Universitas Gadjah Mada has selected Humaniora and Poetika: Jurnal Ilmu Sastra as recipients of the Journal Governance Support Program Toward Scopus Indexing through the EQUITY WCU 2025/2026 initiative.

Both academic journals under the Faculty of Cultural Sciences (FIB) UGM were chosen under the scheme aimed at strengthening the quality of academic publication management and increasing the global visibility of research originating from Indonesia.

Humaniora, first published in 1989, is known as an academic, open-access, and peer-reviewed journal focusing on cultural studies from an Indonesian perspective. Since 2022, all articles have been published in English and the journal is issued twice a year. It accepts submissions throughout the year and is committed to advancing interdisciplinary humanities scholarship.

Meanwhile, Poetika: Jurnal Ilmu Sastra is a biannual academic journal that highlights social issues through literary research, particularly topics related to marginalized groups. The journal is published by the Postgraduate Program in Literature at FIB UGM and is indexed in DOAJ, as well as accredited SINTA 2 by the National Research and Innovation Agency of Indonesia (BRIN).

With the support of the EQUITY WCU Program, Humaniora and Poetika are expected to strengthen the role of knowledge in driving social progress and expanding equitable access to academic insights. This effort to improve the quality of scholarly publications reflects a sustainable commitment to advancing education and research with meaningful impact for the future.

[Public Relations of FIB UGM, Candra Solihin]

On Friday (November 21, 2025), Prof. Dr. Pujo Semedi served as a panel discussant in the session “Monsters, Devils, and Survival: The Persistence of Plantations and People in the Scholarship of Pujo Semedi” at the 2025 Annual Meeting of the American Anthropological Association (AAA) in New Orleans, LA, supported by FULLBRIGHT funding through the Scholar in Residence Grant at the University of Colorado Boulder for Fall 2025. The panel was inspired by Pujo’s academic work on plantations, which investigates how colonial hegemony in its efforts to build capital accumulation by sacrificing human sociality has instead resulted in the loss of assets and weakened capacities for survival. In his presentation, Pujo invited participants to explore how non-human entities such as “ghosts” influence social and material relations within plantation environments.

Through ethnographic research in Kalimantan’s palm oil plantations, Java’s tea plantations, and Germany’s vineyards, Pujo argues that “ghosts” are understood as empirical and material realities by plantation communities. Although spiritual beings are not bound by physical laws or fixed forms, belief in them becomes a productive lens for ethical and emic understanding. Positioned within a strong postcolonial perspective, Pujo’s ideas are seen as important for advancing research on extraction and imperial accumulation in postcolonial nations. The panel, featuring Carla Jones and five PhD students from the University of Colorado Boulder, embodied efforts to decolonize knowledge, highlighting Pujo Semedi’s role in fostering cross-cultural academic collaboration.

Author: Penulis: Okky Chandra Baskoro

Semarang, 25 October 2025 — Twenty-eight students from the Arabic Study Program, Faculty of Cultural Sciences, Universitas Gadjah Mada participated in the UNDIP Muslim Festival held on Saturday, 25 October 2025 at Diponegoro University in Semarang, Central Java. The delegation competed across three categories: Cerdas Cermat Islam (CCI), Musabaqah Hifdzil Qur’an (MHQ), and Musabaqah Tilawatil Qur’an (MTQ). The group departed Yogyakarta at 04:00 WIB and arrived at Diponegoro University at 08:00 WIB. Upon arrival, delegates shared a breakfast together before the festival program began. 

After attending the grand opening ceremony, participants proceeded to their respective competition venues. In the CCI category, the Arabic Study Program team advanced to the semifinal round, a notable achievement that demonstrated the students’ knowledge and preparedness. The festival ran smoothly and in high spirits, reflecting both the discipline and enthusiasm of the UGM delegation. UGM’s participation in UNDIP Muslim Festival 2025 aligns with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, particularly SDG 4 (Quality Education) and SDG 16 (Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions). The Arabic Study Program hopes the competition experience will inspire continued academic achievement and community engagement among its students as they prepare for future national and regional events.

Author: Azka Dihya Khaliffa

The relevance of the Javanese language and literature amid contemporary challenges was the main topic in the Javanese Literature History course in the Javanese Language, Literature, and Culture Study Program. The lecture, which took place on Monday, November 10, 2025, featured an alumnus, practitioner, and observer of Javanese culture, Paksi Raras Alit, S.S., M.A., as a guest speaker.

The course, taught by Dr. R. Bima Slamet Raharja, M.A., was attended by all students from the class of 2024. The presence of Paksi Raras Alit aimed to provide a practical perspective on the sustainability of literary heritage in the modern era.

