Indonesia

I conducted Ph.D. fieldwork on the Indonesian film industry in Jakarta, Yogyakarta, and Bali from 2019 to 2023. But prior to that I’d been coming for 2-3 months out of each year, becoming fluent in Indonesian and visiting as many regions as possible to learn about its vast cultural diversity. I spent time living in Catholic highland towns in Toraja, Bajau sea villages in Wakatobi, and in Tengger, the last remaining majority Hindu community in Java. Despite being the world’s fourth most populous country, Indonesia remains largely outside of daily discourse in the U.S., which I’ve tried in my own small way to change.