Wahyudi Akmaliah, Review: Making the subject of Sunda, Inside Indonesia, 14 April 2025
What is ethnicity? Is it social construction or a part of an ancestral heritage? In what way is ethnicity significant in the Indonesian context? These are the questions Holy Rafika Dhona tries to answer in Subjek Sunda: Genealogi. Kelahiran, dan Kewilayahan. Specifically, he offers a perspective on the emergence of Sundanese identity by employing Michel Foucault’s concept (1973) of the genealogy of knowledge and Thongchai Winichakul’s notion (1994) of the geo-body of the nation. Rather than viewing Sunda as a pre-existing ethnic category predating colonial rule, Holy argues that it is a social construction shaped by the impact of colonisation, which sought to both dominate and govern the colonised society within the Dutch East Indies administration.
A contemporary impetus Dhona opens the book with a fundamental question: Was Sunda identity established as an ancestral heritage, or was it a colonial construction?
Foucault News 