The Master of Archaeology Study Program is one of the study programs managed by the Department of Archaeology, Faculty of Cultural Sciences, Universitas Gadjah Mada. This study program is accredited A (very good) by the National Accreditation Board for Higher Education (BAN-PT) for the period 2021-2026. The Master of Archaeology Study Program currently opens three types of programs offered for undergraduate graduates from various fields of science. These programs include Program by Course (Regular), Program by Research, and Double Degree Program.

Participants of Program by Course (Regular) and Program by Research can choose one of three main interests, namely Archaeology, Museology or Cultural Heritage Management, while the Double Degree Program is specifically offered for Heritage Studies enthusiasts. The courses offered, both compulsory and elective, are taught by lecturers who are experts in their fields, and can be taken by participants of all three programs. The scholarships that can be taken by Master of Archaeology students of FIB UGM include LPDP Scholarships (General, Affirmation, Targeted, Double Degree), Higher Education Lecturer Scholarships, Cultural Performer Scholarships, and Private Scholarships (YAD or others).

More information about the Master of Archaeology program and how to apply, can be obtained at the following link: Master of Archaeology Major Leaflet

On Friday, March 1, 2024, the Department of History, Faculty of Cultural Sciences UGM held another colloquium for history masters. There were two presenters and two discussants in the colloquium, namely Fajar Santosa and Adi Wildan Alamsyah as presenters, and Dr. Ahmad Athoillah and Dr. Ravando Lie as discussants. The event took place in a hybrid manner (online and offline) from 09.00 to 12.00 WIB in Room 709 Soegondo Building, Faculty of Arts UGM.

Fajar Santosa was the first presenter in the colloquium. He presented his thesis plan entitled “When the People Rebelled: Mass Movements in the 1998 Reformation in Surabaya” which discussed mass movements in the second metropolitan city, Surabaya, during the outbreak of reform events centered in Jakarta. He explained that the demand for reform was caused by the economic crisis that occurred at that time. The crisis caused the price of goods to rise, layoffs occurred in various places, and riots occurred everywhere. The small and middle class people panicked. They formed a social movement demanding reform and the resignation of President Soeharto from office.

Fajar Santosa said that the narrative that has developed so far only describes the reform movement in 1998 as a student movement as a representation of the middle class. Meanwhile, the narrative that explains that reform was driven by all classes, including the small, middle and elite, has not been widely discussed, including in the context of Surabaya. In his thesis plan, Fajar Santosa uses Eric Hoffer’s Mass Movement theory as a conceptual basis.

Next, the thesis plan entitled “The Chinese Community in Jember 1947-1971: Displacement and the Process of Social Integration with Local Communities” was presented by Adi Wildan Alamsyah as the second presenter. He explained that during the Bersiap period (1945-1947), the Chinese community became one of the excluded groups. Around 4000 Chinese refugees from West Java chose Jember as their destination to seek refuge. In the new region, they continued their lives and integrated with the Jemberan community. The soccer game and the existence of the square became a medium of integration between the Chinese refugees and the Jemberan community.

Adi Wildan Alamsyah said that one of the reasons why Jember was chosen as a destination for Chinese refugees was probably because Jember was a member of the Chinese chamber of commerce. Other members of the Chinese chamber of commerce include Cirebon, Bandung, and Batavia as its center. He also said that Jember as a city can be said to be a diaspora city. This is because many people from various tribes and ethnicities have come and settled in Jember, such as Javanese-Madurese, Osing, Mandarese, and Chinese.

On Wednesday, March 06, 2024, the Department of History of the Faculty of Cultural Sciences UGM held a seminar series on the history of Chinese people in Indonesia. The seminar entitled “The Role of Chinese in Indonesian History” was held in the Multimedia Room, 2nd Floor, Margono Building, Faculty of Arts UGM from 10:00 am to 12:00 pm. This seminar was very interesting because the speakers who attended to present their research results came from China. Meanwhile, Dr. Farabi Fakih, M.Phil. from the Department of History UGM served as moderator.

The first speaker in the seminar was Guanmian Xu, an Assistant Professor from the Department of History, University of Peking. His research titled “Capitalism to Genocide: Batavia’s Sugar Frontier, 1700-1740” which explains the emergence of Chinese capitalism in the sugar industry and its relation to the Chinese genocide in Batavia in the 18th century. Xu, who used a global-history perspective in his research, revealed that the thick issues of racism, violence, and cross-cultural misunderstanding were factors that influenced the ethnic cleansing.

Meanwhile, Ma Guanglu who is a Post-Doctoral Fellow at the School of International Relations, Xiamen University presented the results of his research entitled “Bung Karno’s Body and Chinese Doctors”. In his presentation, he explained about diplomacy in the medical field between China and Indonesia that occurred in 1962 until the fall of Sukarno’s government in 1965. Ma’s presentation quite clearly shows the political position of President Sukarno at that time towards the Chinese government.

