The Graduate School, Sanata Dharma University

Title and Précis:

A Power to Will: Catholic-Democratic Empowerment through the People Performing Arts

     The performing arts constitute a perfect means for creatively expressing new democratic ideas, wishes, demands, doubts, and visions. While the arts in Indonesia have often been manipulated by the ruling class, Indonesian commoners have been shaping the collective democratic conscience through Javanese Kethoprak theater.  Following a post-colonial studies approach, this research will articulate on how certain kethoprak actors as well as spectators have the opportunity to listen in on ordinary conversations and hear the stories of intimate life, where power is negotiated, contested, and revalued in a democratic, dynamic, and fluid process.

Biography:

     Dr. Albertus (Budi) Susanto, S.J. is the Director of the Realino Study Institute at Sanata Dharma University.  He has held this position since 1990 and has also been faculty member in the Graduate School since 1989. Dr. Susanto has received degrees in Philosophy, Anthropology and Theology. He completed his Doctoral degree in cultural anthropology from Cornell University in 1989. In addition to his many published books and articles, Dr. Susanto has received a number of fellowships and honors, including fellowships at Georgetown University and the College of the Holy Cross in Worchester, Massachusetts.