Margaret Wiener

Margaret Wiener. She is an American cultural anthropologist renowned for her ethnographic and historical work on Bali, Indonesia, focusing on the intersections of colonialism, religion, magic, and material culture. A professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, her research critically examines how Balinese engagements with the unseen world shaped encounters with Dutch colonial power and inform contemporary society. Her influential book, *Visible and Invisible Realms: Power, Magic, and Colonial Conquest in Bali*, is a seminal study in the anthropology of religion and postcolonial studies.

Early life and education

Wiener completed her undergraduate studies at Cornell University, where she developed an early interest in Southeast Asia. She then pursued her graduate education in anthropology at the University of Chicago, a leading institution for socio-cultural research. Her doctoral fieldwork, conducted in Bali, formed the foundation for her later theoretical contributions, examining historical narratives and ritual practices. She earned her Ph.D. in 1995, with her dissertation winning the prestigious Harry J. Benda Prize from the Association for Asian Studies.

Academic career

Following her doctorate, Wiener joined the faculty of the Department of Anthropology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where she has taught for decades. She has held various leadership roles within the university and has been a vital contributor to the Carolina Asia Center. Throughout her career, she has also been a visiting scholar and fellow at several renowned institutions, including the School for Advanced Research in Santa Fe and the International Institute for Asian Studies in Leiden. Her mentorship of graduate students has significantly influenced the field of Southeast Asian studies.

Research and contributions

Wiener's research fundamentally challenges conventional histories of colonialism by centering Balinese cosmological understandings. Her major work analyzes the early 20th-century Dutch conquest of Bali, arguing that Balinese rulers utilized ritual and magic as legitimate forms of power and resistance, which were misunderstood or dismissed by European authorities. She explores the agency of objects like the kris and sacred heirlooms (*pusaka*) in political struggles. Later work extends these themes into the postcolonial era, investigating the transformation of ritual under Indonesian nationalism, New Order governance, and global tourism.

Selected publications

* *Visible and Invisible Realms: Power, Magic, and Colonial Conquest in Bali* (1995) – Published by the University of Chicago Press, this book received the J.I. Staley Prize from the School for Advanced Research. * "The Alchemical Theater of the World: Substance, Transformation and Value in Balinese Ritual" – An article in the journal *Ethnos*. * "Dangerous Liaisons and Other Tales from the Twilight Zone: Sex, Race, and Sorcery in Colonial Java" – Published in *Comparative Studies in Society and History*. * "Magic, (Colonial) Science and Science Studies" – A critical essay in *Social Anthropology*. * "Consuming the Village: Bali, Tourism and the Indonesian State" – A chapter in the edited volume **.

Awards and honors

Wiener's scholarship has been recognized with several distinguished awards. Her first book won the Harry J. Benda Prize for outstanding first books on Southeast Asia and the J.I. Staley Prize, one of anthropology's highest book awards. She has received fellowships from the National Endowment for the Humanities, the American Council of Learned Societies, and the Guggenheim Foundation. In 2015, she was honored with the Biennial Book Prize from the Society for the Anthropology of Religion for her continued contributions to the field.

Category:American anthropologists Category:American women anthropologists Category:University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill faculty Category:Cornell University alumni Category:University of Chicago alumni Category:Anthropologists of Southeast Asia Category:Scholars of Balinese culture