Decolonization is an important issue that continues to be studied in the social sciences these days. The effort to break away from Western hegemony, which is a legacy of colonialism, is a long road that is being traveled, especially for Global North thinkers. This effort was also evident in a forum entitled Who Can Speak and What We Can Speak About held at AAS, Gadjah Mada University, July 11, 2024.

In this forum, there were 6 speakers who presented their research results. The common threads of the presentations were about the fate of others, the struggle for human rights, and efforts to uncover the Global North-Global South power relations.

The first speaker was Lili Chen from the National University of East Timor. In her presentation, she explained the dynamics of life for LGBT people in Timor Leste. After independence from Indonesia, LGBT people in Timor Leste are quite progressive. Compared to Indonesia, this group is also much more accepted. This can be seen from the Pride Parade that they can participate in in Dili every year. However, this does not mean that their lives are completely safe. In a country with a highly religious Christian population, LGBT people are still discriminated against. However, there are efforts made by LGBT people to negotiate this. For example, they try to continue to explore pre-colonial local culture, which actually also recognizes the concept of gender outside heteronormativity.

Still related to gender issues, Carol Rodriguez Bello Dawonlay from the University of Philippines, discussed various indigenous women’s groups in the Philippines against child marriage and gender violence. Meanwhile, Anna Christi Suwardi from Mae Fah Luang University, also discussed the role of women in efforts to resolve conflicts in Southern Thailand.

Faryal Khan from the Bonn International Center for Conflict Studies (BICC) discussed the military conflict in South Waziristan, Pakistan. According to Khan, the conflict involving the state and various tribes became prolonged, because the state took a military approach to resolve it.

Faryal Khan’s presentation was also linked to that of Amjad Hassan from the National University of Modern Language Peshawar. Hassan, who is also from Pakistan, criticized the state’s approach to resolving various violent conflicts in Pakistan. According to Hassan, Pakistani policymakers, think tanks and intellectuals still take a Western approach, especially the realist, positivistic and capitalist modernity approach. This is highly ineffective as Pakistan will always fail to address the root cause of all modern conflicts, which is actually the West itself. According to Hassan, the West, especially America, is the elephant in the room that has failed to be identified. Therefore, it is important to map the extent of their interests behind these violent conflicts.

Meanwhile, Gopale Amarnath discussed the problem of health facilities in the Gadchiroli region of Maharashtra, India, which is an area of conflict between the government and left-wing extremists. According to Amarnath, the presence of these extremist groups has made the region discriminated in terms of health policy. Amarnath expressed concern about the poor health facilities and lack of doctors in the area. In addition, the lack of child care facilities, maternal delivery, and proper buildings, also complicates the problem. Moreover, the military also often enters hospitals or health centers to conduct inspections, which makes health workers worried.

In general, the forum also discussed research methods based on the spirit of decolonization. There are at least three points that researchers who go into the field should do. First, they should listen more. Second, research must be based on consent, or the agreement of both parties. Third, do no harm, or do not hurt the physical and emotional well-being of the group being visited.  This forum is very important because it shows how field research methods can explore problems in depth, but also based on empathy for affected communities. This is also a form of decolonization, especially of anthropological research methods that used to objectify the indigenous population. Decolonization is not only a result, but also a process.

Author: Ari Bagus Panuntun

The Department of Language and Literature, Faculty of Cultural Sciences, Universitas Gadjah Mada held an Expert Lecture on Literature with the theme “Literature in Digital Age” on Thursday, July 18, 2024. This event took place from 12.30 to 15.30 in Sogeondo Room 709 FIB UGM and virtually through Zoom Meeting. The lecture is an open forum for the general public, although offline attendance is limited. The speakers include Prof. Angus James Nicholls, Ph.D. from Queen Mary University of London, Dr. Pujiharto, M.Hum. from Faculty of Cultural Sciences UGM, and Miguel Escobar Varela, Ph.D. from National University of Singapore. The moderation of the event was conducted by Alvanita, S.S., M.Ed. from Faculty of Cultural Sciences UGM.

Digital literary works include various formats such as e-books, literary blogs, literary websites, interactive stories and digital poetry. Some digital literary works also utilize multimedia elements such as images, audio and video to enhance the reading experience. This shows the development and adaptation of literature in the digital era, where technology becomes a means to express ideas and emotions in a more dynamic and interactive way. A new phenomenon in the literary world emerges with the existence of works created by robots or machines such as ChatGPT. Martin S.’s book “Poet as Machine” highlights this phenomenon. In the concept of the poet as machine, the use of language is managed entirely by the machine, and the resulting literary work is able to create its own narrative world through the use of carefully programmed language. This illustrates a new evolution in the way we understand creativity and the relationship between technology and art, as well as how algorithms can be a tool for creating impressive and original works.

