Crossroads in Cultural Studies Conference 14-17th December 2016 Program Index

for all sorts of things: genetics, vitality, economy. But it is also something felt, something non-metaphorically
real: the hydraulics of the body in labor. The use of blood as a justification for labor something that both
understandings of blood encompass and goes beyond kinship and figures of speech. Blood speaks to the
experience of labor, longing, and loss. It is the goal and its inception. It is what proliferates. And it circulates,
even for those for whom shrimping in not in their blood, who must content themselves listening for the
whispers of blood. I argue that blood goes beyond individual vocation: it is the basis for magic, memory, and
an ecological model of care. I argue that it may help us understand our attachment to labor in a rapidly
deindustrializing world.
7S
Culture, Gender and Generation (Chair, Zhongwei Li)
Nur Wulan Ways of Being Male among Indonesian Young Urban Muslim Students: Negotiating Islam, Javanese
Norms, and Popular Cultures
This paper examines norms of masculinities identified among young urban Muslims in Surabaya, Indonesia.
The interviews and observation conducted between 2011 to 2014 show that young urban Muslim males
have attempted to negotiate Islamic and Javanese norms, as well as popular cultures, in the formation of
masculine norms. The Islamic and Javanese values could be blended harmoniously in their perception of
ideal masculine norms as both cultures place the ability to be restrained as their prominent values. Although
references to physical strength and muscularity inspired by popular films emerge, restrained masculinity
seems to be the most prominent. This study suggests that Islamic and Javanese norms play an important role
in the formation of masculinities among young males in Surabaya. Highlighting the dimension of Islam
associated with submission, the increasingly more visible Islamic expressions in the Reformasi period could
go hand in hand with Javanese cultures. Further research studying masculinities in more diverse cultural
groups need to be conducted in order to gain a more representative picture of Indonesian masculinities.
Bin Wang
Chinese Feminists on Campus: Academics, Women’s/Gender Studies, and Student Activism
This paper examines how contemporary Chinese feminists on campus, both academics and
students, articulate gender politics within and outside universities. In the first place, young
academic feminists understand themselves to be more willing to identify as feminists than were
their predecessors. While women’s/gender studies has not developed into a stand-alone discipline,
academic feminists continue to find ways to offer courses on women and gender, and organize
feminist symposia and conferences in order to connect with like-minded colleagues across China.
One benefit of this hard work is the increasing number of students drawn to women’s/gender
studies, and feminism. Students often initially join feminist groups established by teachers and then
gradually become more independent in running social media platforms and organizing activities.
This paper argues that an under-recognized lineage of academics has ensured the presence of
feminist teaching and research in an increasing range of Chinese universities. Classes focused on
women, gender, and feminism, across varied disciplines, have been a crucial place where young
feminists emerge and student activism initiates. In some cities campus feminism also facilitates
small external volunteer groups and NGOs, and feminist activism becomes most visible when there
is a healthy interaction between academics, students, and NGO workers.
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