Part of a project to develop approaches that overcome the binaries that have limited heritage research and management, this presentation interrogates resident, official and international museums’ treatment of nationally important Majapahit artefacts in Trowulan, Indonesia.  Drawing on a fascinating local history of resident engagement with and knowledge of artefacts, Tod will argue for a broad understanding of what constitutes valuable relationships with artefacts, which leads to a reconsideration of the concept of artefact.

Bio:

Tod Jones is a Senior Lecturer Geography at Curtin University in Perth, Australia where he is also co-Director of the Research Unit for both the Study of Societies in Change (RUSSIC) and the Tourism Research Cluster (TRC).  Tod is also Membership Secretary for the Institute of Australian Geographers, the peak national geography organisation in Australia.  Tod’s research interests are cultural and political geographies in Australia and Indonesia. His current projects are on Indigenous heritage and urban planning, social movements and heritage, and developing innovative approaches to heritage and landscape management.  His book Culture, Power, and Authoritarianism in the Indonesian State was published by Brill in 2013. Its Indonesian translation was debated in parliament and influenced the national 2017 cultural policy legislation.  He is currently working on his second book, Heritage is movement (in configuration with an environment).