On Saturday, July 20, 2024, a lecturer from the Master’s Program in Middle Eastern Cultural Studies attended the National Seminar and Central Management Working Meeting of IMLA’ Indonesia held at Pondok Modern Tazakka Batang. The event was attended by the Chair of the Board of Trustees of IMLA’ Indonesia, Prof. Dr. Tulus Mustofa, and the Chair of PP IMLA’ Indonesia, Prof. Dr. Uril Bahruddin, along with several participants from various institutions in Indonesia. The theme of the event was “Utilizing AI in Arabic Studies and Learning.” The event was opened by the Head of Pondok Modern Tazakka, KH. Anang Rikza Masyhadi, M.A. Ph.D, with a discussion on the Haram Ma’hady concept, which encourages the use of Arabic in the pesantren environment.

The second speech was delivered by Prof. Dr. Tulus Mustofa, who emphasized the importance of cooperation and unity within IMLA’ Indonesia, where all parties, including pesantren leaders, university leaders, experts, and Arabic language practitioners, gather to advance Arabic language education in Indonesia. The final speech was given by the Chair of PP IMLA Indonesia, Prof. Dr. Uril Bahruddin. He summarized various activities that have been carried out since the election of the Chair of PP IMLA Indonesia in 2023 in Mataram until the celebration of International Arabic Language Day 2023. In 2024, IMLA Indonesia successfully maintained the accreditation of the Arabi Journal at the second national rank. Additionally, IMLA’ Indonesia has established collaborations with several universities and institutions abroad through MoU activities. The MoU to be signed at this event is between IMLA Indonesia and the Alsun Foundation for Arabic Studies and Teaching.

Jakarta, May 27, 2024 – The Korean Language and Culture Program at UGM sent six students to participate in the Translation Competition organized by the Korean Cultural Center Indonesia. The six students were Aisyah Dian Safitri, Amarapallevi, Vanesa Olivia, Melisa Azzahra Tania, Nisa Khairuna Sabilla, and Pingkan Widiana Retno Utami.

The event began with an opening ceremony. Following the opening, the competition sessions commenced. The competition was divided into two sessions. The first session involved translating from Indonesian to Korean. After this session, there was a break. The second session then began, which involved translating from Korean to Indonesian. The event concluded with a closing ceremony.

The winners were announced a few weeks after the competition took place. Students from the Korean Language and Culture Program won honorable mentions in this competition. The two students were Vanesa Olivia and Amarapallevi.

This competition provided a platform for students to showcase their potential, specifically their translation skills from Indonesian to Korean and vice versa. This ability is one of the key competencies that the Korean Language and Culture Program at UGM aims for each of its students to possess. Of course, this achievement was made possible by the students’ courage and willingness, as well as the guidance provided by all the program’s lecturers.

Photo 1.1: Competition Participants

The National Library and École française d’Extrême-Orient (EFEO) collaborated and held an international intensive course in Old Javanese on July 01-10, 2024. This activity took place at The Cangkringan Jogja Villas & Spa, Umbulharjo, Cangkringan, Sleman, Yogyakarta, and was attended by 25 participants from various backgrounds. Experts in the field of Old Javanese were present to train the participants to understand the intricacies of the Old Javanese language.

The Javanese Language, Literature, and Culture Study Program, Faculty of Cultural Sciences, Universitas Gadjah Mada (FIB UGM), participated in this activity. Two lecturers of the Javanese Language, Literature, and Culture Study Program, namely Nurmalia Habibah, S.S., M.A., and Zakariya Pamuji Aminullah, S.S., M.A., attended as lecturers. In addition, Haryo Untoro, a student from the same study program, became one of the participants in the intensive course.

For 10 days, the participants practiced the Old Javanese language. In the first five days, the first thing to understand was the morphosyntax of the Old Javanese language. The next five days, the participants began to explore works that use the Old Javanese language, such as Adiparwa, Kakawin Ramayana, Pararaton, Landa Inscription, and others. In addition, participants also participated in an excursion program to several ancient sites of the Hindu-Buddhist period, namely Sewu Temple, Plaosan Temple, and Ratu Boko Temple.

The intensive course in Old Javanese aims to train philologists in the field of Old Javanese and encourage international collaboration in this rare field. The field of Old Javanese plays an important role in revealing various treasures of the past, both in culture, knowledge, history, and other matters. Exploring these treasures is an effort to reveal the identity of the nation and improve the quality of education. To achieve these goals, cooperation from various parties is needed to realize the sustainability of the Old Javanese field and be relevant to the times.

