SEMINAR IN S,SEASN - Indonesia: Theories and Histories

This seminar covers the different theoretical and disciplinary approaches to the study of “Indonesia.” We will read key texts and identify important themes relating to Indonesianist scholarship, including the narratives of nationalism, Islam, communism, and syncretism. We will discuss the history of Indonesianist scholarship, emphasizing work that treats history, culture, art and literature, as well as politics.  The course will reflect in particular on the development of Indonesianist historiography in Indonesia and the United States, as well as the place of region, and the legacies of colonialism, the revolution, and Soeharto’s “New Order” in that history.

Required Textbook(s):

Max Havelaar by Multatuli, Penguin Group, ISBN: 9780140445169

Pretext for Mass Murder by John Roosa, University of Wisconsin Press, ISBN: 9780299220341

Engineers of Happy Land by Rudolf Mrazek, Princeton University Press, ISBN: 9780691091624

Blood of the People by Anthony Reid, NUS Press, ISBN: 9789971696375

Rifle Reports by Mary Steedly, University of California Press, ISBN: 9780520274877

Refracted Vision by Karen Strassler, Duke University Press, ISBN: 9780822346111