Hefner Discusses Indonesian Pluralities on Notre Dame Podcast
Robert Hefner, Professor of Anthropology and of International Relations at the Frederick S. Pardee School of Global Studies at Boston University, appeared on The Kroc Cast – a podcast convened by the University of Notre Dame’s Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies featuring peace studies conversations – to discuss a book on which he was the lead researcher.
Podcast panelists – editors Zainal Abidin Bagir and Hefner as well as contributors Erica M. Larson and Alimatul Qibtiyah – discussed their recent book Indonesian Pluralities: Islam, Citizenship, and Democracy. Panelists discussed their years long research and how the book showcases Indonesia as a model for multicultural citizenship, reconciliation after conflict, youth and religious difference, as well as religion and changing gender norms.
A recording of the conversation can be viewed below.
Indonesian Pluralities: Islam, Citizenship, and Democracy shows that, in assessing the quality and dynamics of democracy and citizenship in Indonesia today, we must examine not only elections and official politics, but also the less formal, yet more pervasive, processes of social recognition at work in this deeply plural society. The book offers important insights on the state of Indonesian politics and society more than twenty years after its return to democracy. Learn more about Indonesian Pluralities and purchase a copy on Notre Dame Press’ website.
Robert Hefner has directed 19 research projects and organized 18 international conferences, and authored or edited nineteen books. He is former president of the Association for Asian Studies. At CURA, he directed the program on Islam and civil society since 1991; coordinated interdisciplinary research and public policy programs on religion, pluralism, and world affairs; and is currently involved in two research projects: “The New Western Plurality and Civic Coexistence: Muslims, Catholics, and Secularists in North America and Western Europe”; and “Sharia Transitions: Islamic Law and Ethical Plurality in the Contemporary World.” Read more about Professor Hefner on his faculty profile.