Abstract
As suggested by Ben Anderson, media is a powerful means in creating imagined community and accordingly in establishing a sense of cosmopolitanism. Taking this insight, the presentation will explore the rethoric represented in the series of comic under the title Baladeva, published by Tantraz Comiks (/Comics) Bali, Denpasar. The comic will be framed within the notion of micro-cosmopolitanism—a cosmopolitanism from below (Cronin, 2006)—through which the pressing questions of imagination of nationalism and cosmopolitanism, counter-transnational religious discourse, and religious minority are played out. Contemplating the present day contestation between nationalism and transnationalism discourse, understanding contemporary comics to a degree might illuminate the shift in the present Indonesia, notably from the perspective of popular culture.
Speaker
Leonard Chrysostomos Epafras is a core doctoral faculty and researcher at the Indonesian Consortium for Religious Studies, at the Graduate School of UGM. His research projects include Jewish Studies, Digital Humanities, and Pop-Culture Studies.
Look at the full poster here.
