"Alterity" and "Reformism": the Australian frontier in Indonesian Studies

Abstract

Most of us who take a profound interest in an Asian society are inspired by one of two motivating forces. Either we identify with some of our Asian friends in their desires to regenerate their society and develop it in a more prosperous and «modern» direction, or we are fascinated by the elements of this culture which are lost or absent in our own. In other words, we are attracted either by the challenge of change or by the miracle of continuity; by what appears potentially in our own image or refreshingly «other» than ourselves.