Unveiling the Mysteries of Aceh: Local and Global Intersections of Women’s Agency
Thursday, March 28th, 2013Thursday, April 4 at 4:30pm
Sociology & Anthropology Faculty Member Siti Kusujiarti
& Student Researchers Annie Pryor, Libba Miano, Breanna Ryan
Present their research:
Forces of tradition, globalization and Islam continuously inform one another and manifested dynamically in cultures across the world. Scholars of globalization often assume that it may have distinct and independent effects of polarization, homogenization or hybridization. However, we argue that these responses to globalization may in fact occur simultaneously within the same community. The manifestations and responses vary depending on the nature of the interactions of global and local factors. Our research focuses on specific ways in which matrifocal traditions, the globalization of feminism and Islamic revivalism shape women’s identities in Aceh — Indonesia’s most Muslim-dominated province. Local institutions provide both the context and structure through which women engage with these global discourses. This research is framed within the global context of competing ideologies, but directly pinpoints the specific impacts on the development of women’s identities in Aceh within the context of the implementation of Shari’ah law.
Prof. Kusujiarti is the recipient of the 2012 Magnarella Family Faculty Scholarship Award which honors faculty for their empirical research.