Author : Haryo Untoro

From Monday to Wednesday, July 15-17, 2024, the Department of Anthropology at FIB UGM, in collaboration with the University of Münster, Germany, held the Workshop ‘Existence is Care: Health, care, and support structures in postcolonial contexts of high cultural diversity.’ The selection of this workshop theme was based on the increasingly dynamic field of health studies, especially in the context of global caregiving. This workshop aimed to provide a forum to discuss its impact on everyday health services and broader health services in various forms and meanings. The global caregiving system, characterized by the standardization of therapy and taxonomy—which continues despite uneven resource distribution—raises the question: what are the implications of efforts to homogenize caregiving and kinship relationships in Indonesia?

The event was attended by academics and care practitioners from various fields of study such as Anthropology, Psychology, and Medicine. Over three days, participants attended public lectures by guest speakers from Germany and the United States and presented research designs related to caregiving issues from various regional contexts. Prof. Dr. Pujo Semedi Hargo Yuwono, M.A., opened the event and served as the keynote speaker on the first day, followed by commentary from Prof. Dr. Thomas Stodulka from the University of Münster. To conclude the first day’s discussion and provide deeper context on the issue, the film ‘The Sacrifice’ by Prof. Robert Lemelson was screened.

On the second day, Prof. Byron Good from Harvard University presented his research from the book ‘Haunted by Aceh: Toward an Anthropological Hauntology (Hantuologi)’ followed by presentations from several participants, including:

• “Caring through the unknown. The uncertainty of navigating complex cultural contexts of severe mental pain” by Florin Cristea
• “‘Ngemong’: Caring for Person with Schizophrenia in Java” by Yohanes K. Herdiyanto, Subandi, Wenty M. Minza
• “Pasung: The practice of caring? Family’s challenges of giving care to persons with serious and persistent mental illness” by Tri Hayuning Tyas
• “In the Name of Virtue: Religion in the Care Work of Community Health Worker” by Chusna Cahya Marhaeni
• “Sacred Service: Unveiling the Drive and Hurdles of Volunteer Nurses in Indonesia” by Irmayani Said
• “The Hypnotist’s Dilemma: Mystical Recuperation and Counterproductive Care in Postcolonial Indonesia” by Nick Long
• “Care (and) Work in the Female Sphere” by Mona Elisa Behnke
• “Making it Inclusive: Caring for Refugee Patients in Indonesian Puskesmas” by Elan Lazuardi & Realisa Masardi
• “Early Child Care in Indonesian Dual Breadwinner Family” by Nuzul Solekhah
• “Where Do We Go from the Doorstep? Demystifying Family and Imagining the Collective through Queer Care” by Pychita Julinanda
• “Collective care initiative as a means to share the potentiality for a space of hope” by Khairunnisa

On the final day, the event concluded with a discussion by Prof. Mary-Jo Delvecchio-Good from Harvard University, Retna Siwi Padmawati from Medicine, FKKMK UGM, and Lintang Sagoro from Harvard Medical School, discussing ‘Care at the End of Life in Indonesia’ and a Closing Discussion by Ciptaning Larastiti & Khairunnisa moderated by Dr. Elan Lazuardi on the topic ‘Imagine! Once we stopped caring? Care as Methodology.’ The entire workshop series then concluded with a dinner at Yabbiekayu Resto, Bantul.

Photo credit: Puspita Anindya/Novilatul/Daiva Keefe

Author: Asmi Ramiyanti

Editor: Okky Chandra Baskoro

On Wednesday, 18 July 2024, english Department UGM received a  visit from Prof. Angus James Nicholls, Ph.D, professor of Comparative Literature and German Language of  Queen Mary University of London and Dr. Soe Tjen Marching, a lecturer in South East Asian studies in School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) University of London. The purpose of Prof. Angus James Nicholls, Ph.D and Dr. Soe Tjen Marching’s visit was to discuss a possibility of partnership between the Faculty of Cultural Sciences UGM, especially the English Literature Program and Department of Language and Literature, with Queen Mary University of London and SOAS University of London to fulfil IKU 6. The discussion was conducted at the Faculty of Cultural Sciences UGM, led by Dr. Nur Saktiningrum, M.Hum., Vice Dean of Academic and Student Affairs and a lecturer in the English Department UGM. 

The topic regarding the challenges of teaching literature in the era of technological development was discussed in the meeting. One of the challenges is how to anticipate the use of AI in literary studies. AI’s ability to automatically generate text can be an obstacle in the learning process if being abused by students. Another example of the challenges is how to teach literature to Gen Z, through digital media and social media. 

Apart from the discussion about challenges in teaching literature in the current era, there was also a discussion about the forms of collaboration that can be implemented between the Faculty of Cultural Sciences UGM, especially the English Literature Program and Department of Language and Literature, with Queen Mary University of London and SOAS University of London. The potential collaborations can be done through some courses (such as World Literature and COmparative Literature) and a collaborative class in the form of team teaching. These collaborations have many possibilities to be developed in the future.