In his presentation, Paksi Raras Alit emphasized that the teachings and knowledge contained in Javanese culture are still very relevant to current social conditions. He cited his latest work, a book entitled Ajaran Bahagia dari Jawa: Filosofi untuk Hidup Tenang dan Legawa (Teachings of Happiness from Java: Philosophy for a Peaceful and Contented Life). The book was written in order to explore the Javanese philosophy of life to achieve happiness. According to him, the wisdom contained in Javanese literature can offer guidance or knowledge towards inner peace.

This activity was very well received by the students. Their enthusiasm was evident from the variety of questions they asked, despite the limited discussion time. Shabrina Fitra Azzahra, one of the course participants, shared her views in an online interview on November 21, 2025. She stated that she discovered various other perspectives on Javanese literature.

This activity not only increased knowledge, but also boosted the enthusiasm of students in the Javanese Language, Literature, and Culture Study Program. This enthusiasm was manifested in their determination to nguri-uri ‘preserve’ and ngurip-urip ‘revitalize’ Javanese culture. Through a strong commitment to preservation and cooperation with various parties, it is hoped that the valuable messages and information contained in Javanese literary works can be “reintroduced” and bring tangible benefits to the wider community.

Author : Haryo Untoro
Editor : Haryo Untoro

Yogyakarta, 18 November 2025 — As part of its ongoing effort to expand creative dialogue within the academic community, the Master’s Program in Literature, Faculty of Cultural Sciences, Universitas Gadjah Mada, held a public lecture titled “Tracing Self-Identity Through Fiction” on Tuesday, 18 November 2025, in Room 204 of the Soegondo Building, FIB UGM. The event featured California-based writer of Vietnamese–Indonesian descent, Mazdo, as the keynote speaker, with Naria Nur Iftitah serving as moderator. Her presence drew enthusiastic attention from students, alumni, and literary researchers eager to explore how fiction can serve as a medium for reflecting identity, personal experience, and socio-cultural dynamics.

In her presentation, Mazdo explained that writing, for her, is a deep dialogue between personal experience, imagination, and the internal questions that continually shape her creative process. She introduced three of her short stories as examples of how she navigates identity through fiction. The first piece she discussed, When the Moths Came (2023), stems from her personal experience. “This story began from my experience living in an apartment where moths were flying everywhere— in the kitchen, around the living room, everywhere. I felt disturbed, but I thought it would be interesting to turn it into a short story,” she explained. From this simple experience, Mazdo crafted a narrative about a married couple dealing with the constant presence of moths, which disrupt their daily life and create emotional distance between them.

Her second story, The Collector (2024), is rooted in her time studying at the Southeast Asia Program building at Cornell University, which was filled with cultural artifacts. She invited the audience to examine how such objects hold long historical traces, including power relations between the United States and Southeast Asian nations. Through the perspective of two curious and innocent children, she demonstrates how Orientalism and colonial traces can be reimagined in fictional space.

Meanwhile, her story Cut Blooms (2025) highlights the relationship between two sisters—shaped by affection, misunderstanding, and an unbreakable emotional bond. Mazdo shared that the inspiration for this work came from her closeness to her own sisters. “When I write, inspiration can come from anywhere, even from my own life experiences. For example, Cut Blooms comes from my personal experience, but I do not write it literally as it happened. Since I write fiction, only small details that truly happened in my life are adapted into the story,” she explained. This statement helped the audience understand that fiction does not require literal adherence to real events, but instead transforms lived experience into a broader emotional structure.

The public lecture also aligned with values of social and cultural sustainability. Through her stories, Mazdo demonstrated that literature can serve as a tool for cultivating empathy, honoring diverse identities, and encouraging reflection on one’s place within larger historical contexts.

The question-and-answer session unfolded warmly and thoughtfully. The first question came from Marisa Santi (Kagama UGM), who asked about the narrative approach Mazdo most frequently uses, whether she prefers the author as an omniscient narrator or allows the characters full autonomy. Responding to this, Mazdo said, “I tend to use the first approach, where the writer serves as the narrator.” She added that this position allows her to guide the fictional world while still giving her characters space to move freely.

The next question was posed by Marsya Kamila, a student of UGM’s Master’s Program in Literature, who asked whether Mazdo plans to write fiction that explicitly addresses migration or identity exploration in the United States, given that her parents migrated there. Mazdo responded enthusiastically: “Yes, because both of my parents come from Vietnam and Indonesia, I think it would be interesting to write fiction that gives voice to our origins and experiences.” Her answer indicates that family history and migration remain enduring sources of inspiration in her creative journey.

The event concluded with great appreciation from participants, who felt they gained new insights into how fiction operates as a tool for self-exploration, historical reading, and reinterpreting lived experience. The Master’s Program in Literature hopes that similar public lectures will continue to provide creative spaces that strengthen literary literacy while fostering cultural awareness and sustainability in society.

[Master’s Program in Literature, Marsya Kamila]