Claire-Marie Hefner

Research interests

Professor Hefner has conducted research in Java, Indonesia since 2008, though her
experiences living in and visiting the country go back to 1995. Her work focuses on
themes of gender, embodiment, moral learning, and education. She is currently
completing her book manuscript titled, Achieving Islam: Women, Education, and
Morality in Indonesia, a comparative study of two Islamic boarding schools for girls in
Yogyakarta. It asks, how does Islamic schooling impact the imagined futures and real-
life trajectories of their female students? What does the moral learning of Indonesian
Islamic boarding school (pesantren) students tell us about how young Muslims today
engage, reconceive, and enact Islam? What role does leisure and fun play in the moral
formation of Muslim women students? What lessons does this Indonesian example offer
for how anthropologists understand freedom, agency, and human flourishing?
Professor Hefner’s research has been funded by the National Science Foundation, The
Wenner-Gren Foundation for Anthropological Research, and National Academy of
Education/Spence Foundation. Her next project looks at perceived declines in piety in
Indonesia as they relate to changes to the national curriculum vis-à-vis religious
education.
At Union, Professor Hefner will teach courses on environmental anthropology; gender
and sexuality; education; Southeast Asian studies; and Islam. Prior to Union, Professor
Hefner held teaching positions in Anthropology and Religious Studies at Bard College,
Florida State University, and Manhattanville College.