David Meschede

David Meschede is a research associate and doctoral candidate in the project “A Future Without Forest? Future-Making, Environmental Change, and Socio-Economic Transformation Processes in East Kalimantan, Indonesia,” which has been affiliated with the University of Freiburg since 2023. His particular research interest is the island of Borneo and its indigenous peoples, collectively referred to as the Dayak. His research focuses on human-environment relations in rural areas, social and cultural change since the end of colonialism, and questions of ethnic identity.

Academic Career

• Since 07/2023: Research Associate at the Institute of Social and Cultural Anthropology, University of Freiburg
• 2019 – 2023: Research Associate at the Institute for Ethnology, University of Cologne
• 2016 – 2019: Research Assistant at the Institute for Oriental and Asian Studies, University of Bonn
• 2008 – 2016: Studies in Asian Studies (B.A.) and Southeast Asian Regional Studies (M.A.), University of Bonn

Regional Focus

• South East Asia / Indonesia / Borneo

Thematic Focus

• Anthropology of the Future
• Environmental Anthropology

“A Future Without Forest? Future-Making, Environmental Change, and Socio-Economic Transformation Processes in East Kalimantan, Indonesia” (DFG-funded) (Link)