On Saturday, April 27, 2024, the Faculty of Cultural Sciences UGM Student Senate held its inaugural activity, the Handover of Office of the Faculty of Cultural Sciences UGM Student Senate 2024. This activity is part of the main activities of the new management of the Faculty of Cultural Sciences UGM Student Senate in the procession of handing over positions from the management of the Faculty of Cultural Sciences  Student Senate for the 2023/2024 period to the management of the Faculty of Cultural Sciences Student Senate for the 2024/2025 period. All representatives from the Departmental Student Association (HMJ), Semi-Autonomous Bodies (BSO), and Student Executive Institutions (LEM) of Faculty of Arts UGM, were invited to witness the handover procession as well as the presentation or Grand Launching of the Faculty of Cultural Sciences UGM Student Senate 2024/2025, which was held in Room 709, Soegondo Building, presenting information about management.

The event opened with remarks from the Chairman of the Faculty of Cultural Sciences UGM Student Senate for the 2023/2024 period who is now the 1st Advisor of the Senate, I Putu Adhimas Radiansyah Aryawan. Reflection of activities which became the main message of the speech from the work program that has been carried out for one year and the things that have been done by the Faculty of Cultural Sciences  UGM Student Senate period 2023/2024 to contribute to the student environment. The participation of faculty-level student organizations is a major point of the existence of the Student Senate to support democracy, channel aspirations, and increase student involvement in order to increase the role of active students in the non-academic environment.

The handover procession continued with the reading of the oath of office which was followed by all the administrators of the Faculty of Cultural Sciences UGM Student Senate for the 2024/2025 period and the oath of office to the new Chairman of the Faculty of Cultural Sciences UGM Student Senate, Aisyah Muthmainnah Alamsyah and the Secretary General of the Faculty of Cultural Sciences UGM Student Senate, Muhamad Rafi Nur Fauzy. After the procession was completed, the next session was a speech by the new Chairperson of the Faculty of Cultural Sciences UGM Student Senate for the 2024/2025 period regarding hopes and invitations for collaboration to all representatives from HMJ, BSO, and LEM FIB UGM, for synergy between organizations in order to realize a collaborative and strong faculty-level student organization.

After the speech was given, the presentation of the Grand Launching of the Faculty of Cultural Sciences UGM Student Senate 2024/2025, was carried out by a number of representatives of the Faculty of Cultural Sciences Student Senate management who described each main board and commission, work programs, and workflows of each Faculty of Arts Student Senate commission in the legislative and supervisory fields at Faculty of Cultural Sciences UGM. The event then came to an end with a joint documentation session and closing which ended the event and started a new beginning for the future of the faculty-level student legislature at the Faculty of Cultural Sciences UGM.

On Thursday, April 18, 2024, Faculty of Cultural Sciences UGM participated in a series of UNESCO Jakarta events together with Tidar University and Atma Jaya University Yogyakarta to commemorate World Heritage Day 2024. UGM Archaeology students joined the one-day event held at Campus II of Atma Jaya University Yogyakarta. This activity is an effort from UNESCO to raise public awareness, especially among young people or students, on the diversity of cultural heritage and draw people’s attention to the vulnerability of existing cultural heritage and steps to protect it. This activity also demonstrates collaboration for the management of cultural heritage sites that include aspects of conservation and interaction with heritage preservation communities for sustainable development.

The event began with an opening in the lobby of the Campus II building of Atma Jaya University Yogyakarta with an exhibition consisting of local crafts. The local works were inspired by Indonesia’s cultural heritage, such as leather wallets in the shape of Borobudur, typical Borobudur wedang powder, card games about cultural heritage conservation, miniature Prambanan temples, and others. The opening began with a group photo followed by representatives from UNESCO Jakarta, UGM, Tidar University, Atma Jaya University Yogyakarta, and Borobudur Conservation Center. The event then proceeded to the Campus II Auditorium for the opening by the representatives and a special opening by the Head of Culture Unit UNESCO Jakarta, Moe Chiba followed by a representative from Borobudur Conservation Center, Mr. Brahmantara. Followed by a panelist session by two main speakers.

The first and second main speakers, Mr. Brahmantara from Borobudur Conservation Center and Ms. Dian Nisa Anna Rahmayani, from Sangiran Conservation Center gave a panel presentation session entitled, “World Heritage Management, Community Engagement and Current Challenges”. This panel presentation presented how a cultural heritage site is managed and the interaction of the management institution to the community with current challenges. Cases used as examples were the management of Borobudur, Sangiran, and the presentation of various cultural heritage site mapping techniques.

The students of the three universities attended the event by sitting in groups and enlivened the event by voicing yells from each group and participating in two game sessions at the interval. Both games were in the form of cultural heritage site puzzles that emphasized the role of group cooperation to solve the puzzles together. Students were given 15 minutes to complete the puzzle. The winners of the puzzles were then awarded prizes after the event ended.

The commemoration of World Heritage Day held by UNESCO Jakarta supported by the National Federation of UNESCO Associations in Japan (NFUAJ) had an important impact on the community, especially on students. The introduction of local culture and crafts as well as the exposure of how to manage a cultural or world heritage site is the essence of building collective awareness. Awareness to maintain and preserve cultural heritage that becomes regional and national identity.