AIan Feinstein has been in contact with Indonesian culture since 1971. Namely, as a school student he had the opportunity to learn and get to know Javanese and Balinese culture in gamelan, taxi and wayang. His introduction deepened, in the period 1975-1976, Alan Feinstein studied Javanese and Indonesian and continued to study the performing arts of Yogyakarta and Solo styles.
Alan Feinstein's involvement intensified with his participation in the Yogyakarta - Solo palace manuscript conservation project in 1980-1981. Traces of it can be found with Jeniffer Leindsay and R.M. Sutanto, Alan Feinstein is an expert in the field of Indonesian cultures who produced the Kraton Yogyakarta Catalog (1994) for the Master Manuscript Archipelago Catalogs program.
Alan Feinstein underwent his academic formation at two colleges at Wesleyan University, Middletown, Connecticut, and at Michigan University, Ann Arbor. He earned his bachelor's degree in literature at Wesleyan University. While master's and doctoral degrees with expertise in ethnomusicology were completed at the two universities above. During his studies, Alan Feinstein received a Fulbright scholarship to conduct field research and write his dissertation related to Javanese music and literature in Solo in 1984-1985.
Armed with the formation he experienced in encounters with Indonesian cultures in general, and in particular Javanese and Balinese culture, as well as his deepening with the studies he was undertaking as mentioned above, Alan Feinstein began to enter the world of work by working at the Ford Foundation (1987 - 1994). With this work, Alan Feinstein is involved in the promotion and development of culture through various activities in the social sciences and humanities. Counting from the first program in the conservation of Yogyakarta Solo kraton manuscripts, this involvement lasted for almost fifteen years.
The next period, almost twenty years of Alan Feinstein's work in the scope around Southeast Asia. The details are as follows:
1995-2000 - Intellectual ExchangeJapan Foundation Asia Center
2000-2003 - Toyota Foundation Program Officer
2003-2008 - Associate Director Southeast Asia Program - Rockefeller Foundation
2006-2008 - Acting Director Southeast Asia office Bangkok -Rockefeller Foundation
2008-2009 - World Bank Consultants
2009-2010 - Senior Fellow - Asiani Public Intellectual Program, Nippon Foundation
2014-present - Director of AMINEF.
AMINEF (American Indonesian Exchange Foundation) is a non-profit foundation for the advancement of American-Indonesian cooperation. Particularly handling various exchange programs in the field of education and study scholarships. Through the AMINEF institution, assistance is channeled to American and Indonesian scholars to carry out study activities, teach or conduct research in various scientific disciplines.
As an important figure in the collaboration, Alan Feinstein, admitted that when he first came to Indonesia, he could not speak Indonesian at all. His tip for learning the language is done by hanging out at the shop. There, every time he would be faced with repeated questions, what was his name, where did he come from, how long had he lived here, and so on. By answering these questions, Alan Feistein became fluent in Indonesian. Likewise with his mastery of the Javanese language. He did the same tips by hanging out with people in the shop. By several people who have interacted with him, Alan Feinstein is known as a humble person.
With the formation that Alan Feinstein has experienced since his youth and his study process in encountering Indonesian cultures in general, and Javanese culture in particular, as well as his involvement in the work of promoting and developing culture in Indonesia and Southeast Asia, it is appropriate to give appreciation to Alan Feinstein .***