Part of Series
This book examines the development of Indonesian nationalism from the viewpoint of a the urban Christian elite. Placed between the Indonesian nationalist promise of freedom and the (equally Christian) Dutch colonial promise of modernity, their experience of late colonialism was filled with dilemma and ambiguity. Rather than describe dry institutions, this study traces the lives of five politically active Indonesian Christians, both Catholic and Protestant, spanning the late colonial, Japanese occupation and early independence Amir Sjarifoeddin, Bishop Soegijapranata, Kasimo, Moelia and Ratu Langie. For most of them the main problem was not so much the protest against colonialism, but the transition to more modern forms of political community. Their status as a religious minority, and as urban middle class 'migrants' out of their traditional communities, made them more aware that achieving moral consensus was problematic. This book should be of interest to students of Indonesian history, as well as those studying the history of Third World nationalism and the history of Christian missions.
Author
Gerry van Klinken is an honorary research fellow at KITLV, where he worked as a senior researcher until 2018, and at the University of Queensland in Brisbane, Australia. Gerry became professor by special appointment of Southeast Asian Social and Economic History at the University of Amsterdam in 2013, and emeritus upon his retirement in 2018. Gerry’s current research is moving towards the comparative history and politics of climate change adaptation in Asia (Indonesia, Japan, the Philippines and India). He coordinated international research projects on the provincial middle class in Indonesia (In Search of Middle Indonesia, 2006-2011), on citizenship and democratisation in Indonesia (From Clients to Citizens? 2012-2016), and on digital humanities (Elite Network Shifts, 2012-2016). After gaining a MSc in geophysics (Macquarie University, Sydney, 1978), Van Klinken taught physics in universities in Malaysia and Indonesia (1979-91). Thereafter he moved into Asian Studies and earned a PhD in Indonesian history from Griffith University in Brisbane in 1996. After that he taught and researched in this field at universities in Brisbane, Sydney, Canberra, Yogyakarta (Indonesia), and now Leiden and Amsterdam. In 1998 he became a frequent media commentator on Indonesian current affairs in Australia. He was editor of the Australian quarterly magazine Inside Indonesia between 1996 and 2002 and remains on the editorial board. From late 1999 to 2002 he was resident director in Yogyakarta for the Australian Consortium of In-Country Indonesian Studies (Acicis). In 2002-2004 he also spent nine months as research advisor to the Commission for Reception, Truth and Reconciliation in East Timor (CAVR).
