Hefner Speaks at Conference on Nusantara Philosophy
Robert Hefner, Professor of Anthropology and International Relations at the Frederick S. Pardee School of Global Studies at Boston University, gave the keynote address to open the 6th International Conference on Nusantara Philosophy, which took place at Gadjah Mada University in Yogyakarta, Indonesia on October 13, 2018.
In response to a perceived upsurge in transnational Islamist challenges to Indonesian democracy over the past few years, a variety of government and educational organizations in Indonesia have launched campaigns to try to develop public educational outreach on Indonesian democracy as a reflection of Indonesian cultural inheritances. A major component in this effort has included efforts to develop a “Nusantara” (I.e. Indonesian) public ethics. Gadjah Mada University has been a pioneer in this government and university effort.
Hefner’s keynote was entitled, “Indonesian Democracy and Nusantara Ethics: A Middle Path between Secular Liberalism and Religious Nationalism.” Hefner was also drawn into consultations with the Dean of the Faculty of Philosophy on program initiatives in the field of Nusantara Ethics over the next several years.
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 has 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.” You can read more about him here.