Yogyakarta, 9 September 2026 — The Master’s Program in Linguistics, Faculty of Cultural Sciences, Universitas Gadjah Mada (UGM), in collaboration with the Keluarga Mahasiswa Linguistik Gadjah Mada (Kalingga UGM), held an Expert Lecture entitled “Indonesian for Foreign Speakers” on Wednesday, 9 September 2026. Conducted online via Zoom, the event featured two speakers who explored various aspects of teaching and learning Indonesian as a foreign language.

The first speaker, Nguyen Thahn Tuan from Vietnam National University, Vietnam, delivered a presentation entitled “Teaching Indonesian in Vietnam: Challenges, Opportunities, and Future Prospects.” His presentation explored the dynamics of Indonesian language teaching in Vietnam, highlighting the challenges encountered, opportunities for development, and future prospects for Indonesian language learning.

The second speaker, Dr. Wira Kurniawati, S.S., M.A. from Universitas Gadjah Mada, presented “Learning Language, Learning to Use Language: The Acquisition of Pragmatic Competence among BIPA Learners.” Her presentation highlighted the importance of pragmatic competence in language acquisition, particularly among BIPA learners. The discussion emphasized that language learning involves not only mastering linguistic structures but also developing the ability to use language appropriately in different communicative contexts.

The event was moderated by Nur Fahmi, S.S., a student of the UGM Master’s Program in Linguistics.

The Expert Lecture provided participants with an opportunity to broaden their perspectives on the teaching and learning of Indonesian as a foreign language. The presentations offered complementary perspectives on BIPA development, ranging from Indonesian language teaching overseas to the acquisition of pragmatic competence among learners.

Through this event, the UGM Master’s Program in Linguistics continues to promote linguistics scholarship that responds to the growing role of Indonesian in a global context. The event also served as a platform for sharing academic knowledge and experiences to support the wider international development of the Indonesian language.

The UGM Master’s Program in Linguistics extends its appreciation to the speakers, moderator, organizing committee, and all participants for their valuable contributions to the success of the event.

 

Author: Master of Linguistics

The Master’s Program in Literature, Faculty of Cultural Sciences (FIB), Universitas Gadjah Mada (UGM), in collaboration with the City Government of Subulussalam, held a National Seminar titled “Hamzah Fansuri and the Tradition of Archipelago Poetics.” The event, held on Wednesday, September 16, 2026, at the Auditorium on the 3rd Floor of the Poerbatjaraka Building, FIB UGM, featured prominent academics and literary experts, including Prof. Dr. Faruk, S.U., Prof. Dr. Aprinus Salam, M.Hum., and Prof. Dr. Sangidu, M.Hum.

In her opening address, Dr. Nur Saktiningrum, S.S., M.Hum., representing FIB UGM, emphasized the importance of studying Malay literature within a modern context. According to her, Malay literature is not merely a record of the past, but an essential medium for preserving cultural memory.

“The study of Malay literature opens up a space for inheritance while addressing contemporary challenges. Through this study, we maintain continuity and cultural memory. We hope this seminar becomes a productive dialogue that opens new perspectives between literature and culture in building a cultured, ethical, and good nation,” she stated.

The panel discussion highlighted the vital role of Sheikh Hamzah Fansuri, who is regarded as the pioneer of Indonesian poetry. On this occasion, Prof. Dr. Faruk examined Hamzah Fansuri as an innovator of Malay verse (syair), while Prof. Dr. Sangidu elaborated on the Sufi aspects of Hamzah Fansuri’s literary works. Prof. Sangidu expressed deep appreciation for monumental works such as Syaraabul Asyiqin, which have been preserved to this day. He also noted that historical sites related to Hamzah Fansuri remain intact and continue to be alive within the community.

In addition to classical literary studies, the dimension of social theory and literary development was addressed by Prof. Dr. Aprinus Salam through his presentation on the traces of Hamzah Fansuri in modern Indonesian poetry. In his session, he also explained the dynamics of social theories, such as Marxism, which was banned during the New Order era but subsequently opened new avenues for social analysis and critical thinking in the post-reform era.

Through this seminar, participants were invited to re-examine the roots of archipelago literature while drawing upon local cultural and ethical values to address the future challenges of national character building.

 

[Author: Humas FIB, Zaidan Abdurrahman]

There is a question that initially sounds simple but is difficult to answer: who has the right to tell women’s stories?

That question led Sofiana Martha Rini and her two colleagues, Priyo Joko Purnomo and Mulya Atmana Dwiyana WNA, much deeper. What began as an assignment for a prose course eventually developed into a paper presented at The 2nd International Conference Bali Gender Studies Forum (BGSF) 2026.

