Achmad Zainal Arifin

Thesis Topic: "Rationalisation of Pesantren: Traditional Islamic Educational Institutions in the Middle of Modernised Society"
Supervisor: Julia D. Howell; Co-supervisor: Bryan Turner

Qualifications
Achmad Zainal Arifin (Zen) completed his Bachelor degrees in Comparative Religion (UIN Sunan Kalijaga) and in Sociology (Gadjah Mada University) in 1999 and 2000, respectively. In 2003 he earned a Master's degree in Comparative Religion (Gadjah Mada University) and second Master's in Sociology in 2006 at the University of Northern Iowa, USA. Before commencing his PhD, he lectured in the Sociology Department, UIN Sunan Kalijaga, Yogyakarta and taught at Pesantren al-Munawwir, Komplek L, Yogyakarta.

Research Interests
Zen’s research interests include Sociological Theory, Sociology of Religion, Inter-religious Dialogue, Islam in Indonesia (with a specific focus on traditional Islamic communities).
Zen is currently working on his dissertation on the rationalisation of Pesantren, under the supervision of Prof. Julia Howell and co-supervised Prof. Bryan Turner from CSCMS, UWS. The research aims to understand the rationalisation process that has occurred within traditional Islamic educational institutions (Pesantren).  The main focus is to reveal how Pesantren are able to maintain their traditional value system, while at the same time implementing rationalisation features within their institutions.

Awards
Fulbright Scholarship (MA), 2003
Iowa International Student Fellowship, 2005
Australian Leadership Award (ALA) (PhD), 2008
Allison Sudrajat Award, 2008 (ALA recognition of excellence)

Publications

Journal Articles

'Pesantren and De-marginalisation of Local Cultures: Case Study on Wiwit Tradition' South and Southeast Asian Association for the Study of Culture and Religion (SSEASR), vol.IV, May 2010, pp.132-155.

'Knowing and Applying Symbolic Interactionism in the Field of Religion' Jurnal Sosiologi Reflektif, 2(1) April 2007.

Newspaper Articles

'Whistleblowers and the Corruption Phenomena in Indonesia' Kompas National Newspaper, April 23, 2005.

Contact

17186126@student.uws.edu.au


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