Material Text Cultures - Collaborative Research Centre 933 of the German Research Foundation at Heidelberg University

Prof. Dr. Richard Fox

C07

Anthropology
Department of Anthropology

Telephone: (0049) 0 62 21/54 22 27
E-Mail: rfox@eth.uni-heidelberg.de

Address

Insitut für Ethnologie
Bergius-Villa
Albert-Ueberle-Straße 3-5, Zimmer 104
69120 Heidelberg

Curriculum Vitae

Employment

Wissenschaftlicher Mitarbeiter, Institut für Ethnologie, Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg, Germany. 2012-present.
Research Associate, Department of Anthropology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA. 2011-12.
Fulbright Senior Scholar, Indonesia, Universitas Udayana (Denpasar, Bali) & University of Chicago, 2010-2011
Assistant Professor of the History of Religions, University of Chicago Divinity School, 2006-2010
Visiting Assistant Professor, Department of Religion, with adjunct appointment in Asian Studies, Williams College, 2004-2006
Postdoctoral Research Affiliate, Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA. 2003-04.

Education

PhD in Cultural Anthropology and Religious Studies, 2002 School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London.
Dissertation: From Text to Television: Mediating Religion in Contemporary Bali.
MA with Distinction in Oriental and African Religions, 1995, School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London.
Thesis: Gotama, Buddha and Tathāgata: Three Facets of the Identity of Sakyamuni Buddha
Exams: Sanskrit Language, Buddhist Studies, Indian Philosophy
BA in Religious Studies with High Honors, Phi Beta Kappa, 1994 University of California at Santa Barbara
Honors Thesis: An Ethnographic Study of Religious Practice in a Rural Balinese Village.

Teaching and Examining

Institut für Ethnologie, Ruprecht-Karls Universität Heidelberg: Practical Matters (On Material Culture Studies); Ethnography and the Problem of Complexity; Power and the Agglutinative Soul.
University of Chicago Divinity School: Graduate Courses: Contemporary Theory for the Study of Religion; Why Media Matter; Contemporary Perspectives on Religion, Media and Society; Mass Media and Religious Violence; Other People’s Practices; History and Complexity; The Idea of Religion in Bali; Religion and Performance in Java and Bali; Reading Courses: Religion and Society in Contemporary Sri Lanka; Issues in the Study of Religion and Society in Contemporary Bali; Qualifying Exams: Contemporary Theory; Globalization and Postcoloniality; Religion and Society in Southeast Asia; Ethnography of Bali. Undergraduate: Religion, Gender & the Idea of Power. Advising for MA in Soc. Sciences and the BA Senior Thesis in Religious Studies.
Williams College, Undergraduate: Hindu Traditions; Introduction to Religion; Religion, Gender & the State; Mass Media & Religious Violence; Advising Independent Research & Senior Theses; Winter Study Program in Bali, Indonesia.
School of Oriental and African Studies (University of London): First-year Sanskrit Language, Introduction to Buddhist Studies, Theory and Method in the Study of Religions; Advisor for several undergraduate Independent Research Projects and Co-advisor for MA thesis in Anthropology. Teaching as an assistant (ta): Anthropology of Asian Media; Sacred Language and Scripture; Introduction to the Religions of Asia and Africa; Introduction to Buddhist Studies.

Publications

Materials in Preparation

Aksara: Rival Styles of Writing, Rival Styles of Practical Reasoning. Single-authored book-length monograph in preparation. Anticipated completion: June 2015.
Transforming Tradition: Theorizing Religion and Complexity in Contemporary Bali. Single-authored book-length monograph in preparation as the Habilitationsschrift. Anticipated completion: December 2015.
The Materiality and Efficacy of Balinese Letters: Situating Scriptural Practice. A volume co-edited with Annette Hornbacher. Anticipated publication: November 2015.
‘The Meaning of Life… or, How to Do Things with Letters’. Chapter contribution to Fox and Hornbacher (eds.), as above. Anticipated publication: November 2015.
‘Capitalizing on the Family: Domestic Rites and New Forms of Solidarity in Contemporary Bali’. Article in preparation for edited volume on Religion and Globalization (ed. T. Srinivas).
Invited review essay on recent publications on religion and media. Religious Studies Review.

