Pada hari Rabu 20 Maret 2024, Program Studi Bahasa dan Kebudayaan Jepang (BKJ) mengadakan sosialisasi beasiswa Monbukagakusho/MEXT bersama Kedutaan Besar Jepang Jakarta dengan Fenny Gunadi yang merupakan Study Abroad Advisor dan First Secretary Kawakubo Yuriko Bagian Pendidikan Kedutaan Besar Jepang sebagai pembicara. Kegiatan ini diikuti oleh mahasiswa Prodi BKJ UGM dari berbagai angkatan.

Beasiswa Monbukagakusho atau MEXT adalah beasiswa Kementerian Pendidikan, Budaya, Olahraga, Sains, dan Teknologi Pemerintah Jepang yang ditujukan kepada akademisi dari luar Jepang dengan maksud ingin menempuh pendidikan di Jepang. Beasiswa tersebut terbagi kedalam berbagai tingkat pendidikan mulai dari tingkat Diploma sampai S3. Di jenjang Diploma terdapat dua pilihan beasiswa yaitu beasiswa Specialized Training College (Senshu) dan College of Technology (Kosen). Untuk S1 terdapat beasiswa Undergraduate (Gakubu). Sedangkan untuk S2 dan S3 terdapat beasiswa Research Student. Selain itu, terdapat program beasiswa non degree seperti beasiswa Japanese Studies untuk pertukaran mahasiswa dari jurusan Studi Jepang dan Teacher Training untuk guru Bahasa Jepang aktif di sekolah formal.

Bagi mahasiswa program studi Bahasa dan Kebudayaan Jepang, terdapat dua beasiswa yang bisa dimanfaatkan dan patut untuk dipahami alurnya. Beasiswa tersebut adalah Japanese Studies dan Research Student. Beasiswa Japanese Studies memiliki dua jalur penerimaan yaitu G to G (Government to Government) dan U to U (University To University). Pada alur G to G, mahasiswa akan melalui seleksi dengan dua tahap Screening. Tahap pertama (primary screening) adalah proses seleksi pendaftar dalam negara yang sama, lalu tahap kedua (secondary screening) adalah seleksi para pendaftar antar negara. Di lain sisi, alur beasiswa U to U dilaksanakan dengan universitas dari Jepang langsung menyeleksi pendaftar antar negara. Lalu untuk mahasiswa tingkat S2 atau S3, terdapat beasiswa Research Student dengan beberapa seleksi tambahan. Tidak hanya para akademisi, beasiswa juga terbuka kepada para pengajar bahasa Jepang yakni program Teacher Training selama delapan belas bulan. Program tersebut terbagi dengan enam bulan belajar Bahasa Jepang dan dua belas bulan pelatihan.

Dengan kesempatan yang dibuka oleh pemerintah Jepang, baik mahasiswa, akademisi, maupun pengajar dapat melanjutkan studinya ke Jepang secara cuma-cuma. Tidak hanya ilmu, pengalaman studi di Jepang tersebut akan menjadi daya jual tak ternilai bagi mereka yang berhasil mendapatkan kesempatan tersebut. Jadi, pengadaan sosialisasi ini diharapkan dapat mempersiapkan  mahasiswa yang berminat mendaftar beasiswa dengan lebih matang. Mari berjuang bersama.

On Monday, March 4, 2024 a Thesis Proposal Seminar or Sempro was held offline for S-1 Cultural Anthropology students of FIB UGM. The Proposal Seminar was held openly, so that the academic community and the general public could see the seminar. This seminar was attended by 29 students who were divided into four clusters, namely the economic tourism cluster, lifestyle and health cluster, ecology and maritime cluster, and arts, gender, and labor cluster.

Dr. Atik Triratnawati, M.A as the Head of the S-1 Cultural Anthropology Study Program who was also present as a discussant lecturer in the proposal seminar this time delivered several comments, he conveyed a message related to the need for students to refer to SDG’s values in writing a thesis. He revealed that actually Gadjah Mada University has made a regulation where the final project, thesis, and thesis of students are required to refer to the values in the SDGs and all courses in the S-1 Cultural Anthropology Study Program have also referred to the values in the SDGs. However, from the seminars that have been held, almost none of them refer to or clearly link the thesis proposals that students present with the values in the SDGs. Responding to this phenomenon, he planned that in the future there will be a socialization related to embedding SDGs values in the thesis and thesis of Anthropology students.

In addition to mentioning about SDGs, Dr. Atik Triratnawati, M.A also responded to the seminar from a technical point of view, she advised related to the question sentence in the problem formulation. She revealed that there are still many students who underestimate the question sentence “why” and feel enough with the question sentence how, even though according to her if the why sentence is used in the right context, it will lead to broader and deeper research findings. He advised students who will take part in proposal seminars in the future to consider the aspect of the question sentence “why”.

