Indonesia, gender nonconformity, queer activism, masculinities and popular culture.<\/p>\n
About<\/h3>\n
Amirah’s research interests include the intersections of identity, sexuality, new media, gender pluralism, and religion in Indonesia. To trace new<\/span>\u00a0possibilities around gender, queer history, and rights articulation in Muslim-majority Indonesia,<\/span>\u00a0she explores how younger and older generations of gender nonconforming communities carve out alternative spaces, negotiate visibility, and develop activism in Yogyakarta, south-central Java. She seeks to understand how globalized forces (i.e. increased access to education and media) impact the ways individuals form choices, identities, and social structures. While focusing on Indonesia, her research has broader theoretical relevance as it illuminates how gender nonconforming individuals construct power and contribute to social change under rapid cultural, economic, and sociopolitical transformations in Southeast Asia.\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n
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Prior to joining Boston University, Amirah completed her B.A. in Human Development & Social Relations and Gender & Sexuality Studies at Earlham College (2013-2017). She then completed her master’s in Theological Studies at Harvard Divinity School (2018-2020), where she utilized a combined lens of anthropology and gender to study the religious activism of sexual minorities in Indonesia and feminist Islamic hermeneutics.<\/span><\/div>\n
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Awards & Grants<\/h3>\n
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Department of Anthropology Summer Research Grant. (Summer 2023).<\/li>\n