Indonesia Anthropology and Ethnography

Paper Summary:

The paper shows that though it is impossible to determine why exactly Indonesia, at least for the past two generations, has seemingly laid an irresistible spell on the anthropological world, it is possible to suggest some of the reasons. This paper examines the corner of the state of anthropological practice and theory as they pertain to Indonesia and how these have created intimate links between symbolic anthropology and Indonesian ethnography. The paper discusses how many fine ethnographies have been produced as a direct result of anthropologists' theoretical and paradigmatic interest in Indonesia, of the fact both that anthropological discourse can be seen as a subset of human imaginings and as a result of the fact that some places seem to be better to dream in. The paper examines Tania Murray Li's article "Compromising Power: Development, Culture and Rule in Indonesia" in Volume 13, No. 3 of Cultural Anthropology, on the subject.

From the Paper:

"Indonesia " with its own contentious colonial history " was an ideal setting if one wished to make sense of the role and evolution of cultures in a world in which colonial structures were falling away. Indonesia had at least three other additional inducements for at least American and British anthropologists: Their own countries had not been involved in the colonization of Indonesia so they did not have to feel any guilt over what they found; unlike many "primitive" cultures, Indonesia societies (for of course this island nation is home to a number of very different cultural groups) are home to not only sophisticated performing and visual arts but also nuanced and complex literary traditions and a history of beautifully proportioned and ingeniously constructed architecture."

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