Books, Edited Volumes and Special Issues in Print

2011 Critical Reflections on Religion and Media in Contemporary Bali. Single-authored monograph with accompanying DVD. Numen Book Series: Studies in the History of Religions, 130. Leiden: Brill.
2008 Entertainment Media in Indonesia. Edited with Mark Hobart. New York & London: Routledge.
2006 Special issue of the Asian Journal of Communication. Edited with Mark Hobart.

Articles, Chapters and Reviews in Print and in Press

2014, in press ‘Why Do Balinese Make Offerings? Precedent and the Problem of Complexity’. Bijdragen tot de Taal-, Land- en Volkenkunde.
2014, in press ‘Religion, Media and Cultural Studies’. In Theory/Critique/Religion: Classic and Contemporary Approaches. Richard King (ed.). New York: Columbia University Press.
2013 ‘Om Swasty-Alaikum... Interpreting Religio-Ethnic Humor on the Balinese Stage’. Archipel: Études interdisciplinarires sur le monde insulindien. 86(2): 43-72.
2013 Entry for ‘Indonesian Hinduism’. Brill’s Encyclopedia of Hinduism. Leiden: Brill.
2013 Review of Jerryson, M.K. (2011) Buddhist Fury: Religion and Violence in Southern Thailand. Oxford: OUP. For The Journal of Religion. 93(3): 409-410.
2012 ‘Ngelidin Sétra, Nepukin Sema? Thoughts on Language and Writing in Contemporary Bali’. Jurnal Kajian Bali. 2(2): 21-48.
2011 ‘Getting the Story Straight? Some Untimely Thoughts on History, Literature and the Performing Arts in Bali’. Article invited for inaugural issue of Jurnal Kajian Bali. 1(1): 27-57.
2010 ‘Why Media Matter: Religion and the Recent History of “the Balinese”’. History of Religions. 41(4): 354-92.
2009 ‘Religion, Media and Cultural Studies’ Pre-publication draft of contribution to Theory/Critique/Religion; published to the Martin Marty Center’s Religion and Culture Web Forum.
2008 ‘Afterword’. Entertainment Media in Indonesia. Edited with Mark Hobart. New York and London: Routledge. (Reprinted from Asian Journal of Communication. 16(4): 432-8).
2007 ‘Booknote’ on Reichle, N. (2007) Violence and Serenity: Late Buddhist Sculpture from Indonesia. Honolulu: University of Hawai’i Press. Religious Studies Review. 35(4): 311.
2007 ‘Visions of Terror: On the Use of Images in Mass-Mediated Representations of the 2002 Bali Bombings’. In Media and Political Violence. Annabelle Sreberny et al. (eds.) Cresskill: Hampton Press. Pp. 211-45. 2007.
2006 ‘Strong and Weak Media? On the Representation of ‘Terorisme’ in Contemporary Indonesia’. Modern Asian Studies. 40(4): 993-1052.
2005 ‘Plus ça change… Recent Developments in Old Javanese Studies and Their Implications for the Study of Religion in Contemporary Bali’. Bijdragen tot de Taal-, Land- en Volkenkunde. 16191): 63-97.
2003 ‘Substantial Transmissions: A Presuppositional Analysis of “The Old Javanese Text” as an Object of Knowledge, and Its Implications for the Study of Religion in Bali’. Bijdragen tot de Taal-, Land- en Volkenkunde. 159/1 (2003): 65-107.
1999 Review of: Schober, J. (ed.) Sacred Biography in the Buddhist Traditions of South and Southeast Asia. University of Hawaii Press (1997). Reviewed in The Middle Way, 73/4 (1999): 245-6.
1996 Review of: Powers, J. Introduction to Tibetan Buddhism. Snow Lion (1995). Reviewed in The Middle Way. 71/2 (1996): 125-7.