The paper, titled Walking in Her Shoes: Gender and Ethics of Representing Women in Post-Reform Indonesian Novels (2000–2025), went on to receive the Best Paper award at the conference, organized by Yayasan Bali Sruti on August 28–29, 2026, online.

For Sofiana, the paper did not suddenly emerge from a research desk piled high with books and theories. It began with a sense of unease.

One of the things that prompted it was Sofiana’s reading and reconsideration of the works of Panji Sukma. From there came questions about representation: how women are written, who writes them, and whether women’s experiences can truly be represented in their entirety by someone else.

The questions did not disappear after a single reading.

“The point is that we have to recognize that representation is difficult to make completely free from bias,” Sofiana said.

She even carried this concern into other discussions, including during a summer school, where she discussed representation and the boundaries one encounters when attempting to tell an experience that does not belong to oneself with Ramayda Akmal, a lecturer and literary writer, as well as Prof. Arnez.

From there, a topic that initially stemmed from a single work expanded into a broader question: how are women represented in Indonesian literature after the Reformasi era?

Together with her two colleagues, Sofiana did not stop at one or two novels. They read 21 Indonesian novels published between 2002 and 2025, written by both male and female authors from different literary backgrounds and ideological orientations.

One of the theoretical frameworks informing their analysis was Stuart Hall’s concept of representation. Within this framework, representation is not merely about making something visible or presenting something so that it can be seen. Rather, it is a process through which meaning is produced.

The question therefore shifted: who constructs meaning about women? From whose perspective are women’s experiences told? And who has the authority to represent women?

To examine these questions, they employed several theoretical tools, including Laura Mulvey’s concept of the male gaze, as well as the concepts of focalization and non-narratorial commentary in Mieke Bal’s narratology.

Their reading of dozens of female characters across the 21 novels revealed an interesting pattern.

Women increasingly appear at the center of stories. But being at the center of a story does not automatically mean being at the center of power. Women may speak. But who determines what that voice means?

In a number of novels, Sofiana and her team found that women were still largely positioned around male characters.

There are women who speak, feel, love, and even make decisions. Yet their voices remain within narrative structures determined by male characters.

They found one example in Ayat-Ayat Cinta by Habiburrahman El Shirazy. Aisha has her own voice and emotional experiences. However, the way readers come to understand those experiences remains closely connected to Fahri’s position as the center of the story.

Another pattern emerges when women become the main characters.

Yet once again, being a protagonist does not necessarily mean possessing authority.

In their reading of several novels, women may become the focus of the narrative, while decisions about how their bodies, experiences, trauma, and lives are interpreted can still be controlled by a larger narrative structure.

At this point, Sofiana identified an important distinction between agency and authority.

Women may possess agency—the ability to choose, act, refuse, and even resist. But that does not necessarily mean they possess the authority to determine how their own stories are understood.

Then comes another question: what happens when women write about women?

This question brought their research to its next stage. Does representation automatically become more ethical when women are the ones writing it? Their answer turned out to be more complicated than that.

Sofiana and her team also examined works written by female authors. In these works, they found that women could indeed appear with more diverse voices, experiences, and concerns.

But for them, the author’s gender is not the only measure. The issue is not simply who holds the pen. More important is how the text produces meaning about women and the extent to which it recognizes the limits of its authority when speaking about someone else’s experience.

That is why the conclusion of their paper feels more like a question deliberately left without closure:

Can we ever fully walk in her shoes?

Perhaps not. And precisely because of that, Sofiana and her team argue, literature needs to recognize that no one can ever completely walk in another person’s shoes.

The ethical task is not to pretend that one has arrived at or fully understood that experience. It is to recognize the limits.

Interestingly, the paper that eventually brought Sofiana the award began with something very close to everyday student life: a course assignment.

The paper originated as an assignment for a prose course. After completing it and reading it again, Sofiana and her two colleagues realized that there was an idea within it that could still be developed.

They then revised the paper and submitted it to the BGSF call for papers.

Yayasan Bali Sruti has long worked to develop publications in the fields of academic literacy, social and cultural studies, women and children, language, and public policy. The organization also has publication lines for conference proceedings and book chapters. Sofiana and her team’s paper was eventually presented online on August 28.

Their presentation time was also limited—only about six minutes.

Six minutes to bring 21 novels, several theories, concerns about representation, and questions of authority before an international forum.

In the end, it was that paper that brought Sofiana and her team the Best Paper award. The recognition came not simply because of the number of novels they had read or the theories they had employed. There was a longer journey behind it: a course assignment that did not remain merely an assignment, a concern that continued to occupy their thoughts, and a question that they carried all the way into the conference room.

Who has the right to tell women’s stories?

Sofiana herself does not offer a simple answer. Perhaps there is none.

