Social life of material culture, traditional textile, cultural heritage, vernacular architecture

Mochammad Arief Wicaksono is a doctoral student at the Institute for Social Anthropology and Empirical Cultural Studies (ISEK), University of Zurich. His PhD project, Gendering Heritage: Masculinity, Value, and the Political Economy of Sumba Ikat in Eastern Indonesia, explores how processes of heritagisation intersect with changing gender relations, particularly the increasing involvement of men in handwoven textile production. Through long-term ethnographic research in Eastern Indonesia, this project will examines how masculinity, value creation, and cultural policy reshape local textile economies and social relations.

Arief completed his Master’s and Bachelor’s degrees in Anthropology at Universitas Indonesia. He has extensive experience in ethnographic research on material culture, ritual life, and cultural policy, particularly in Eastern Indonesia. Alongside his academic work, he has been actively involved in teaching, editorial work, and applied research projects in collaboration with cultural institutions and government bodies in Indonesia, including research on textile heritage, vernacular architecture, food sovereignty, and intangible cultural heritage.