Kategori: English

The biggest hoax of all: the 30 September Movement

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There are two common misconceptions about hoaxes. First, although the word “hoax” is a relatively new term in the Indonesian lexicon, it would be wrong to assume that hoaxes have only become a problem over the past few years, with the rise of social media. Second, hoax news cannot be resolved or debunked simply by providing accurate information as an alternative, especially when nothing is done about the primary hoax.

Heryanto, Ariel (2018) “The biggest hoax of all: the 30 September Movement”, Indonesia at Melbourne, 16/01/2018, http://indonesiaatmelbourne.unimelb.edu.au/the-biggest-hoax-of-all-the-30-september-movement/

keywords: Budi Pego, Communism, Gerwani, Jokowi, Marxism, PKI

Popular Culture and Identity Politics

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This chapter contends that an in-depth investigation into identity politics in popular culture is a critical component to studying the social life of this world’s fourth most populated nation. It shows how elite national politics and everyday cultural practices and contestations are mutually constitutive in complex and indirect ways, with a focus on identity politics in contemporary Indonesia as manifest in popular cultures.

Heryanto, Ariel (2018) “Popular Culture and Identity Politics”, in R. Hefner (ed.) Routledge Handbook of Contemporary Indonesia, London: Routledge, pp. 357-368.

keywords: gender, Islam, Javanese, Jokowi, media, nationalism, SBY

Ideological Baggage and Orientations of the Social Sciences in Indonesia

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Many -isms that at first appear to be radical, breakthrough forces, become inflexible and frozen as they grow in popularity and dominance. There are good and bad expressions and followers of every -ism. In polemics, there is always the temptation to highlight the opposition’s worst or weakest examples of theories, ideas and rationale, whilst emphasizing and using only the best among one’s own armory.

Heryanto, Ariel (2005) “Ideological Baggage and Orientations of the Social Sciences in Indonesia” in Social Science and Power in Indonesia, Vedi R. Hadiz and Daniel Dhakidae (eds), Jakarta and Singapore: Equinox, pp. 69-101.

keywords: culturalism, developmentalism, ideology, knowledge, liberalism, orientation, populism, structuralism

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A Postcolonial Amnesia

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“For centuries, what is now known as Southeast Asia has been a hub of transcontinental flows of people, religions and sciences.  . . . Such connections were salient features of the activities and events in the late nineteenth century and early decades of the twentieth century, well preceding the birth of nations in this region. Significantly, these engagements involved multi-ethnic and multilingual people from all walks of life in urban settings, rather than an exclusive preoccupation with a tiny elite of European descent in the colonies.”

Heryanto, Ariel (2016) “A Postcolonial Amnesia”, in D. Black, O. Khoo and K. Iwabuchi (eds), Contemporary Culture and Media in Asia, London: Rowman & Littlefield International, pp. 13-29.

keywords: colonial, Dutch East Indies, global, Indonesia, national, Southeast Asia, trans-Asia

George Junus Aditjondro: an uncompromising activist

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George will be fondly remembered as one of Indonesia’s most radical political critics, public intellectuals and investigative journalists. His audacity, passion, dedication and uncompromising commitment to political advocacy were second to none among his peers.

Heryanto, Ariel (2016) “George Junus Aditjondro: an uncompromising activist”, Indonesia at Melbourne, 19/12/2016, http://indonesiaatmelbourne.unimelb.edu.au/george-junus-aditjondro-an-uncompromising-activist/

keywords: anti-corruption, obituary, Papua, public intellectual, Salatiga, Timor, UKSW

Asia literacy: A deeply problematic metaphor

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In many parts of Asia, smiling does not mean being happy, amused or friendly. Some Indonesians cannot utter a complete sentence without a burst of giggles, regardless of the topic. When I first lived abroad, I worked very hard to learn not to smile ‘too much’, so not to risk offending people.

Heryanto, Ariel (2015) “Asia literacy: A deeply problematic metaphor”, in C. Johnson, V. Mackie and T. Morris-Suzuki (eds), The Social Sciences in The Asian Century, Canberra: ANU Press, pp. 171-189.

keywords: digital technology, Euro-American centricism, literacy, new media, privacy, orality, smile

The Cinematic Contest of Popular Post-Islamism

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Heryanto, Ariel (2014) “The Cinematic Contest of Popular Post-Islamism”, in J. Schlehe and E. Sandkühler (eds), Religion, Tradition and the Popular; Transcultural Views from Asia and Europe, Bielefeld: transcript, pp.139-156.

keywords: Ayat-ayat Cinta, Islamisation, New Order, post-Islamism, youth