Grants, Scholarly Recognition and Awards

Three-year research appointment for current project on religious uses of script and writing in contemporary Bali. Funded by the Sonderforschungsbereich 933: Materiale Textkulturen; Materialität und Präsenz des Geschriebenen in non-typographischen Gesellschaften. April 2012 - July 2015.
Fulbright Senior Scholar Award, for a ten-month ethnographic research project in Bali, Indonesia. Project title: Practices Unseen: A Traditional Practice in the Contemporary World. Sept. 2010 - July 2011.
Innovative Course Design Award in Gender and Sexuality Studies; Center for Gender Studies, University of Chicago, 2007-08. Course: Religion, Gender and the Idea of Power.
Nine months’ field research in Bali, Indonesia; funded by research leave award from the University of Chicago Divinity School (Sept. 2006 - March 2007; July-August 2007; December 2008).
Secured full funding from several sources (see below) for a series of seminars, lectures and performances at Williams College entitled Power and Performance: Theatrical Bodies and Persons in Contemporary Bali. 2006.
Secured full funding from several sources (see below) for a series of seminars, lectures and performances at Williams College entitled Performance, Aesthetics, Critique: Balinese Theatre and Dance in the 21st Century. 2005.
Secured ‘Travel assistance for Asian scholars of Asia’ grant for Dr Faruk ht to act as discussant at panel on ‘Élites, media and the masses’ (AAS; see below). 2004.
Doctoral Research Grant from the Sutasoma Trust. School of Oriental and African Studies (London).
Travel Grant for attending Media, Practice, Antagonisms conference in Singapore. School of Oriental and African Studies (London), 1999.
Research Grant for continued ethnographic work in Indonesia. Jordan Bequest. School of Oriental and African Studies (London), 1998.
Additional Fieldwork Award for ethnographic research in Indonesia. School of Oriental and African Studies (London). 1996.
Phi Beta Kappa Society. Lambda of California Chapter. Univ. of California at Santa Barbara. 1994.
Raimundo Panikkar Award in the Comparative Study of Religions. Department of Religious Studies. University of California at Santa Barbara. 1994.
Dean’s honors. University of California at Santa Barbara. 1992-94.

Learned Societies and Other Professional Affiliations

American Academy of Religion (AAR)
Association of Asian Studies (AAS)
American Anthropological Association (AAA)
Society for the Anthropology of Religion (SAR)

Academic Service and Administrative Experience

Founding Editor, Heidelberg Ethnology. A peer-reviewed open access Occasional Paper Series published by the Universitätsbibliothek Heidelberg.
Co-chair, Religion and Southeast Asia Group, AAR: 2011-present. (On steering committee since 2011.)
Steering committee, Indonesian and Timor Leste Studies Committee, AAS: 2006-present.
Member, the committee responsible for drawing up a report on the annual conference of the Asia and Europe in a Global Context ‘Cluster of Excellence’, Ruprecht-Karls Universität Heidelberg. Nov., 2012.
Academic Policy Committee, University of Chicago Divinity School, 2008-2010.
Undergraduate Studies Committee, University of Chicago Divinity School, 2009-2010.
Peer reviewing for: Edinburgh University Press; Journal of the American Academy of Religion; History of Religions; Journal of Religion; American Ethnologist; Asian Journal of Communication; Practical Matters; Sophia; Humanities and Religion list at Lawrence King Publishing.
Affiliate, Center for Gender Studies, University of Chicago. 2008-2010.
Member, Committee on Southern Asian Studies (COSAS), University of Chicago. 2006-2010.
Deputy Director (2001-2011) and Archivist (2000-01), Balinese and Javanese Research Archive.
Founding Chair, Indonesian and East Timor Studies Paper Prize Committee (AAS), 2009-10.
Project Supervisor, MA Program in the Social Sciences, University of Chicago, 2007-08.
Member, Consultative Group on Performance Studies, Williams College, 2005-06.
Proof-reading, editorial work and Colloquium Chair for The Buddhist Forum, The Buddhist Heritage and Buddhica Brittanica, ed. T. Skorupski. 1995-96; 2001-02.
Research Associate, Asian Media Project. School of Oriental and African Studies (London) in conjunction with the University of Chicago, Nanyang Technological Univ. (Singapore) and Sekolah Tinggi Seni Indonesia, Denpasar. 1999-2001.
Member, Media Research Group. SOAS, University of London.
Founding Member and Co-organizer, Derby Deliberations group for the discussion of theory and method in the study of religion. University of Derby, UK. 1998-2000.
Co-founder and co-convener (1997-98) and Convener (1998-99), Interdisciplinary Research Workshops on Religion and Media. Media Research Group and Department of the Study of Religions, SOAS, University of London.
Research and Production Assistant, The Balinese Historical and Instructional Study Materials Archive (BHISMA), SOAS, University of London and Sekolah Tinggi Seni Indonesia, Denpasar, Bali. 1997-99.
Graduate Departmental Representative, Autumn term. Department of the Study of Religions, SOAS, University of London. 1996-97.
Undergraduate Representative, Faculty teaching evaluation committee. Department of Religious Studies, University of California at Santa Barbara. 1992-94.

