Hestu Prahara, Ph.D. is the Head of the Undergraduate Program in Anthropology at UI for the 2024–2028 period and an anthropologist who examines development as a socio-cultural phenomenon, focusing on cultural continuity and transformation, subjectivity, and personhood within the context of development interventions. He is interested in community-driven development approaches and the dynamics of community agency in development practices. His research combines critical ethnography with reflections on power relations, local knowledge, and social capital, thereby revealing the complexity of social change occurring at the community level. His works highlight how socio-technical imaginations, inscription practices, and the role of development facilitators shape citizens’ experiences with the state and institutions. Through research and teaching, Hestu contributes to the study of development anthropology in Indonesia by emphasizing the importance of an ethnographic perspective sensitive to the voices of local communities.
Profile and Research Interests
Education
- B.A. in Anthropology, University of Indonesia (2008)
- M.A. in Anthropology, University of Indonesia (2013)
- M.A. in Geography and Anthropology, EHESS France (2014)
- Ph.D. in Development Studies, University of Auckland (2024)
Selected Publications
- Prahara, H. (2023). Between community and the state: The role of village facilitators in the implementation of community development in Eastern Indonesia (Doctoral dissertation, University of Auckland).
- Ratri, S. D., & Prahara, H. (2022). “Is This Anthropological Enough?” Reflection on Ethnographic Fieldwork and Limitations of the Body. Antropologi Indonesia, 43(1), 1.
- Prahara, H. (2019). You shall not enter the list: Inscriptional Practices and The Politics of Deservingness in Indonesia. Antropologi Indonesia, 39(1), 5.
- Prahara, H. (2018). Imagined development: Socio-technical imagination in the implementation of community-based development in Indonesia. Antropologi Indonesia, 39(2), 2.
Courses
- Academic Skills in Anthropology
- Anthropology of Power
- Cultural Continuity and Transformation
- Marketing Ethnography Practicum
- Design Anthropology Practicum
- Anthropology of Development
