On Wednesday, April 25, 2024, the UGM Master of American Studies Program held a Public Lecture on the theme of Globalization, which was presented by Prof. Carla Jones, Ph.D, Professor of Anthropology at the University of Colorado Boulder, United States. This public lecture was held online through the Zoom application which was attended by 20 students who were a combination of students of the Master of American Studies Program and the Middle Eastern Cultural Studies Program, Faculty of Cultural Sciences UGM. In this session, the topic raised in the discussion was “Globalization, Nationalism, and Cosmopolitanism”, which discussed how the impact of globalization on nationalism. The occurrence of mutual influence and the fading of borders between countries causes questions about nationalism.

Prof. Carla explained that in the era of Globalization, it creates a zone of continuous cultural interaction and exchange throughout the world, which can also be referred to as “ecumenism of globalization”. Globalization also creates a situation where previously isolated cultures are constantly colliding. The impact of this global cultural flow is: Homogeneity and cultural chaos. Homogeneity in this context refers to the commonalities that arise when cultures share ideas, goods and media. This then creates confusion and challenges due to the mixing and similarity of cultures.

In addition to this, Prof. Carla also explained about the concept of globalization from Arjun Appadurai, an Indian-American anthropologist. He explained, according to Appadurai, there are five dimensions of cultural flow in globalization: Ethnoscapes (movement or movement of people such as tourists, refugees etc.), Technoscapes: (the movement of technology such as factories, machines, etc.), Financescapes (the movement of money), Mediascapes (the movement of information and images such as TV, newspapers, etc.), Ideoscapes (the spread of ideas and ideology). The 120-minute public lecture then ended with a question and answer session and an open discussion where participants could respond to what had been presented by the speaker.

On Tuesday, March 19, 2024, the UGM Japanese Language and Culture Study Program held a socialization of working in Japan together with Marimo Group. The activity which was carried out on the basis of this collaboration was attended by representatives of Marimo Group, Manager of International Human Resource Development Marimo Holdings Inc. Kanakuchi Yuya and Tatang Hariri, Ph. D. as Head of the Japanese Language and Culture Study Program along with final year students and alumni of BKJ Study Program.

The activity began with the introduction of Marimo Group to the socialization participants. Marimo Group is a company engaged in the property sector with headquarters in Hiroshima City, Japan which now has more than 21,000 mansion units throughout Japan. Currently, Marimo is opening opportunities for final year students or alumni of BKJ Study Program who are interested in working in Japan. Marimo can assist applicants in finding suitable jobs according to their interests and talents. Jobs that are generally in demand are in the field of translation and hospitality, but it does not rule out the possibility if you want to apply in a field that is not offered.

Being with Marimo as a partner in working abroad can certainly make a sense of security and comfort when working. Feelings of homesickness while working can also be relieved because, with connections from Marimo we can still meet with Indonesians. This good opportunity is expected to be utilized by academics and alumni to gain experience in the world of work.

Yogyakarta, Saturday, March 9, 2024 – The culmination of the 18th annual Korean Day was held by the Korean Language and Culture Study Program of Universitas Gadjah Mada at the Faculty of Cultural Sciences. The performers blended the cultures of the two countries through their costumes to adding a touch of Indonesian culture into their performances, for example by performing not only Korean songs, but also Indonesian songs.

This year, Korean Day was themed “Hallyunesia Wonderland” to celebrate Indonesian and Korean culture. The event was also enlivened by performances from various dongari (clubs) of UGM Korean Language and Culture Study Program, namely Samulnori, Hansamchum, Katarsis Sing, Katarsis Dance, Talchum, and Buchaechum. There were food, beverage, and accessory tenants that filled the venue. The Random Play Dance session and the appearance of the guest star, Nadafid, were the highlights of the event. Then, there was also a Noraebang (karaoke) session which also closed the Korean Day 18 event.

The entire series of the 18th Korean Day event is expected to be a source of inspiration for Korean culture lovers, providing a forum for creativity and community while encouraging the preservation of Indonesian culture. In addition, Korean Day is one of the media forms of cooperation with parties who have contributed to the success of the event.

Cairo, Tuesday, February 20, 2024 – Muhammad Raushan Afkar, a student of Arabic Literature UGM, successfully completed the 3-month Cairo Credit Transfer Program. Along with 11 colleagues from Universitas Sebelas Maret, Universitas Padjajaran, and Universitas Al-Azhar Indonesia, Afkar joined the study program at the International Center for Arab Studies and Training and Faculty of Letters, Benha University, Egypt. The experience of studying in the land of camels gave him valuable knowledge about the Arabic language and culture which became an important foundation in the development of his studies.

During the program, they were not only taught practical proficiency in Arabic, but were also exposed to the rich culture and history of Arab countries. Students are given in-depth knowledge of the history of Arab civilization and Muslims, as well as the role and contribution of Islamic leaders in creating history.

In every meeting, lecturers actively involve students in listening, analyzing texts, question and answer discussions, and communicating exclusively in Arabic. Students are even encouraged to communicate only in Arabic and will be penalized with a monetary fine if they violate the rules. The money collected is then donated to help the poor people of Egypt. This shows the spirit of solidarity and social responsibility in an academic environment.

In addition, lecturers also enrich the learning experience by bringing typical Egyptian items into the classroom, such as food and cultural artifacts. Thus, students not only gain a comprehensive knowledge of Arabic language and culture, but also acquire a unique and memorable learning experience amidst the richness of Egyptian culture.

At the end of the program, students are given the opportunity to express the knowledge and skills they gained during their journey from Indonesia to Egypt and while living in Egypt through the creation of an Arabic drama with the theme “Journey from Indonesia to Egypt”. Through this drama, students not only show their official Arabic language skills, but also slip some local languages owned by Egypt when interacting and socializing with native Egyptians.

After this program, students are expected to apply what they have learned in Egypt to student life at UGM. They are encouraged to integrate their experiences into their daily activities, both in the use of Arabic language and in the promotion of Arabic culture in the campus environment. Thus, their learning experience does not only stop in Egypt, but also becomes a strong foundation to develop themselves in the future.

On Wednesday, March 06, 2024, the Department of History of the Faculty of Cultural Sciences UGM held a seminar series on the history of Chinese people in Indonesia. The seminar entitled “The Role of Chinese in Indonesian History” was held in the Multimedia Room, 2nd Floor, Margono Building, Faculty of Arts UGM from 10:00 am to 12:00 pm. This seminar was very interesting because the speakers who attended to present their research results came from China. Meanwhile, Dr. Farabi Fakih, M.Phil. from the Department of History UGM served as moderator.

The first speaker in the seminar was Guanmian Xu, an Assistant Professor from the Department of History, University of Peking. His research titled “Capitalism to Genocide: Batavia’s Sugar Frontier, 1700-1740” which explains the emergence of Chinese capitalism in the sugar industry and its relation to the Chinese genocide in Batavia in the 18th century. Xu, who used a global-history perspective in his research, revealed that the thick issues of racism, violence, and cross-cultural misunderstanding were factors that influenced the ethnic cleansing.

Meanwhile, Ma Guanglu who is a Post-Doctoral Fellow at the School of International Relations, Xiamen University presented the results of his research entitled “Bung Karno’s Body and Chinese Doctors”. In his presentation, he explained about diplomacy in the medical field between China and Indonesia that occurred in 1962 until the fall of Sukarno’s government in 1965. Ma’s presentation quite clearly shows the political position of President Sukarno at that time towards the Chinese government.