Profile and Research Interests
Aryo Danusiri, Ph.D. is an anthropologist and documentary filmmaker whose work explores the intersection of anthropology, critical media, and visual practice. He completed his doctorate at Harvard University in Social Anthropology and Critical Media Practice and is affiliated with the Harvard Sensory Ethnography Lab. His research focuses on the relationships between politics, technology, ethics, religion, public space, and the climate crisis. As a documentary filmmaker, Aryo has developed a multimodal approach to documenting contemporary social issues, including the “Fire Play” project on indigenous fire governance in Indonesia. He also serves as an editor for the series Knowhow in a Shifting World, which discusses epistemology and the transmission of knowledge across global contexts. His films and writings position him as a figure bridging academic anthropology with artistic practice and political advocacy.
Education
- Bachelor of Anthropology, University of Indonesia (1997)
- M.Phil. in Visual Cultural Studies, Tromsø University, Norway (2005)
- Ph.D. in Social Anthropology and Critical Media Practice, Harvard University
Selected Publications
- Danusiri, A. (Forthcoming). Knowhow in a Shifting World. In Intermission: Mediating Knowledge and Politics in West Papua. IIAS & Humanities Across Borders (HAB).
- Danusiri, A. (2024). Culture as Technology. Inside Indonesia, Issue 156 (Apr–Jun).
- Danusiri, A. (2018). Intersubjectivity and Camera Style in Ethnographic Film. Jurnal Antropologi Indonesia, 39(1).
- Danusiri, A. (2018). Counter-Political Chronotopes and the Visuality of Victims in Documentary Film: A Media Anthropology Study. Jurnal Antropologi Indonesia, 39(2).
- Danusiri, A. (2014). Performing Crowds: The Circulative Urban Forms of the Tariqa Alawiya Youth Movement in Contemporary Indonesia. In Lanz (Ed.), Global Prayers: Contemporary Manifestations of the Religious in the City – metroZones 13.
- Danusiri, Y., et al. (2009). Figures of Indonesian Modernity. Indonesia, 87, 35–72. Cornell University Southeast Asia Program.
Courses
- Linguistic Anthropology
- Mobility, Spatiality, and Circulation
- Urban Political Ecology
- Architectural Anthropology
- Digital Anthropology
- Anthropology of Ethics and Innovation
- Anthropology of Infrastructure and Technology
