National Peasants’ Day Protest, Bulukumba, 2013 (Photo credit: AGRA/FPR Bulukumba)

As an activist-scholar I am committed to the struggle for social justice, participatory democracy, and human dignity based on the principle of free and scientific inquiry. I believe that sound academic research, commitment to free speech, and popular empowerment can help each other. Therefore, I try to engage with the broader public, despite my limitations, through several ways:

Teaching: I encourage my students to be active participants in classrooms and engaged citizens in their communities. I also ask my students to ponder upon important social and political issues of the day. Guided by the principle of open and rigorous inquiry, I welcome diverse viewpoints and contentious debates in my classroom.

Public Lectures: I have given a series of academic and public lectures for both academic communities and the broader public in various universities, research institutes, and activist coffeehouses and communities across Indonesia.

Engaged Research: I have been working with various rural communities, NGOs, and social movements in different settings (policy research, dissertation research, and political advocacy, among others). In some occasions, I also engage with policymakers through policy discussion and advocacy. I enjoy these collaborative works and will maintain this engagement in the future. Some of my field notes from these works have been published in New Mandala, Indonesia at Melbourne, MROnline, and Explorations.

Consultancy: I have been involved in policy research and provided consultancies for government and civil society on various issues such as labor, citizenship, rural development, natural resource, and social welfare. My clients and collaborators include the Indonesian Ministry of National Development Planning and the Rosa Luxemburg Stiftung Southeast Asia Manila Office.

Activism and Popular Writing: In another universe, I am a contributing editor for IndoProgress, an online journal connecting progressive scholars and activists in Indonesia. Some of my writings (mostly in Indonesian) can be found in the blog section of this website. I have been published and interviewed by leading media outlets such as The Nation (US), WoZ Die Wochenzeitung, The Japan Times, Channel News Asia, The Interpreter at Lowy Institute, The Jakarta Post, Kompas, Koran Tempo, Tirto.id, VICE Indonesia, and The Conversation Indonesia. I continue to maintain my engagement with Indonesian social movements while keeping a home in academia.