Yogyakarta, 27/3/2025 – Javanese Language, Literature, and Culture student of 2024 batch, Ghibran Arsha Daffa (NIM 24/543974/SA/23427) or familiarly called Ghibran, made it to the final stage in the Dimas-Diajeng contest of the Special Region of Yogyakarta. Dimas-Diajeng itself is the term for a pair of male and female teenagers who are officially appointed as DIY tourism ambassadors. For men, it is called Dimas, and for women, it is called Diajeng. The selection of Dimas-Diajeng is under the auspices of the Tourism Office. Meanwhile, the most important task of Dimas-Diajeng itself is to promote tourism and culture in their respective regions.

To start Dimas-Diajeng’s journey, Ghibran went through file selection, semifinals, psychological tests, deep interviews, then entered the final stage consisting of 15 men and 15 women. After the file selection stage, participants were given the task of creating video content about promoting tourist attractions in the city of Jogja and Ghibran chose to discuss Pasar Ngasem, which turned out that no one of the other participants chose that topic.

If selected and crowned as Dimas, Ghibran must be a representative of the dynamic and cultured youth of Jogja and actively participate in tourism promotion activities.

In the process, one of the things Ghibran remembers most is when collecting files because Ghibran collected the files 7 minutes before the registration deadline. This is because Ghibran actually intended to register for Dimas-Diajeng Bantul City, but it turned out that this year it was not going to be held. Therefore, Ghibran immediately prepared himself in a short time to register for Dimas-Diajeng Jogja City.

In addition, in the process of making video content, Ghibran found things that moved and impressed him. One of them was when he met a grandmother selling traditional toys. Ghibran said that even though her merchandise was quiet, the grandmother looked happy when she was invited to interview. According to the grandmother, she had been selling toys since she was little. The grandmother also prayed for Ghibran so that his steps would be smooth in undergoing the Dimas-Diajeng contest.

After the final, the Top 3 Dimas-Diajeng will be selected to represent the city of Jogja in the election of Dimas-Diajeng Yogyakarta Province. So if Ghibran is selected in the Top 3 list, Ghibran must compete again in Dimas-Diajeng Yogyakarta province.

However, even though Ghibran will be busy with Dimas-Diajeng activities in the city of Jogja, Ghibran still wants to contribute as a student in the Javanese Language, Literature, and Culture study program at UGM, one of which is in the field of storytelling. Ghibran intends to take part in a national-level storytelling competition, or even a monologue.

Ghibran’s hope for the future is that this Dimas-Diajeng program can help and educate many people, especially in the field of tourism. Let’s pray that all of Ghibran’s goals and aspirations will be achieved!

[Public Relations of Javanese Literature, Fega Achillea Maydena]

Yogyakarta, 27/3/2025 – On Tuesday, March 4, 2025, the Instagram account @kratonjogja.event announced the winner of a competition. Not a contest to get a wife, but the #WaditraPralaga Content Competition held on two platforms, namely Instagram and TikTok. In the announcement, there was one student from the Javanese Language, Literature, and Culture study program at UGM who was announced as the winner. The student is Muhammad Yasir Ramadan with NIM 24/542781/SA/23331. 

The theme of the content competition was of course around Waditra Pralaga because it was still related to a series of closings from the Paramaiswari exhibition. According to Bausastra, Waditra itself means music or percussion, while pralaga means war. This is in line with the performance presented by the palace, namely a battle between male and female orchestra players. What the palace wants to show is that women have the same potential as men.

Yasir stated that there was actually no special reason for him to join this competition. Yasir happened to hear this announcement while watching Waditra Pralaga at Kagungan Dalem. While watching, the MC announced that there would be a TikTok and Instagram content competition. The content can discuss anything, as long as it is still related to Waditra Pralaga. It was stated that one of the criteria for the winner would be calculated from the total number of viewers on the content, with the provision of using the hashtag #WaditraPralaga and by tagging the social media accounts of Karaton Yogyakarta. Honestly, Yasir did not expect that he would be announced as one of the winners of this competition because the number of viewers of his content was not as many as other content. However, when his name was included in one of the 10 winners, Yasir was happy.

