Background
Adams, Kathleen Marie was born on September 25, 1957 in San Francisco, California, United States. Daughter of William and Denise Adams. Two younger brothers.
(Art as Politics explores the intersection of art, identit...)
Art as Politics explores the intersection of art, identity politics, and tourism in Sulawesi, Indonesia. Based on long-term ethnographic research from the 1980s to the present, the book offers a nuanced portrayal of the Sa’dan Toraja, a predominantly Christian minority group in the world’s most populous Muslim country. Celebrated in anthropological and tourism literatures for their spectacular traditional houses, sculpted effigies of the dead, and pageantry-filled funeral rituals, the Toraja have entered an era of accelerated engagement with the global economy marked by on-going struggles over identity, religion, and social relations. In her engaging account, Kathleen Adams chronicles how various Toraja individuals and groups have drawn upon artistically-embellished "traditional" objects—as well as monumental displays, museums, UNESCO ideas about "word heritage," and the World Wide Web—to shore up or realign aspects of a cultural heritage perceived to be under threat. She also considers how outsiders—be they tourists, art collectors, members of rival ethnic groups, or government officials—have appropriated and reframed Toraja art objects for their own purposes. Her account illustrates how art can serve as a catalyst in identity politics, especially in the context of tourism and social upheaval. Ultimately, this insightful work prompts readers to rethink persistent and pernicious popular assumptions—that tourism invariably brings a loss of agency to local communities or that tourist art is a compromised form of expression. Art as Politics promises to be a favorite with students and scholars of anthropology, sociology, cultural studies, ethnic relations, art, and Asian studies. "The unusual richness and appeal of this insightful book unfold in layers, delightful to read yet theoretically sophisticated. Attentive to the ironies, entanglements, and serendipities of life, Adams demonstrates through prose and photographs the changing worlds of Toraja individuals and their artistic productions. Her deeply perceptive, epic account has so much to say that it leaves no room for jargon. She offers instead a mature, refreshingly honest, engaging approach that dynamically illuminates the intricate interconnections between arts and society in the contemporary world. An anthropology of art for these times, Art as Politics meticulously draws from scholarly works while building on the richness of its own history." —Jill Forshee, author of Between the Folds: Stories of Cloth, Lives, and Travels from Sumba 35 illus., 15 in color
http://www.uhpress.hawaii.edu/p-4431-9780824830724.aspx
2006
(Guest-Edited with Maribeth Erb. Special Topic: A Changing...)
Guest-Edited with Maribeth Erb. Special Topic: A Changing Indonesia. Journal published continuously since launched in 1973, the Asian Journal of Social Science provides a forum for exploring issues in Southeast Asian societies. Contributions are from anthropology, economics, geography, history, language and literature, political science, psychology and sociology.
http://booksandjournals.brillonline.com/content/journals/15685314/28/2
2000
professor researcher anthropology educator
Adams, Kathleen Marie was born on September 25, 1957 in San Francisco, California, United States. Daughter of William and Denise Adams. Two younger brothers.
Bachelor, University California, Santa Cruz, 1979. Certified Indonesian Studies (FALCON Program), Cornell University, 1983. Master of Arts / Doctor of Philosophy, University Washington, 1988.
Assistant Curator of Ethnology, Thomas Burke Memorial Washington State Museum, Seattle, 1981-1982. Research interviewer Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, 1983. Visiting researcher Hasanuddin University, Ujung Pandang, Indonesia, 1984-1985.
Teaching Assistant University Washington, 1986-1987, instructor anthropology, 1987. Assistant professor anthropology Beloit (Wisconsin) College, 1988-1993, Mouat Endowed Chair of International Studies, 1991-1993. Assistant professor anthropology Loyola University, Chicago, 1993-1998. Adjunct assistant professor Northern Illinois University, DeKalb, 1991-1993. Director & Fellow, Newberry Library. Program Humanities, Chicago, 1990-1991. Associate Professor, Loyola University Chicago 1998-2005. Full professor, Loyola University Chicago 2006-present.
Research, lecturer, consultant in field.
(Art as Politics explores the intersection of art, identit...)
2006(The peoples and cultures of Southeast Asia. (co-edited wi...)
2012(Co-edited with Sara Dickey.)
2000(Guest-Edited with Maribeth Erb. Special Topic: A Changing...)
2000Fellow American Anthropological Association. Member, Association for Asian Studies, Society for Applied Anthropology, Central States Anthropological Society, Critical Tourism Studies Asia-Pacific (named Distinguished Honorary Member of the Board), Alpha Sigma Nu (Jesuit honor society--honorary faculty inductee).