The American Institute for Indonesian Studies (AIFIS), in collaboration with Michigan State University (MSU) Asian Studies Center, will hold the 4th annual AIFIS-MSU Conference on Indonesian Studies from June 18 - 22, 2024.

The conference continues to highlight and celebrate the growing and evolving academic study of Indonesia. The conference aims to expand research dissemination and collaboration by connecting Indonesian scholars with international colleagues in a bilingual and virtual format.

Indonesia Ascendant?

This year’s conference theme, Indonesia Ascendent?, seeks to capture Indonesia’s experience of ascendance on the global stage that is drawing a lot of attention and interest. Notably, Indonesia’s success stands out compared to other contexts as the nation continues to be a global exemplar of religious pluralism and democracy. And yet there is a sense of the Indonesian project being somehow “unfinished,” stuck, or backsliding in some ways. What progress (kemajuan) has been made and how do we know? In environmental management, Indonesia is either on the cusp of fulfilling great opportunity as a leader in global climate change or of resource degradation and collapse. Inspired images of the plan to construct a national eco-capital city, Nusantara, symbolizes Indonesia’s sustainable future but contrasts with continued dependence of resource extraction evident from the many coal barges pummeling past the banks of the Mahakam river.

A discourse of Indonesia’s ascendance suggests there is great change on the horizon: hopes for a just transition of power, improvements in the downstream impact of governance and policy (hilirisasi), decreased forms of digital authoritarianism and legal discrimination, sustainable development achievements, an expanded role for women across professions and in public life, and strengthened relationships between civil society and the state. There is a great sense of creative energy within Indonesia, and as a by-product, within Indonesian Studies. Poverty pressing with genius, a landscape in which people are emboldened to assemble things together in new ways, not just as a means of survival but a reflection of innovation and resilience.

OPEN CALL FOR APPLCATIONS!

The program committee invites abstract submissions from scholars across broad disciplinary perspectives in the study of Indonesia. While abstracts on any topic focusing on Indonesia are welcome, the committee is especially interested in research that engages discourses on the trajectory of Indonesia, past and present, and broadly defined.

The deadline for abstract submissions is March 24, 2024 (extended). The committee will notify selected participants in April 2024.

Abstract Submission portal

The conference program will feature regular panels (based on paper abstract submissions), organized panels (from group submissions), and roundtable sessions.
Paper Presentation (Individual Submission) - Individuals may submit abstracts for (single- or multi-authored) paper presentations. For a multi-authored paper, the submission can be done by one person. The conference organizers will form panels based on accepted paper abstracts submitted. The panel sessions are 90 minutes long with a maximum of 4 live paper presentations (15 minutes each), followed by a discussion. A session chair will moderate and monitor time. Presenters are encouraged to volunteer as session chairs for the panel in which they are presenting. Paper presentation submission includes an abstract of up to 300 words. Each person may only submit one individual single- or multi-authored paper abstract.
Panel Session (Group Submission) - A group of presenters may propose a panel session of 3 or 4 presentations based on work that share a set of common themes, issues, or research questions. The panel sessions are 90 minutes long. The panel organizers must identify a chair and a discussant (who must also register for the conference) in the proposal submission. The organizers encourage panels with presenters from different countries. Panel submission includes a panel abstract of up to 300 words, and individual paper abstracts of up to 300 words.
Roundtable Session (Group Submission) - Roundtable sessions are intended to foster connections and substantive exchanges among a community of researchers and practitioners on a collaborative project, or a particular issue with implications on research and policy. The roundtable sessions are 90 minutes long and feature up to 4 presentations on the roundtable topic, as such the presentations do not have individual separate titles. Roundtable organizers should identify a chair who will moderate the discussion. The roundtable session submission includes a brief description of the intended discussion for the roundtable of up to 300 words, and a preliminary list of invited participants (including name, affiliation, and contact information, who must also register for the conference).
REGISTRATION WILL OPEN IN APRIL 2024
Registration is required for all participants. We have intentionally kept the cost of the conference low to aid in greater access, but will welcome anyone regardless of finances. Please contact the organizers directly to discuss need based access to the conference.
Indonesia and other LMIC-based participants: Rp 250,000 / $17.00 USD
US & International participants with an annual income below US$ 75,000: $35.00 USD
US & International participants with an annual income US$ 75,000 and above: $60.00 USD
For more information about the AIFIS-MSU Conference on Indonesian Studies, contact:
Michigan State University Asian Studies Center
The Asian Studies Center at Michigan State University directs one of the largest, most diverse programs of education about Asia in the Midwest. Unlike other programs, the Center is distinguished by its approach to East, Central, North, West, South, and Southeast Asia in the design of its curriculum, focus on faculty research, and outreach activities. Presently, the Center’s 220+ affiliated faculty members represent 41 academic departments in all of MSU's 17 colleges.
Email: asiansc@msu.edu
Website: asia.isp.msu.edu
American Institute for Indonesian Studies (AIFIS)
The American Institute for Indonesian Studies (AIFIS) is a non-profit (501c3) educational organization incorporated in the United States. It was established with the generous financial support of The Henry Luce Foundation, the U.S. Department of Education and the Department of State, Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs in the United States, and the Putera Sampoerna Foundation in Indonesia. AIFIS is a consortium of American universities and colleges that have expressed a keen interest in furthering the development of Indonesian studies in the United States. Its main goals are to foster scholarly exchange between Indonesian and U.S. scholars, promote educational and research efforts by U.S. scholars in Indonesia, and facilitate visits by Indonesian scholars to the United States.
Email: conference@aifis.org
Website: aifis.org