Because the further she reads, the clearer it becomes that the question of representation is not merely about who gets to speak. Whenever someone speaks about another person, there will always be a part of that experience that can never completely belong to them.

 

Author: Khotibul Umam

The Master’s Program in Linguistics, Faculty of Cultural Sciences, Universitas Gadjah Mada, held an Expert Lecture on the theme “Language Politics” on Monday, 7 September 2026. Held at the Soegondo Building, FIB UGM, the event provided an academic forum for exploring the relationship between language and social, political, and regional dynamics, particularly in Southeast Asia.

The Expert Lecture featured two speakers who offered complementary perspectives. Jerôme Samuel from the Institut National des Langues Orientales, France, delivered a presentation entitled “Language Politics in Southeast Asian Countries.” His presentation explored the dynamics of language policy and politics across Southeast Asian countries, as well as the strategic position of language in social life and regional relations.

The second speaker, Dr. Merry Andriani, S.S., M.L.C.S. from Universitas Gadjah Mada, presented “The Politics of Indonesian as a Working Language in ASEAN.” Her presentation provided insights into the position and role of Indonesian in the regional context, particularly in relation to the development of ASEAN and the potential of Indonesian as a language for communication and cooperation within the region.

The discussion was moderated by Dhisna Luklu’ul Fauzan, S.S., a student of the Master’s Program in Linguistics. The interaction between the speakers and participants was an important part of the event, providing opportunities to further explore language politics from diverse perspectives.

Through this Expert Lecture, the Master’s Program in Linguistics, FIB UGM, continues to provide an academic space that encourages students and participants to understand language not only as a means of communication, but also as an integral part of social, political, identity, and regional dynamics.

The Master’s Program in Linguistics, FIB UGM, extends its appreciation to the speakers, moderator, and all participants for their contributions to the event. It is hoped that the Expert Lecture on “Language Politics” will broaden perspectives and encourage further discussion and research on language politics in Indonesia and Southeast Asia.

 

Author: Magister of Linguistics Program

YOGYAKARTA – Learning a foreign language does not always have to begin with textbooks and classrooms. This was the experience of Shang Narendra, a 2022 student of Arabic Literature at Universitas Gadjah Mada (UGM), who became the university’s sole representative in the 2026 Mandarin Summer Camp Short Term Study Program in Taiwan. The program, subsidized by Taiwan’s Ministry of Education, was held at Da Yeh University (大葉大學) in Changhua, Taiwan, from July 22 to August 4, 2026.

Organized through the Official Taiwan Education Center Indonesia in collaboration with universities in Taiwan, the program brought together international students to learn Mandarin while gaining firsthand exposure to Taiwanese culture. For Shang Narendra, who is often called Adam, the opportunity stemmed from his desire to learn a foreign language directly in an environment where it is spoken. As an Arabic Literature student, he is accustomed to viewing language not only through its structure and vocabulary but also through the culture, society, and context in which it is used.

During the program, participants attended Mandarin classes in the morning and took part in various cultural activities in the afternoon. Upon arriving at Da Yeh University, participants first took the Test of Chinese as a Foreign Language (TOCFL) to assess their Mandarin proficiency and determine their class placement. Classroom learning was complemented by hands-on activities, including cooking, handicrafts, aromatherapy, fabric painting, traditional Chinese calligraphy, and making a Taiwanese-style mosquito repellent spray.

The cross-cultural experience also extended into everyday life in the dormitory. Participants from different universities and countries lived together, creating opportunities to communicate in various languages, particularly English and Mandarin. Adam occasionally used Google Translate when language barriers interrupted conversations. He also interacted directly with local residents while purchasing daily necessities. Through these experiences, he learned that the courage to communicate and the ability to adapt can be just as important as mastering grammar.

One of Adam’s most memorable experiences was the final project, which involved a role-play performed with a group of six students from different backgrounds. Within a relatively short period, Adam and his group members had to use Mandarin to discuss ideas, divide tasks, and prepare their performance. The program also took participants to Sun Moon Lake in Nantou, giving them an opportunity to explore another side of Taiwan beyond the university campus.

For Adam, learning Mandarin in Taiwan also broadened his perspective as an Arabic Literature student. He came to see more clearly that language learning cannot be separated from the culture and society of its speakers. The experience also strengthened his listening and speaking skills, contextual understanding, and ability to adapt to a new environment. Learning another language gave him a new perspective on understanding Arabic more broadly, beyond the theories he studies in the classroom.

The summer course also provided Adam with an opportunity to step outside his comfort zone. He found that students of Arabic Literature can explore other languages and cultures without leaving behind the field they are studying. By becoming familiar with more languages and societies, students can gain new perspectives on Arabic while preparing themselves to communicate and engage in increasingly multicultural environments.

 

Author : Indana Zulfa Maulida