Papers Delivered at Conferences and Colloquia

‘Reasoning About the Good Life Adrift in a Sea of Islam; or, An Indonesian Muslim in the Balinese Polis’. Association of Asian Studies Conference. Philadelphia. March 2014.
‘The Meaning of Life… or, How to Do Things with Letters’. Paper to the conference on The Materiality and Efficacy of Aksara: Situating Balinese Scriptural Practice, sponsored by the SFB 933 on Material Text Culture, and hosted by the Institut für Ethnologie, Ruprecht-Karls Universität Heidelberg (Jan 30 - Feb 2, 2014).
‘Balinese Religion… What is the Point? On History, Complexity and Teleology.’ Institutskolloquium, Institut für Ethnologie, Ruprecht-Karls Universität Heidelberg. January 22. 2013.
‘Of Media and Morality: Rival Styles of Writing, Rival Styles of Practical Reasoning’. American Academy of Religions Conference. Chicago, IL. November 2012.
‘The Idea of Balinese Tradition: Three Rival Versions of Historical Inquiry’. Conference on Bali in Global Asia: Between Modernization and Heritage Formation. Denpasar, Indonesia. July, 2012.
‘Om Swasty-Alaikum... Interpreting Religio-Ethnic Humor on the Balinese Stage’. Association of Asian Studies Conference. Toronto. March 2012.
‘All the Better to Govern You: Domestic Rites, Capitalism and the Changing Family in a Southern Balinese Community’. American Academy of Religions Conference. San Francisco, CA. Nov, 2011.
‘The Agamic Function: Hinduism, Television and Performance in Late New Order Indonesia’. American Academy of Religions Conference. Chicago, IL. November 2008.
‘Mediating Security: Religion-Related Violence and the Islamic Press in Indonesia’. Luce Symposium on Religion and Human Security: Negotiating the Power of Religious Non-State Actors. Seattle, WA. May 2008.
‘Of Ajeg and Agama: Accounting for Religious Heterogeneity in Contemporary Bali’. European Society of Southeast Asian Studies Conference. Naples, Italy. September 2007.
‘Not a Question of Balance: Some Preliminary Remarks on Space, Time and Agency in Balinese Topeng Pajegan.’ European Society of Southeast Asian Studies Conference. Naples, Italy. Sept. 2007.
‘See It Live! Televised Trials, Rehearsed Reenactment and the Advertised Performance of Terrorism’. Association for Asian Studies Conference. Chicago, IL. April 2005.
‘Strong and Weak Media? On the Articulation of Religion and “Terorisme” in the Indonesian Press’. Association for Asian Studies Conference. San Diego, CA. March, 2004.
‘From Chaos to Coherence? Critical Comments on Media Coverage of the October 12^th bombing in Bali’. 3rd International Convention of Asia Scholars, National University of Singapore. August 2003.
‘Visions of Terror: Critical Remarks on Mass Mediated Images of the October 12^th Bombings in Bali’. Center for Southeast Asian Studies Conference on Sectarian Violence in Eastern Indonesia: Causes and Consequences. University of Hawaii at Manoa, HI. May 2003.
‘Subjected to Tolerance: The Televised Articulation of Hindu Subjects in Late New Order Indonesia’. Society for the Anthropology of Religion Conference. Providence, RI. April 2003.
‘Para Pemirsa yang Berbahagia: Mediating “The Dharma Community” in New Order Indonesia’. British Association for the Study of Religions Conference. Cambridge, UK. September 2001.
‘Forget the Appearances: Some Thoughts from a Copernican in TV Land’. 18th Quinquennial Congress, International Association for the History of Religions. Durban, South Africa. August 2000.
Discussant, ‘Media Representations of Religion or Religion Re-presented’. Conference on Religion and Media in Nigeria, sponsored by the University of Birmingham and the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London. February 2000.
‘electronic medi(t)ations: the_religious_subject@indonesia.net’. Conference on Media, Practice, Antagonisms: Rethinking the role of mass communication researchers in Asia. Sponsored by AMIC-SCS-SOAS. Nanyang Technological University, Singapore. June 1999.
‘Mediating the Text: A Critical Approach to Textual Practices’. Colloquium on Textual Practices. Derby Deliberations, University of Derby, UK. January, 1999.
‘Online Antagonisms?: Some Implications of Ernesto Laclau’s Recent Work for the Study of Religion and Mass Media’. Reply to Media Research Workshop seminar presentation by Professor Ernesto Laclau. School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London. November 1998.
‘Are the Masses Really Silent? Some Remarks on the Potential of Audience Commentary for a Critique of Eurocentrism in Cultural and Media Studies’. Second Annual Conference of the Pacific Asian Cultural Studies Forum. Goldsmiths College, University of London. June 1998.
‘Unifying Diversity? Some Remarks on Religion, Media and Commentary in Contemporary Bali’. Religion and Media Research Workshop, SOAS, University of London. March 1998.
‘How to Do Things with Texts: Taking Austin to Bali’. Religious Studies Methodology Conference, University of Wolverhampton, UK. November 1997.
‘Kakawin Sutasoma: Balinese Interpretations of an Old Javanese Buddhistic text’. Delivered in September. Annual Conference, British Assoc. for the Study of Religions. Oxford, UK. Sept. 1997.

