Expertise
Cultural Anthropology, Anthropology of Media & Popular Culture, Digital Media, Anthropology of Religion & Religious Extremism, Political Anthropology, Nationalism & National Identity, Islam & Religious Identity, Identity Politics, Southeast Asian Studies, Indonesia
Biography
Julien Ehrenkönig is the Assistant Director and an Assistant Professor of Instruction for the Cybersecurity and Human Behavior program at Temple University. He holds a Ph.D. in Anthropology from Temple University, where his research focused on the intersection of media, religion, and national identity in Indonesia. Originally from St. Petersburg, Florida, he received his B.A. in Anthropology from the University of South Florida in 2011 and an M.A. in Anthropology from Northern Illinois University in 2014. At NIU, he was a Foreign Language and Area Studies (FLAS) fellow and later worked with the Center for Southeast Asian Studies, conducting outreach, education, and undergraduate advising.
Julien’s research explores how comic books and graphic novels are used to communicate and reshape Islamic discourses in Indonesia. Over the past decade, the Indonesian government, commercial publishers, and independent artists have employed visual storytelling to counter extremist ideologies and navigate religious conflict. By analyzing how these media deliver moral instruction and shape identity, his research highlights how artists and readers actively (re)negotiate Islamic narratives, religious identity, and national belonging through popular culture.
Selected Publications
- 2015 "Rice Talks: Food and Community in a Vietnamese Town." Review of Rice Talks: Food and Community in a Vietnamese Town, by Nir Avieli. Allegra Lab. https://allegralaboratory.net/review-rice-talks-food-and-community-in-a-vietnamese-town/
Courses Taught
- CYHB 2001: Introduction to Cybersecurity
- CYHB 2000: Special Topics: Cultures of Cybersecurity
- POLS 3520: Politics of Cyberspace