From the proposal seminar that has been held, it can be seen that although the University has emphasized the importance of referring to SDGs values in the thesis, there are still gaps in its application by students. Support and socialization planning that will be initiated in the future are important steps to ensure that students can better understand and apply these principles in their thesis. In addition, messages related to the importance of asking “why” questions are also important points in improving the quality of research. All of this is an effort to encourage the achievement of the ideals contained in the SDGs, especially point 4 (Quality Education) through the contribution of Cultural Anthropology students at Faculty of Cultural Sciences UGM.

SDGs 4: Quality Education | SDGs 17: Partnerships for the Goals

On Wednesday, (05/22/2024), the 7th floor Soegondo Auditorium was full of gratitude and happiness. The smiles of the graduates who have successfully completed their studies and achieved satisfactory results. The submission of graduation documents in the form of diplomas and academic transcripts is something to look forward to because it marks the legitimacy of graduating students and officially holds a degree according to the study program they each take.

In the event that was full of wisdom, four students of the Javanese Language, Literature, and Culture Study Program, Faculty of Cultural Sciences, UGM, entertained the graduates and the audience with Angguk Dance. They are Novalia Hidayatus Solihah, Nanda Fitri Riyantika, Wening Hidayati, and Audrey Gizella. The Angguk dance performed by the four female students succeeded in bringing smiles and admiration from the graduates and guests. “Alhamdulillah, the Angguk Dance performance went well. Although there are shortcomings, we feel satisfied and proud to be able to entertain the audience at the Mangayubagya event for graduates of FIB UGM,” explained Wening Hidayati in an interview (05/24/2024).

Quoting from disbud.kulonprogokab.go.id (2020, August 5), Angguk Dance is a traditional art originating from Kulon Progo Regency. It is believed that this art emerged around 1900, right when the Dutch soldiers and officers occupied the area of Purworejo Regency. The soldiers’ dancing and singing became the forerunner of the Angguk Dance that emerged in Kokap Sub-district, an area directly adjacent to Purworejo. Initially, Angguk was danced by men. In 1991, it was first danced by women in Pripih Hamlet, Hargomulyo, Kokap.

The Angguk Dance performance in the Mangayubagya event for graduates of the Faculty of Cultural Sciences, UGM, was successfully run with great fanfare. This performance is also a concrete manifestation of the students of the Javanese Language, Literature, and Culture Study Program in nguri-uri ‘preserving’ and ngurip-urip’reviving and enlivening’ the culture of the archipelago, especially Javanese culture. The preservation of national identity can be carried out with synergy from various parties so that it can have a broad impact on society and the nation.

References:

Disbud.kulonprogokab,go,id. (2020, August 05). Tari Angguk Kesenian Tradisional Kulon Progo. Accessed on May 24, 2024, from https://disbud.kulonprogokab.go.id/detil/356/tari-angguk-kesenian-tradisional-kulon-progo

Author: Haryo Untoro

SDGs 4: Quality Education | SDGs 5: Gender Equality | SDGs 16: Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions | SDGs 17: Partnerships for the Goals

On Tuesday, May 14, 2024, the Department of Anthropology invited Eric C. Thompson, a lecturer from the Department of Sociology and Anthropology at the National University of Singapore (NUS), to discuss his latest book titled The Story of Southeast Asia (2024). The book discussion event, attended by the academic community within the Faculty of Cultural Sciences at Universitas Gadjah Mada (UGM), provided fresh perspectives for the participants on the historical materialism approach in contemporary anthropological studies. On this occasion, Thompson provided a general overview of the book’s content and arguments about several sections he found particularly interesting when discussing the Southeast Asian region.

The book The Story of Southeast Asia uses historical and anthropological perspectives to examine the diversity of traditions and cultures within contemporary Southeast Asian communities, highlighting a long process. Cultural contacts between communities, established since the era of Hindu-Buddhist kingdoms, the introduction of Islam through trade, and the influence of European colonial occupation have uniquely shaped the identity and cultural practices and traditions in Southeast Asia. Through his presentation, Thompson demonstrated how these processes illustrate Southeast Asian people’s agency and the formation of social and economic networks marked by trade. The creation of these networks is considered the beginning of the formation of cultural and social identities in Southeast Asia. After the book’s content presentation by the author, Prof. Dr. Pujo Semedi, acting as the moderator, guided the Q&A session, which received enthusiastic responses from the attendees. Some questions prompted the author and discussion participants to reflect on how the process of identity formation requires sensitivity and critical thinking towards data, documents, and artifacts to provide historical and anthropological interpretations.