The phenomenon of digital literature not only includes works created by writers but also involves the active participation of readers in the writing process, which then leads to the development of the study of fan literature. The history of this study can be traced back to Damono’s contribution in 1978 which introduced the importance of the study of popular literature, especially from the perspective of literary sociology. This study highlights how literature, especially in digital form, has changed the way readers interact and contribute to the creation of literary works. Discussions on this subject continue among modern literary scholars, exploring the role of technology in shaping and influencing contemporary literary discourse. This event is expected to be a means to explore and understand the development of literature in the growing digital era.

In today’s increasingly complex and interconnected world, energy and environmental challenges have become global issues that cannot be solved with a single approach. This phenomenon requires a broader, interdisciplinary approach. While our education and academic practices often stick to the boundaries of established disciplines, it is increasingly clear that solutions to these problems require collaboration across fields. Many academics now recognize that the integration of ideas from different disciplines is key to tackling these complex challenges more effectively. They realize that no single discipline can provide all the necessary answers.

In this context, this roundtable panel aimed to observe and explore the value of interdisciplinary approaches. Panelists discussed how perspectives from different disciplines can be used synergistically to analyze and address energy and environmental challenges. The ultimate goal is to create effective strategies to observe and resolve these issues, with the hope of building a sustainable future for generations to come. By combining knowledge and methodologies from different fields, it is hoped that this interdisciplinary approach will pave the way for more holistic and integrated innovative solutions. This activity was held on July 9th, 2024 at 9.00 am – 10.30

Organized by the Department of Anthropology, Gadjah Mada University, Yogyakarta, Indonesia on Monday, July 8, 2024 at Soegondo Building room 709, Faculty of Humanities, Gadjah Mada University, this one-day workshop was conceived to stimulate dialogue between different geographical, political, and economic views on migration in the Global South, while exploring opportunities to enhance scholarly exchange among participants. The event was able to provide a platform to discuss diverse approaches to migration, including knowledge creation, dynamics, methods, ethics, and case studies from different regions in the Global South. The aim of the Workshop was also to provide participants with the necessary skills to disseminate their ideas more widely and engage in contemporary debates on migration in the South.

Opening remarks were delivered by Mr. Kamran Asdar Ali as Former President of AAS and Mimi Savitri, M.A., Ph.D. as Vice Dean for Research, Community Service, Cooperation and Alumni of the Faculty of Cultural Sciences, Universitas Gadjah Mada. Then the participants and mentors introduced themselves one by one before presenting the work of their respective groups. The next agenda was Rethinking Interconnectivity which was guided by Dr. Realisa D. Massardi/Dr. Furrukh Khan/Dr: Jerónimo Delgado-Caicedo. This was followed by breakaway sessions discussing interconnectivity in the global south and how the concept relates to their research. Participants then presented again, this time on their findings. At the end of the program, there was a discussion to answer any unanswered questions.

Five UGM students have pioneered the development of a platform based on Historical Tourism App that offers historical tour packages with 4 destinations namely Yogyakarta, Magelang, Ambarawa, and Semarang consisting of 9 tour packages and 66 sites, called HISTARA which stands for Histori Nusantara. They are Aditya Firdaus (Tourism, Faculty of Arts) with members Franzseka Aurellia Oenang (Tourism, Faculty of Arts), Elyzabeth C. F. Roring (Tourism, Faculty of Arts), Irkam Asroni (Archaeology, Faculty of Arts), and Fanny Elizabeth Panjaitan (Information Engineering, Engineering). Aditya explained that the development of Hisatara started from the lack of interest of generation z in historical tourism, as seen from the news that often discusses the lack of interest in visiting historical tourist attractions. Therefore, they are trying to provide services like this in order to attract generation z.

Fanny added that HISTARA is designed to be attractive and modern, designed to fit the pockets of students, “Services and services can be fully accessed through the website www.histaratour.com and will also be available on google play store”, she said. Franzeska also added, “The HISTARA application also supports the realization of the values of sustainable development goals, namely SDGs No. 4 Quality Education, SDGs No. 9 Infrastructure, Industry and Innovation, and SDGs No. 17 Partnerships to Achieve Goals. HISTARA offers tour packages at student-friendly prices with a wide selection of exciting historical tour packages.

Author: Elyzabeth