MOU signing ceremony between #AIFIS and Pusat Kajian Bahasa dan Budaya (PKBB), Universitas Atma Jaya, Jakarta. We've been working together for over 11 years to advance Indonesian studies, particularly in language and cultural preservation, through capacity-building initiatives and research facilitation. We're looking forward to our future partnership.
MoU Signing Ceremony between AIFIS and Faculty of Education and Psychology, Universitas Negeri Semarang (UNNES)
#AIFIS proudly announces the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Faculty of Education and Psychology at Universitas Negeri Semarang. The MOU formalizes a dynamic relationship between AIFIS and UNNES while also providing a formalized framework for both institutions to work together.
MoU Signing Ceremony between AIFIS and Universitas Kristen Satya Wacana (UKSW) Salatiga (July 22, 2024)
We are pleased to announce the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between #AIFIS and Universitas Kristen Satya Wacana (UKSW) Salatiga.
This MoU has been established for mutual benefit, founded on a shared vision of collaboration in academic forum, capacity building, and research. We look forward to developing our future partnership and collaboration.
Authoritarian Nostalgia and Democratic Decline in Contemporary Indonesia
Congratulations to Ratri Istania, PhD (Associate Professor at NIPA School of Administration), and her co-authors on the publication of their latest paper, "Authoritarian Nostalgia and Democratic Decline in Contemporary Indonesia," published online on July 23, 2024.
Ratri Istania is one of the 2023–2024 award recipients for the AIFIS-Luce Research Fellowships for Indonesian Scholars to the US. She will be working with the Department of Government at Cornell University on her project, "Ethnic Power Dynamics and Regional Proliferation: Unpacking Conflict Triggers in Indonesia's Decentralization."
Link to the article: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/18681034241252452
The In-Between in Javanese Performing Arts: History and Myth, Interculturalism, and Interreligiosity
Here is a video clip of a ritual and speech by Prof. Sumarsam (Wesleyan University) at the 60th anniversary of ISI Solo.
AIFIS is also pleased to share the upcoming publication of Prof. Sumarsam's book, "The In-Between in Javanese Performing Arts: History and Myth, Interculturalism, and Interreligiosity." This book is the first comprehensive overview of Javanese performing arts, from their origins to their dynamic present. Renowned scholar and musician Sumarsam draws from a lifetime of immersion in both wayang and gamelan to guide readers through the concept of the "in-between," revealing how the interplay of dualisms—myth and history, sacred and secular, personal and cultural—forms the bedrock of Javanese performance.
credit: Institut Seni Indonesia - ISI Surakarta
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D7-pc5Gebmk
CAORC Announces 2024 CAORC-NEH Research Fellows
AIFIS Board Member, Andrew Weintraub (Professor, Department of Music, University of Pittsburgh) selected as one of three recipients of the 2024 CAORC-NEH Research Fellowship, for his project entitled:
“Years of Living Musically: Affective Politics and Indonesian Populism, 1950-65.”
Abstract: Despite its significant contributions to Indonesian nationalism, arts education, and international diplomacy – all concerns of Indonesia today – little is known about the Indonesian left-wing cultural movement LEKRA (Lembaga Kebudayaan Rakyat, the Institute of People’s Culture) that existed from 1950 to 1965. LEKRA was one of six mass organizations affiliated with the Indonesian Communist Party (Partai Komunis Indonesia, PKI), the third largest in the world and a legal party at the time. The PKI and LEKRA were banned after an abortive coup d’etat on September 30, 1965 (G30S) that led to the mass killings of between 500,000 and 1 million people and the elimination of the left in Indonesia under second-president Suharto. As a CAORC-NEH Fellow, I will complete the research for my third sole-authored book. In this project, I will focus on music as a key tool for analyzing the affective relationships that linked LEKRA with civil society and progressive politics in Indonesia from 1950 to 1965. I aim to show how LEKRA’s stated values – anti-colonialism, anti-feudalism, self-reliance, agrarian reform, labor rights, redistribution of wealth, and collective ownership – led to the creation of particular forms of music and, conversely, how music framed LEKRA’s values and goals, shaped power relations, and was instrumental in developing political strategies. As Indonesians themselves have begun to reassess this pivotal moment in history, my research adds the missing yet critical dimension of sound and affect to the erased cultural history of left-wing nationalism in Indonesia.
CAORC-NEH fellowships support advanced research in the humanities and provides the opportunity for scholars to spend significant time in one country with a participating Overseas Research Center as a base. AIFIS will serve as the overseas base for Andrew’s research. The awards for this year's cohort range from $20,000 - $25,000 each. The program is funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) under the Fellowship Programs at Independent Research Institutions (FPIRI).