Indonesia: Arts, Religion, and Social Change

Key Features

SIT Bali students presenting their art projects, including modern paintings, Balinese dances, and puppetry.

Students in this program examine the close relationship between religion, fine arts, performing arts, and social organization in contemporary Bali. Students discover the dynamic ways in which Balinese traditional arts are changing, especially in urban settings, in response to the pressures of globalization and increased Balinese engagement with global networks.

Institutions We Work With Include:

The Faculty of Letters of Udayana University in Denpasar, Bali
The Faculty of Philosophy of Gadjah Mada University, Yogyakarta, Central Java
The Faculty of Letters of Warmadewa University, Denpasar, Bali

Bedulu
This program is based in Bedulu, once the central hub of the Udayana dynasty (ca. 900-1200 CE). Bedulu is small, but fairly spread out, giving the feel of a well-organized and spacious village. It is famous for the ancient Samuan Tiga temple complex, which is said to have been the site where three earlier forms of the Balinese Hindu faith were merged to create a single, unified form of religious practice and belief.

Bedulu is home to some of Bali's impressive monuments and relics including the Yeh Pulu carvings; the biggest bronze drum in southeast Asia, located in the Penataran Sasih temple; and Goa Gajah (Elephant Cave). Bedulu provides students excellent access to both visiting researchers and community experts.

Bedulu is located near Ubud, a larger village that has grown into a major hub and crossroads cultural center, attracting Westerners interested in the arts, traditional culture, and "New Age" spiritual studies. SIT students can take advantage of the many amenities of Ubud, which they can reach in 20 minutes by public transportation. Bedulu is also near Denpasar, the island's center for business, academia, and government.

While in Bedulu, students continue with the thematic seminar, the Field Methods and Ethics seminar, and with their study of Bahasa Indonesia. In addition to classroom lectures, student-led discussions, and forums for discussing research methods, students have the opportunity to pursue practicum lessons of local art forms and engage in other cultural activities. The program's library, office, and classroom facilities are all located in Bedulu and are within walking distance from student homestay families.

Interaction with Indonesian peers
The program includes several opportunities for students to meet, socialize, and work together with Indonesian peers. In Java, Indonesian peers are invited to participate in program activities such as inter-faith dialogues and inter-cultural social events.
Local students from Udayana and Warmadewa universities participate in the village excursion to Tabanan. This gives both groups of students a wonderful opportunity to share the surprises of village life, to get to know one other in an informal atmosphere, and to participate in a joint field-study assignment. Indonesian students partner with their SIT peers to conduct interviews and gain primary data for an analytical paper. This gives SIT students an opportunity to practice carrying out interviews in a cross-cultural setting.

Field Study
Field-based exercises are an essential component of this program. One of the highlights of the semester is attendance at religious and other cultural ceremonies. Students witness processions to the river, tall and beautiful handmade rice ornaments, and special dance performances lasting late into the night. Students purchase pakaian adat, the beautiful Balinese clothing to wear to religious ceremonies.

The Field Methods and Ethics seminar instructs students on the techniques, methods, and ethics necessary for successful research. The course focuses on the concepts of learning across cultures and from field experience. Material includes:

Cross-cultural adaptation and skills building
Appropriate field study methodologies
Field study ethics and the World Learning/SIT Human Subjects Review Policy
Developing skills in observation and interviewing
Gathering, organizing, and communicating data
Throughout this section of the program, students establish ideas for their Independent Study Project and learn how to develop their research topics properly.

Independent Study Project
Students spend the last month of the program working on an Independent Study Project (ISP) in which they conduct primary research on a selected topic. These individual research projects allow students to apply the concepts and skills of their experience-based learning in the Field Methods and Ethics seminar and their interdisciplinary coursework, while exploring a topic of particular significance to them.

Student ISPs on this program have been many and various over the years, including those based on arts practica and the social sciences. In the social sciences, students have produced high quality works on topics including:

Balinese rural women's reproductive health issues
Local responses to illegal use of land
The social and ritual organization of "original Balinese" villages in Balinese highland areas

During arts practicum, students have worked with a wide variety of local experts in the fine arts, performing arts, textile arts, and musical arts, and in many cases have established a lasting artistic and personal rapport with their local partners that has led to the development of innovative artistic approaches. Many projects have been beneficial to both SIT students and their Balinese/Indonesian teachers and peers.