According to Yasir, the difficulty in preparing the content was predicting the direction of the audience’s interest. With the analysis and video material that Yasir had recorded, he chose a video containing music that many people knew. With this, Yasir chose a video when the players performed one of the soundtracks in the film “Pirates of the Caribbean”.

The prize that Yasir received for winning the competition was the opportunity to watch the Opening of the Hamong Nagari Exhibition with the performance of the Abdi Dalem Fashion Show accompanied by Acapella by the Yogyakarta Royal Orchestra for free. In addition to being free, the winner also got a special place, where they got the front seat. According to Yasir, the event was very memorable because it was opened directly by Ngarsa Dalem and was also attended by G.K.R. Bendara, K.P.H. Natanegara, and also Wayah Dalem (the sultan’s grandson). In addition, what made this experience memorable was the Abdi Dalem fashion show, which is very rare to find now. Finally, there was also a performance accompanied by the Yogyakarta Royal Choir which made this event more lively and gave a magnificent impression.

[Public Relations of Javanese Literature, Fega Achillea Maydena]

Yogyakarta, 27/3/2025 – Noviyanti Alfitri (NIM 24/533646/SA/22795), a 2024 student from the Javanese Language, Literature, and Culture study program, inaugurated as a Diajeng Gunungkidul 2025 at the end of February. Diajeng is a representation of a young woman from a regency—in this case, Gunungkidul Regency—specifically in the field of tourism. Usually Diajeng is paired with Dimas (as a representation of youngman). They promote nature and culture-based tourism in their district and become icons for young people.

The selection process for the Dimas-Diajeng icon began in December 2024. Starting from the selection of files and administration, written selection, interview selection, then the announcement of 15 finalists who were quarantined, and officially crowned on the coronation night on February 22, 2025.

As the holder of the title Diajeng Gunungkidul, Noviyanti or who is familiarly called Upik has the main responsibility of assisting in the marketing sector at the Tourism Office in promoting tourism in Gunungkidul Regency.

Not the coronation night, according to Upik, the most memorable experience during the Dimas-Diajeng selection process was during quarantine. During the quarantine period, Upik gained a lot of knowledge ranging from tourism, culture, regional specialties, public speaking, and others. This increased Upik’s knowledge and Upik learned a lot of new things during the quarantine period.

In addition to the most memorable moments, Upik also said that she had difficulty in time management. Because of the tight timeline of the selection process, Upik had to adjust her lecture schedule at UGM with her other activities. However, fortunately Upik was able to go through everything smoothly by making a priority scale.

Even though she has been named Diajeng Gunungkidul 2025, Upik realizes that she is still part of the UGM Javanese Language, Literature, and Culture students. Therefore, Upik wants to contribute a lot to her study program. She wants to do several things; become a writer or participant in the Ubud Writers & Readers Festival in Bali, become a talent or production team in the Gugur Gunung activity, and maybe take part in a competition to bring the name of the study program. In addition, Upik also has an ambition to be able to write her own anthology. 

Wow, it seems like Upik has so many desires and ambitions! Hopefully, all of Upik’s ambitions can be achieved smoothly without any significant obstacles. With this story, hopefully other students will also be motivated to do what they like and develop themselves even more!

[Public Relations of Javanese Literature, Fega Achillea Maydena]

Yogyakarta, March 21, 2025 – RUBIKON: Journal of Transnational American Studies has officially achieved SINTA 3 accreditation, as stated in the Decree of the Directorate General of Higher Education, Research, and Technology Number 0173/C3/DT.05.00/2025, issued on March 21, 2025. This achievement further strengthens Rubikon’s position as one of the most influential academic journals in Indonesia in the field of American Studies and expands its reach in global academic discourse.

