Humanities Colloquium- Judith Schlehe (ISF, Sociocultural Anthropology ): Strategic Non-Alignments of ‘Culture’ and ‘Religion’ in Contemporary Indonesia

This talk focuses on the discursive formations connected to reconceptualizations and repositioning of the issues of ‘culture’ and ‘religion’ in present-day Indonesia. In an increasingly Islamicized context we find at the same time a revival and invention of local traditions and rituals. Yet, it is highly contested whether these public and often popularized events should be seen as religious or spiritual rituals, cultural performances or mere shows for tourists. By drawing on an ethnographic example from Yogyakarta, Java, the talk explores the tension and deliberate non-alignments connected to a Kirab Budaya (cultural parade) as a spectacle between religion and tourism. It is argued that this can be understood as a reflection of the current dynamics of alignments and dealignments not only of social groups and in relation to cultural policy but also between new forms of subjectivities and individual interests.

PDF