neutral–they are made, remade, and contested through the shifting dynamics of power, place, and perspective. We seek to open a space for critical reflection on how diverse disciplines of studying Indonesia have been constructed: by whom, for whom, and to what ends. From colonial archives to digital media, from indigenous epistemologies to regional and global scholarship, the production of knowledge about Indonesia reveals enduring tensions between authority and agency, memory and forgetting, locality and universality. How have academic disciplines, state institutions, and communities contributed to the shaping of Indonesia’s intellectual landscapes? How might alternative ways of knowing—oral traditions, government databases, visual cultures, statistical analyses, performative practices, activist archives, or legal discourse—challenge established narratives and foreshadow new futures

We welcome papers and presentations from across disciplines and subjects, including but not limited to:

• History, psychology, anthropology, and sociology

• Environmental studies, geography, disaster management

• Literature, linguistics, language learning, and cultural studies

• Business, economic analysis, and legal studies

• Education, pedagogy, public health and welfare studies

• Labor and migration

• Energy, science and technology

• Religious studies and philosophy

• Art, media, and performance studies

• Policy analysis and political science, and regional studies [including ASEAN]

• Family, gender and sexuality

• Museum, heritage, indigenous, and archival studies

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.

Deadline for Submission of Paper Presentations:

February 8, 2026 - 11:19pm ET

Deadline for Organized Panel, Roundtable and Book Talks:

March 22, 2026 - 11:59pm ET

Selection Guidelines:

Proposals are welcomed from scholars across the entire field of Indonesian Studies, regardless of their academic affiliation, with particular encouragement for those from academic communities that are underrepresented in international forums. One of the key goals of the AIFIS-MSU Conference on Indonesia is to facilitate interdisciplinary dialogue and scholarly exchanges that transcend the typical boundaries of academic networks. Indonesian and English bilingualism is welcomed across the conference, and panel and roundtable submissions with diverse participation in terms of gender, academic rank, national origin, and disciplinary approach are strongly encouraged. 

Organized Panel Session (Group Submission): A group of presenters may propose a panel session of 3 or 4 separate paper presentations based on work that shares a set of common themes, issues, or research questions. The panel sessions are 90 minutes long and panel organizers must identify a chair and a discussant in the proposal submission. (300 word panel abstract + 300 word abstract for each individual paper)

Roundtable Session (Group Submission): Intended to foster connections and substantive exchanges among a community of researchers and practitioners on a collaborative project, or a particular issue with implications on research and policy. The roundtable sessions are 90 minutes long and feature up to 4 presentations on the roundtable topic. As such, the presentations do not have individual separate titles. Roundtable organizers should identify a chair who will moderate the discussion. (300 word abstract, identifying key speakers and their field areas and institutional affiliations)

Book Talks (Group Submission): For this new category of submissions we invite groups of scholars to discuss recently published books. The panel should ideally feature a single book as the focus of conversation, taking the conversation beyond single author presentations by bringing together a group of scholars to foster dialogue about method, field and public engagement. We are open to creative arrangements for these panels but should include 3-4 speakers and represent a diversity of perspectives on the subject of the book being presented. Each speaker should submit a short 300 word abstract reflecting how they plan to discuss the book subject from their respective fields. (300 word book abstract + 300 word abstract for each speaker).

Paper Presentation (Individual/Co-authored Submission): Individuals and co-authors (maximum two) are invited to submit abstracts for paper presentations. Each paper presentation is given a 15-minute time allotment. Each person may submit only one paper abstract. For co-authored works, a maximum of two speakers are allowed to present and have their names listed within a single paper presentation. Additional authors (if any) are welcome to attend the conference if they register as regular attendees. Only the two main speakers will be listed in the program and receive presentation certificates (300 word abstract).

REGISTRATION OPENS April 2026

Registration is required for all participants. We have intentionally kept the cost of the conference low to aid in greater access, but will welcome anyone regardless of finances. Please contact the organizers directly to discuss need based access to the conference.

US & International participants:

Annual income below US$ 75,000: $35.00 USD

Annual income US$ 75,000 and above: $60.00 USD

LMIC-based participants US $17.25

Register and complete the registration fee payment using any major credit card directly on the Virtual Conference Platform (on Whova).

Indonesia-based participants IDR 250,000/person:

Option 1: Pre-Register and complete registration payment via direct electronic bank transfer. The Conference Organizers will then send instructions on how to complete the full registration on the conference platform.

OR

Option 2: Register and complete the registration fee payment using any major credit card on the conference platform.

For more information about the AIFIS-MSU Conference on Indonesian Studies, contact:

Michigan State University Asian Studies Center

The Asian Studies Center at Michigan State University directs one of the largest, most diverse programs of education about Asia in the Midwest. Unlike other programs, the Center is distinguished by its approach to East, Central, North, West, South, and Southeast Asia in the design of its curriculum, focus on faculty research, and outreach activities. Presently, the Center’s 220+ affiliated faculty members represent 41 academic departments in all of MSU's 17 colleges.

Email: asiansc@msu.edu

Website: asia.isp.msu.edu

American Institute for Indonesian Studies (AIFIS)

The American Institute for Indonesian Studies (AIFIS) is a non-profit (501c3) educational organization incorporated in the United States. It was established with the generous financial support of The Henry Luce Foundation, the U.S. Department of Education and the Department of State, Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs in the United States, and the Putera Sampoerna Foundation in Indonesia. AIFIS is a consortium of American universities and colleges that have expressed a keen interest in furthering the development of Indonesian studies in the United States. Its main goals are to foster scholarly exchange between Indonesian and U.S. scholars, promote educational and research efforts by U.S. scholars in Indonesia, and facilitate visits by Indonesian scholars to the United States.

Email: conference@aifis.org

Website: aifis.org