Friday, November 8, 2024 The Cultural Anthropology Student Family (KEMANT) UGM held a discussion session in Rembukant#4 entitled “Navigating the Journey: Building Self-Awareness of Positioning in Ethnographic Fieldwork”. The event was hosted by Keisia Haneswari, a Cultural Anthropology student class of 2022 with Dr. Elan Lazuardi S.Ant., M.A. as the guest speaker. Located in Room 523 Soegondo Building, Faculty of Arts UGM, this event was attended by cultural anthropology students from various generations.

Reflecting on the fieldwork experience of anthropologists, this discussion explored the journey of anthropological researchers which is not always smooth. Awkwardness, fear, rejection, loneliness, and even failure often haunt ethnographers’ fieldwork. Therefore, Rembukant#4 is here to provide a space for anthropology learners to reflect on issues that have not been widely discussed in the classroom.

The discussion opened with a question from the moderator related to questioning the position of researchers when doing fieldwork. The question was then thoroughly discussed by Dr. Elan Lazuardi related to the multiple identities that each researcher brings when in the field greatly affects the relationship between researchers and researchers which will then also affect the ethnographic knowledge produced. In the event, Dr. Elan also shared his fieldwork experience when researching the use of HIV health services, how his identity as a researcher determines his positionality towards his research. By realizing his positionality, the researcher can not only successfully complete his research but also build a reciprocal relationship with his researcher, as stated by Dr. Elan Lazuardi.

In the question and answer session, a number of participants asked questions and shared their experiences when facing confusing circumstances regarding their positionality in the field. After that, the discussion was closed with a group photo which also marked the end of the KEMANT Rembukant series this period.

[Public Relation FIB UGM, Author: Keisia Haneswari, Photo: Hawa Muzayyinah Niswah & Kinanti Rahmi Khoiri, Editor: Sandya]

Illustration: Daiva Keefe Kalimasadha and Novilatul Ananda Ramadhan

Journal of Anthropology Gazette Vol.3 No.1 is published again! It begins with a speech by the Editor in Chief of Anthropology Gazette, Prof. Dr. Pujo Semedi Hargo Yuwono, M.A, who elaborates five articles and one inspirational speech under one big umbrella theme, knowledge. In the context of knowledge, readers will be presented with the first article by Umami (2024), which examines the behavior patterns of farmers in Sindukarto Village, Wonogiri, in reducing the population of walang sangit as an agricultural pest into local food ingredients. Nabila and Wirawan (2024), through an ethnoscience approach, then conducted research on the accuracy of the pranata mangsa system – a system to predict traditional rice planting and harvesting schedules – with data on seasonal changes in 2023. Indraswari (2024) poses a research question on the efforts of waste workers to survive through their understanding of processing waste into economically valuable goods.

The last two articles will present how humans utilize technology as a medium of expression, both in the political realm and in the context of religious life (Priambada, 2024; Fakhrani, 2024). Priambada (2024) will look at the phenomenon of online Eucharist conducted by Catholic youth in Banyumanik since the Covid-19 pandemic took place. The use of technology in the form of mass media is also felt by students in understanding political actions at the 212 Action (Fakhrani, 2024).

Five Shopee drivers utilize franchise stores as a place to wait for orders (Juwita and Lazuardi, 2024).

In addition to the five main articles, this edition includes several complementary articles such as inspirational speeches, photo essays, and book reviews. Prof. Dr. Pujo Semedi Hargo Yuwono, M.A in his speech compares the history of agricultural transformation that occurred between the 1850s and 2010s for people in Java and South Germany. No less interesting, Juwita and Lazuardi (2024) in their essay present a portrait of the phenomenon of the dim communal space (basecamps) of online ojek drivers caused by several factors, one of which is due to the changing algorithms of the company. Finally, readers will be presented with a book review entitled Making Kin: Ecofeminist from Singapore written by Pratiwi (2024). This book contains a collection of essays written by women about their bodily experiences, self, gender, family, home, and community.

Through this collection of main and supplementary articles, we hope that readers can actively participate in developing knowledge and being critical of environmental, social and political phenomena in everyday life.

To read the full article content, visit our Anthropology Gazette OJS website: https://journal.ugm.ac.id/v3/LA/

[Public Relation FIB UGM, Writer: Irene Saphira P.Y, Editor: Sandya]

On Friday, September 27, 2024, the Japanese Language and Culture Study Program welcomed guests from PT Rupa Raya and Marumori Company Co., Ltd. Both companies are companies engaged in architectural design of Japanese houses.