The AIFIS-MSU Conference is proud to partner with the Museum Batik Indonesia, the Directorate General of Culture, the Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology of the Republic of Indonesia. All motifs throughout the 2024 conference program are graciously gifted by the Museum Batik Indonesia.

Learn more at our MSU Asian Studies Center partner site, or contact us at conference@aifis.org or asiansc@msu.edu

Past Conference Information:

AIFIS-MSU Conference on Indonesian Studies 2023

July 11 - 15, 2023 (Virtual)

In its third iteration in 2023, the AIFIS-MSU Conference on Indonesian Studies continues to highlight and celebrate the growing and evolving academic study of Indonesia. The conference aims to expand research dissemination and collaboration by connecting Indonesian scholars with international colleagues in a bilingual and virtual format.

This year’s conference theme, “The Promises and Dilemmas of Indonesia,” seeks to inspire reflection on Indonesia’s successes, discontents, and efforts to rework, reinterpret, and negotiate all aspects of civic, legal, and cultural living, against and in light of Indonesia’s internal fractures and frictions and its important profile and positionality globally and in the Asia-Pacific region. The conference seeks to explore and investigate a broad range of topics, including kebangsaan, in its diverse and competing meanings, adat and law, gender and race, environment and climate change, business, politics, and religion, and Indonesia’s place in the world. Indonesia continues to grapple with internal tensions and regresses as she also reaps the rewards of developmental leaps and resilience amidst global uncertainties and adverse challenges from the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, shifting geopolitical relations, and economic volatility.

The Conference Program Committee selected a multidimensional theme for our conference, one which is at once capacious enough to welcome and allow for an array of scholars working in/on/from Indonesia to reflect the specificity of Indonesian Studies in our current global climate. We encourage scholars to present research and reflections on the ways scholars of Indonesia historicize the country’s past, navigate current times, and explore imaginative futures and possibilities, all while contributing to the richness of the community’s collective legal and ethical-epistemological frameworks.

The deadline for abstract submission passed on April 17. The committee will notify selected participants after May 17.
Registration is required for all participants. We have intentionally kept the cost of the conference low to aid in greater access, but will welcome anyone regardless of finances. Please contact the organizers directly to discuss need based access to the conference.

Learn more at our MSU Asian Studies Center partner site, or contact us at conference@aifis.org or asiansc@msu.edu