Dr. Chiara Formichi is Assistant Professor in the Department of Asian Studies at Cornell University. Trained in Islamic studies (University of Rome, Italy) and the history of Southeast Asia School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) University of London, Dr. Formichi focuses on Islam as a lived religion and as a political ideology in 20th-century Indonesia and Southeast Asia more broadly. As such, her interests lie at the disciplinary intersection between Islamic Studies, History, and Area Studies, methodologically resting on archival research as well as ethnography. Her current research has two foci: first, she is pursuing a comparative study of the historical genesis and contemporary status of minorities in Southeast Asia (Burma/Myanmar, Hong Kong, Malaya and Singapore). Second, she is delving into the disciplinary relation between Asian Studies and Islamic Studies.