Invited Talks and Lectures

‘All in the Family: Thinking About Religion, Media and the Problem of ‘Social Change’ in Contemporary Bali’. Colloquium paper to the Department of Anthropology, Georg-August University of Goettingen. April 24, 2014.
‘Capitalizing on the Family: Domestic Rites and New Forms of Solidarity in Contemporary Bali’. Paper invited for Rethinking Religion and Globalization: A Cross-Disciplinary Conversation. Kate Hamburger Kolleg, Bochum. Oct 21-22, 2013.
‘Why do Balinese Make Offerings? Some Thoughts on History and Complexity.’ Invited talk at the Council for Southeast Asia Studies, Yale University. January, 2012.
‘Televisi, Kebudayaan dan Modal: Seni Pertunjukan Bali Kini’. (Television, Culture and Capital: Bali’s Performing Arts Today’. Keynote speaker, GEOKS Sixth Anniversary Conference on Arts and Culture Programming on Balinese TV. GEOKS Center for Performing Arts. Singapadu, Bali. 21 December 2010.
‘Pertunjukan dan Penafsiran: Tinjauan Kritis Mengenai Konsep Kekuasaan dalam Topeng Pajegan’. (Performance and Interpretation: Critical Observations Regarding the Concept of Power in Topeng Pajegan.) GEOKS Center for Performing Arts. Singapadu, Bali. December 2008.
‘Identitas dan Perubahan: Konsep Agama Hindu Pasca Pengeboman’. (Identity and Change: The Concept of Hinduism After the Bombing.) Fakultas Sastra (Faculty of Letters), Udayana University. Denpasar, Bali. February 2007.
‘Ajeg, Agama and Articulation: Of Religion and Politics in Post-Bomb Bali.‘ School for International Training, Péjéng, Bali. October, 2006.
‘Sejarah, Perbedaan dan Perubahan: Sebuah Perspektif Kritis Terhadap Pentingnya Mengelola Arsip’. (History, Difference and Change: A Critical Perspective on the Importance of Maintaining Archives.) Archival Division, Lembaga Ilmu Pengetahuan Indonesia (LIPI, Indonesian Institute of Sciences). Jakarta, Indonesia. February 2004.
‘Diseminasi: Peran Arsip dan Pusat Informasi dalam Penanganan Konflik di Indonesia’. (Dissemination: The Role of Archives and Information Centers in Handling Conflict in Indonesia.) Archival Division, LIPI. Jakarta, Indonesia. August 2003.
‘Penglihatan, Kehadiran dan Kekerasan: Sebuah Penelitian Kritis Mengenai Representasi Media Massa Terhadap Agama di Jaman ‘Perang Melawan Terorisme’. (Vision, Presence and Violence: A Critical Examination of Mass-Mediated Representations of Religion in the Era of ‘The War on Terror”.) Pusat Studi Kebudayaan (Center for Cultural Studies), Gajah Mada University. Yogyakarta, Indonesia. August 2003.
‘Mediating Religion: Indonesian Television and the Dissemination of Agama Hindu’. Department of Religion, Yale University. New Haven, Connecticut. April 2001.
‘Literature and Religion in Bali’. Kings College, University of London. 1998.
‘Pariwisata dan Pembangunan di Bali Modéren’. (Tourism and Development in modern Bali). Fakultas Sastra (Faculty of Letters), Udayana University. Denpasar, Bali. 1996.
‘An Introduction to Hinduism in Indonesia’. 3 lectures. California State Univ. at Long Beach. 1995.