Managed by the Master’s Program in American Studies, Universitas Gadjah Mada (UGM), Rubikon is an academic journal that focuses on transnational studies, particularly examining American influences beyond its borders, including in Indonesia. The journal is led by Editor-in-Chief, Prof. Dr. Ida Rochani Adi, S.U., and Managing Editor, Dr. Aris Munandar, M. Hum., and supported by an editorial team consisting of scholars from various universities in Indonesia and abroad, such as Northeast Normal University (China), Deakin University (Australia), and Victoria University of Wellington (New Zealand). Since its inception, Rubikon has also collaborated with the American Studies Society of Indonesia (ASSINDO), strengthening its academic network in American Studies.

As a transnational journal, Rubikon explores a wide range of topics, including American literature and culture, society and minority groups, popular culture and globalization, politics and foreign policy, as well as American hegemony in the digital era. The name Rubikon is derived from the historic Rubicon River, which symbolizes a point of no return—a philosophy that reflects the journal’s mission to open new perspectives and provide fresh insights into academic studies.

The achievement of SINTA 3 accreditation not only serves as a testament to Rubikon’s academic quality but also reinforces its contribution to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). As an open-access journal, Rubikon supports SDG 4: Quality Education by providing free academic publications accessible to anyone, ensuring the broad dissemination of knowledge without financial barriers. Moreover, many published articles focus on SDG 5: Gender Equality and SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities, addressing the representation of minority and gender groups in American culture and examining how these issues resonate in global contexts, including Indonesia. On a larger scale, Rubikon also aligns with SDG 17: Partnerships for the Goals by fostering international academic collaborations, enriching scholarly discussions, and strengthening research networks in transnational studies.

Published twice a year and free of charge, Rubikon continues to provide opportunities for academics and researchers to contribute their ideas and expand the horizons of transnational studies. With its SINTA 3 accreditation, the journal is now more firmly positioned as an innovative, inclusive, and impactful academic platform.

For more information and article submissions, visit Rubikon’s official website at: https://jurnal.ugm.ac.id/rubikon/.

[Public Relations of American Studies UGM, Nariza Ayu Pasha]

Yogyakarta, 27/3/2025 – The Master of American Studies program presents a new course that attracts the attention of many students, namely “Superheroes and Cultural Identity.” This course is taught by Dr. Ashika Prajnya Paramita, M.A., and aims to explore the meaning of superheroes in the social, political, and cultural context of the United States.

In the first meeting, Dr. Ashika invited the students to introduce themselves and tell about their favorite superhero. From Superman to X-Men, each superhero has its own place in the students’ hearts. This activity not only built an interactive class atmosphere but also initiated a discussion on the role of superheroes in shaping cultural identity.

Dr. Ashika explained that in American studies, superheroes are not just fictional characters, but also symbols that reflect social and political dynamics in the United States. One of the concepts discussed was how superheroes represent the American Dream-the idea that anyone can achieve success through hard work and perseverance.

For example, Superman is portrayed as an immigrant from the planet Krypton who grew up in Kansas, USA. This character reflects the hopes of immigrants who want to be part of the American nation. His dual identity as Clark Kent, a journalist, also emphasizes the importance of press freedom as a fundamental value in American democracy.

This course discusses “Primary Conventions” in the world of superheroes, which are distinctive elements that often appear in various media. Dr. Ashika outlined some of the primary conventions, such as dual identity, where a superhero has two personas, for example Clark Kent as Superman. Their superpowers can come from mutations, technology, magic, or extreme training. Each superhero also has an iconic costume, such as the spider logo on Spider-Man’s costume. Their main mission is to fight evil for justice and protect society. In addition, many superheroes have a signature city setting, such as Gotham City for Batman, as well as sidekicks or support teams, such as Robin who helps Batman.

The students showed great enthusiasm in this lecture. Discussions on the relevance of superheroes in real life became an interesting part that made the class more lively. The participants actively expressed their opinions on how superhero characters reflect current social issues, including gender, politics, and cultural diversity.

With this course, students are expected to have a deeper understanding of the role of popular culture in shaping people’s identities and values, especially in the context of the United States. The “Superheroes and Cultural Identity” course is a step forward in modern cultural studies and enriches the academic horizons of Master of American Studies students.

[Public Relations of American Studies UGM, Gilang Hardian]