Women in the Shadows

Gender, Puppets, and the Power of Tradition in Bali

Jennifer Goodlander

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Hardback

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English

Ohio University Press
31 October 2016

Puppetry, miniature & toy theatre; Cultural studies; Gender studies: women; Anthropology

Series: Research in International Studies, Southeast Asia Series

"Wayang kulit, or shadow puppetry, connects a mythic past to the present through public ritual performance and is one of most important performance traditions in Bali. The dalang, or puppeteer, is revered in Balinese society as a teacher and spiritual leader. Recently, women have begun to study and perform in this traditionally male role, an innovation that has triggered resistance and controversy. In Women in the Shadows, Jennifer Goodlander draws on her own experience training as a dalang as well as interviews with early women dealing and leading artists to upend the usual assessments of such gender role shifts. She argues that rather than assuming that women performers are necessarily mounting a challenge to tradition, ""tradition"" in Bali must be understood as a system of power that is inextricably linked to gender hierarchy. She examines the very idea of ""tradition"" and how it forms both an ideological and social foundation in Balinese culture, and ultimately, Goodlander offers a richer, more complicated understanding of both tradition and gender in Balinese society. Following in the footsteps of other eminent reflexive ethnographers, Women in the Shadows will be of value to anyone interested in performance studies, Southeast Asian culture, or ethnographic methods."

By: Jennifer Goodlander
Imprint: Ohio University Press
Country of Publication: United States
Volume: 129
Dimensions: Height: 216mm, Width: 140mm, Spine: 16mm
Weight: 422g
ISBN: 9780896803039
ISBN 10: 0896803031
Series: Research in International Studies, Southeast Asia Series
Pages: 216
Publication Date: 31 October 2016
Audience: Professional and scholarly , Undergraduate
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active

Jennifer Goodlander is an assistant professor in the Department of Theatre, Drama, and Dance at Indiana University. She has performed Balinese shadow puppetry in China, Indonesia, and around the United States. Her research focuses on the relationship between tradition and modernity as expressed through puppetry in Southeast Asia.

Reviews for Women in the Shadows: Gender, Puppets, and the Power of Tradition in Bali

Jennifer Goodlander offers a detail-rich, evocative, and insightful account of her practical studies of Balinese wayang kulit, situating her own training in relation to the small group of Balinese women who have performed as puppeteers over the last four decades. --Matthew Isaac Cohen, Professor of International Theatre, Royal Holloway, University of London Goodlander presents an intimate, detailed account of her studies to become a dalang, contextualizing her experiences with those of the few Balinese women dalangs. She contends that this incursion must ultimately be perceived within the gendered power systems of Balinese culture. Summing up: Recommended. --CHOICE