PT. Rupa Raya is an Indonesian company founded by Bustanil Yasir in 2022 in Makassar. Although it is an Indonesian company, PT. Rupa Raya is a company that works in the field of Japanese architectural design. Therefore, 100% of the clients of PT Rupa Raya are from Japan. In running the business. PT Rupa Raya cooperates with a company that works in the same field, namely Marumori Company Co., Ltd. Marumori Company acts as an intermediary and ’employer’ for PT Rupa Raya.

PT Rupa Raya, represented by CEO Bustanil Yasir, opened the presentation by introducing the company’s vision and mission to the Japanese Language and Culture lecturers and students present. Then, CEO Bustanil Yasir also explained the flow of work at PT Rupa Raya. Design work is carried out after receiving a house design from Muromari Company. Based on the design, PT Rupa Raya will then produce 2D, 3D, and designs that can be seen using VR (Virtual Reality) technology. On this occasion, PT Rupa Raya also introduced the internship program to the participants.

After the presentation, the activity then continued with a question and answer session about job openings because the arrival of PT. Rupa Raya was also to inform the opening of vacancies that opened on November 1, 2024 related to the opening of their branch in Semarang. After that, various other questions were also asked by the participants. The activity then ended with a group photo.

[Public Relation FIB UGM, Author: Valentina Pramahita Iswari, Editor: Yulia Agustiani]

On Sunday, October 20, 2024, Dr. Sita Hidayah Ph.D as the representative in charge of the Independent Campus 2024 Competition Program conducted a half-time evaluation of the implementation of research in Pandansari Village, the discussion which was held in the PTPN IX Kaligua Agrotourism area was attended by ten PKKM research and village development scheme participants. The research scheme participants who had departed earlier on October 9 presented findings related to each topic studied ranging from agriculture, tourism, education, irrigation, and forestry, this progress according to Dr. Sita Hidayah is very interesting and can be further developed into research that has novelty.

As for the participants of the village development scheme, this opportunity will be used to realize a program entitled Waste Management Mapping in Pandansari Village: Solutions Based on the Use of Titen Application. This program will specifically be implemented in Dukuh Kalikidang and Embel, through this program it is hoped that the community can participate in mapping waste management problems in the surrounding environment with the “Titen” software application developed by the Anthropology Department.

Pandansari Village itself is not the first time to become a research locus for UGM anthropology students because of its complex and very interesting agricultural culture dynamics to be studied anthropologically, the results of the research that have been carried out are expected not only to fulfill writing assignments, but also to benefit the local community. By focusing on environmental, economic, and inequality issues, the research seeks to achieve sustainable goals in accordance with SDG 8, SDG 10, and SDG 15.

[HUMAS FIB UGM, Author: Novilatul Ananda Ramadhani, Editor: Sandya Kirani]

Yogyakarta, Thursday, October 31st 2024. Directorate of Partnership and Global Relations (DKRG) UGM through UGM Buddy Club Community under the  UGM Office of International Affairs, organized Malam Kliwon – The Indonesian Halloween Experience. This activity is to introduce and preserve Indonesian local culture that is rich in spiritual values and local beliefs to international students. Held at Kolektif Collaboration Space, students consisting of international exchange students from various study programs and INCULS participated in this activity from 18:00 WIB to 22:30 WIB.

Night Kliwon activities began with an open gate at 18:00 WIB until 19:00 WIB, international students and local Buddy students from the UGM Buddy Club Community took attendance first outside the room where the activity was held. Next, the students had a sharing session about mystical or horror stories from their respective countries. After that, a movie watching session titled, “Pengabdi Setan 2” as the work of director Joko Anwar, was shown as an introduction to the intricacies of horror films with an Indonesian atmosphere. Not to forget, after the joint viewing session ended, the international students and local students along with the representative guests present shared their impressions from watching the movie.

On this occasion, Takeru Homma, an exchange student from Japan to the Tourism Study Program, Faculty of Cultural Sciences UGM, shared his impressions. “The event was really fun, I enjoyed eating with my friends, chatting, watching the movie, and showing each other our costumes. Although with the movie viewing session, everyone was just glued to watching, so there wasn’t much chance to interact. I think it would be better if there were programs that allowed more interaction among international students.”.

From the implementation of this activity, Malam Kliwon – The Indonesian Halloween Experience is expected to be a forum for introducing Indonesian culture between local students and international students. Building a memorable experience and a means of learning about Indonesia’s unique culture.