This lecture will be available to attend in person or online. See registration links below:
Dr. Sofjan's talk delves into the complex and multifaceted phenomenon of polarization in Southeast Asia, which is connected to the Global Initiative on Polarization. It examines the multidimensionality of polarization in the post-colonial states of Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore. It looks into the historical and political trajectories as well as the existing sociocultural and religious frameworks that deepen and intertwine with the uniqueness of the contemporary social fragmentation in the region, making national unity and identity formation a relentless challenge. The talk will take stock of the lessons learned and analyze through the solution spectrum perspectives in the hopes to usher in some polarization mitigation measures.
Dicky Sofjan, Ph.D., is a Core Doctoral Faculty in the Indonesian Consortium for Religious Studies (ICRS), based in the Graduate School of Universitas Gadjah Mada (UGM) in Yogyakarta. His teaching and research interests include: religion and politics, ethics, spirituality and sustainability. He is currently a Vice President for Globethics, based in Geneva, Switzerland. Dr. Sofjan has been engaged in various global inter-religious initiatives such as the G20 Interfaith Forum, KAICIID, DICIID, Focolare and many more. He is a recipient of multiple international grants and fellowships from partners such as Templeton, Henry Luce, Ford, Carnegie Council, Nippon Foundation, Erasmus+, EUVP, Asian Public Intellectuals, Fulbright, etc. His works have been published in Springer Nature, Review of Faith and International Affairs, Journal of Religions, Asia-Pacific Network (APN) Science Bulletin, Journal of Hemispheres, Al-Jami’ah, Journal of Middle Eastern and South Asian Studies, Globethics.net, Areca Books, Kompas Gramedia, Yayasan Obor, Mizan, etc. He can be contacted at: dickysofjan@ugm.ac.id.
This lecture is presented by the UCLA Asia Pacific Center and co-sponsored by the UCLA Institute of the Environment and Sustainability, UCLA California Center for Sustainable Communities, UCLA Political Science Department, UCLA Center for the Study of Religion, and UCLA Center for Southeast Asian Studies.