On Wednesday, May 22, 2024, the Archaeology Student Association (HIMA UGM), Faculty of Cultural Sciences UGM, through the Community Service Division held the Archaeology Goes To School #1 work program, which is an introduction to archaeology by providing material exposure and games related to archaeology to students of SMP Negeri 2 Ngaglik, Sleman Regency, Yogyakarta Special Region Province. This activity also collaborates with Mandira Brick, as a maker of disassembly game products in the form of miniature temples as educational games for the general public, including students. The activity took place from 10:00 WIB – 12:00 WIB and was two-way interactive interspersed with question and answer sessions and game sessions that divided students in a class into six groups to develop a miniature temple disassembly game.

The activity began with an opening session in a classroom of SMP Negeri 2 Ngaglik with a warm welcome by HIMA UGM students to students. This was followed by a general introduction session about UGM Archaeology and information about the HIMA UGM organization. As for the session after the general introduction, it continued with the presentation of material about Classical Archaeology with the aim of introducing students to restoration and conservation in the treatment of cultural heritage.

“Since our audience is junior high school students, we provide quite basic material about restoration, conservation, the restoration process and how to care for cultural heritage buildings, especially temple buildings. So we provide materials, such as: “The definition of restoration and conservation followed by the process of restoration activities in stages, ending with how to care for the restored temple so that it remains sustainable,” said Arya Sena Prasetio, Chief Executive of Archaeology Goes To School # 1 from the Community Service Division of HIMA UGM, explaining the reason for the presentation of material on Classical Archaeology.

After the material presentation session and interactive question and answer session ended, the students were divided into six groups of five people each to play with the miniature Sukuh Temple and Ratu Boko Temple presented by the Mandira Brick team. Six sets of Mandira disassembly toys were assembled by each group, guided by HIMA UGM students in the process. The toys were then given to the school of SMP Negeri 2 Ngaglik as a continuation of temple restoration and conservation lessons as a means of further learning. The event then ended with a photo documentation session with the students and closing by HIMA UGM students and the Mandira Brick team accompanied by a symbolic plaque and Mandira toys.

“Hopefully with the implementation of Archaeology Goes To School, it can introduce archaeology to school children and provide broader insights into the importance of cultural heritage, as well as motivate students to study more diligently with the existence of new learning media through Mandira Brick,” said Sena about his expectations from the activity

Yogyakarta, Tuesday, March 26, 2024 – The Arabic Literature Study Program of Universitas Gadjah Mada (UGM) together with Dompet Dhuafa Yogyakarta held a talk show themed The Struggle of Palestinian Women and Children Amid the Israeli Onslaught. The event was held from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. in Room 709 Soegondo Building, Faculty of Cultural Sciences, Universitas Gadjah Mada.

The event was attended by more than 100 participants consisting of students, lecturers, and a team from Dompet Dhuafa. The activity began with the opening, singing the national anthem Indonesia Raya and Gadjah Mada hymn, remarks from Dr. Zulfa Purnamawati, S.S., M.Hum. as Head of the Arabic Literature Department of UGM, remarks from Imam Hidayat, S.Pd.i, M.Pd. as a representative of Dompet Dhuafa, presentation of material guided by the moderator, question and answer session, closing, and ended with donations for the Palestinian people.

The main speaker of the event was Miss Fatma Alghusain, Executive Director of Amna Carefund. Miss Fatma is a female activist in Palestine who works to help the Palestinian people, especially women and children who are victims. In this event, Miss Fatma shared the spirit of struggle and resistance of the Palestinian people amidst the Israeli onslaught.

The current situation in Palestine is getting worse, especially after the recent Israeli attacks on Gaza and Rafah. Palestinians face difficulties in accessing health services as well as damaged infrastructure and lack of shelter due to the blockade and genocide carried out by Israel. In addition, they also lack proper food, water and clothing supplies. This is very much felt by Palestinians, especially pregnant women and children.

Thus, this event is expected to make a valuable contribution in strengthening solidarity and awareness of the urgency of the struggle for human rights, especially in conflict-affected areas such as Palestine.

Hari Setyawan, who took the Humanities Sciences Study Program (Archaeology doctoral program), conducted an Open Doctoral Promotion Examination on Wednesday, May 22, 2024 at 10.00 WIB in the Multimedia Room on the Second Floor of the R.M. Margono Djojohadikusumo Building, Faculty of Cultural Sciences UGM. The Team of Examiners entered the room followed by Promovenda / Promovendus, Chair of the Examination Team Prof. Dr. Heddy Shry Ahimsa-Putra, M.A., M.Phil. opened the meeting to hold the Open Examination. The Examination Team consists of: Dr. Niken Wirasanti, M.Si. (Promoter), Dr. Mimi Savitri, M.A. (Co-Promoter), Prof. Dr. Purnomo, M.S. (Faculty of Biology UGM), Dr. Tjahjono Prasodjo, M.A., and Prof. Dr. Timbul Haryono, M.Sc.