Panels and Other Events Organized

Organized panel entitled When is Politics? Islam and the Idea of ‘the Political’ in Indonesian Studies at the Annual Meetings of the Association of Asian Studies in Philadelphia, USA (March 2014).
Co-organized an international conference entitled The Materiality and Efficacy of Aksara: Situating Balinese Scriptural Practice, sponsored by the SFB 933 on Material Text Culture, and hosted by the Institut für Ethnologie, Ruprecht-Karls Universität Heidelberg (Jan 30 - Feb 2, 2014). Organization included managing a budget of approximately €11,000.
Organized panel entitled Islam and Public Ethics at the Annual Meetings of the American Academy of Religion in Baltimore, USA (November 2013).
Power and Performance: Theatrical Bodies and Persons in Contemporary Bali. A full week of seminars, performances, lectures and workshops, bringing together Bali’s leading choreographers & dancers with academic experts on performance from Indonesia, the US and UK. Supported by $8000 raised both from within the College and from outside sources. April 2006, Williams College.
Religion and the Performing Arts in Contemporary Bali. Winter Study Course, Williams College. January 2006. This three-week course incorporated language and cultural study with experiential learning. This included a period of ‘home stay’ study for each student, and an independent study project.
Performance, Aesthetics, Critique: Balinese Theatre and Dance in the 21st Century. Three nights of seminars, performances and lectures, bringing together four of Bali’s leading choreographers & dancers with academic experts on performance from Indonesia, the US and UK. Supported by $4000 provided jointly by the Dean of Faculty, Dept of Anthropology & Sociology, Dept of Asian Studies, Dept of Religion, Lecture Committee & President’s Office. Performers: I Wayan Dibia, I Nyoman Catra, Désak Madé Suarti Laksmia & Ni Madé Pujawati.April 2005, Williams College.
That’s Entertainment! Élites, Media and ‘The Masses’ in Post-Suharto Indonesia. A peer-reviewed panel for the Annual Conference of the Association of Asian Studies (AAS). Sponsor: Indonesian and East Timor Studies Committee (provided an additional $375 in funding). Supported by $2150 travel grant from AAS (see Grants, below). Panelists: Gareth Barkin (Washington Univ.), Richard Fox (Williams College), Mark Hobart (SOAS, London), Andrew Weintraub (Univ. of Pittsburgh) March 2005. Discussant: Faruk ht (Universitas Gajah Mada, Yogyakarta, Indonesia). Proceedings published in Hobart and Fox (2006).