Mr. Hari Setyawan, S.S., M.T. on the occasion presented his dissertation entitled “Pemaknaan Tumbuhan pada Relief Karmawibhangga Candi Borobudur: Perspektif Semiotika Peirce”. Narrative reliefs at Borobudur Temple are archaeological data that can be used, among others, as data for reconstructing the environment of Ancient Java. Hisresearch discusses the law of karma and the depiction of plants in narrative reliefs to be identified by species, interpreted based on inscription sources and relevant literary texts to find out their meaning using Charles Sanders Peirce Semiotics. The novelty in the research is to get an explanation of how the karma scene is depicted on the Karmawibhangga relief and why the plants depicted are very varied in species.

After the Team of Examiners considered the results of the examination, the Team of Examiners stated that the dissertation of Mr. Hari Setyawan PASSED the doctoral program at the Faculty of Humanities, Universitas Gadjah Mada with the title Cum Laude / Praise. This is also based on the consideration of lecture results, dissertation grades, and study period. Dr. Hari Setyawan, S.S., M.T. is the 6216th doctor to pass the exam at Universitas Gadjah Mada, the 443rd doctor to pass the exam at the Faculty of Cultural Sciences, Universitas Gadjah Mada, the 403rd doctor to pass the exam in the Humanities Sciences Study Program, and the 21st doctor in Archaeology. Congratulations and success to all new doctors. Hopefully the knowledge will be more useful!

The Faculty of Cultural Sciences, Universitas Gadjah Mada, on Thursday, May 30, 2024, provided training to students, especially the 2023 linguistics master study program on academic writing. The activity was held at the Auditorium of the Faculty of Cultural Sciences, Universitas Gadjah Mada, and was opened by remarks from the Head of the Linguistics Master Program, Faculty of Cultural Sciences, UGM, Dr. Suhandano. He also introduced the speakers and activities that would be delivered by the speakers to students. He expressed his gratitude to the speakers who had been willing to share their knowledge. In addition, he also gave advice to students about the importance of this activity to support academic careers, especially the requirements for thesis exams so that students must take a lot of knowledge from these activities.

The first speaker at the Academic writing workshop was Dr. Badli Esham Ahmad. He conveyed the importance of publishing journals for master students and shared tips on choosing journals to be published, namely as follows: Journals that match the theme of the article, be careful with predatory journals, and the need to pay attention to the open access offered by the journal, whether it is paid or not, what the index of the journal is, and how the review process is. In publishing a journal, what needs to be done first is to complete the journal article first, then search and find a suitable journal as a place for publication of the journal article. After finding a suitable journal, make sure the topic, theme, and scope are appropriate, follow the journal’s provisions, and can also send an email to the editor to ensure the topic or theme of the journal article matches the scope requested by the journal.

The second speaker was Prof. Madya Dr. Kamisah Binti Ariffin (S.A.P.). She motivated the students to stay in the process of writing and publishing journals. Her tips were that first, in choosing the title (topic) of the article, we need to see something that is still less researched on the topic, so that the topic will be interesting and unique, different from the research that has been done. Second, we can search for previous research related to the topic through Google to find out the gaps that are still under-researched from the topic. Third, we must look at the scope of a journal, find the appropriate one, and follow the writing guidelines. The event was closed by handing over souvenirs from the Head of the UGM Master of Linguistics Study Program and a group photo.

The Literary Expert Lecture was held on Monday, May 13, 2024 in the Auditorium Room of Soegondo Building 7th Floor and Zoom Meeting at 13.00-16.00 WIB. The three speakers that afternoon were Leila S. Chudori, T.A. Prapancha Hary, Dr. Sudibyo, M.Hum. Leila S. Chudori is a retired Tempo journalist and Indonesian writer who has written numerous short stories, novels, and television drama screenplays. Her books that have been published by KPG Publishers are Malam Terakhir, Pulang, Nadira, Laut Bercerita in softcover and hardcover versions, and most recently, Namaku Alam. Dr. Sudibyo, M.Hum. is an extraordinary lecturer at the History Study Program, Javanese Literature and Culture Study Program, as well as S2 and S3 Literature Study Programs at the Faculty of Cultural Sciences, Universitas Gadjah Mada. T.A. Prapancha Hary or familiarly called Mas Tatung, is a clinical psychologist and lecturer at a private university in Yogyakarta, as well as Abdi Dalem Kraton Yogyakarta. He was born and raised in Yogyakarta, pursuing his undergraduate and postgraduate education at the Faculty of Psychology, Gadjah Mada University.

Leila S. Chudori, as the first speaker, explained about her journey in writing the novel “Namaku Alam”. Since the beginning of writing Namaku Alam, Leila planned a storyline that contained a search, identity, and the process of finding answers. This begins with the characterization of the protagonist, the research process for novel writing, the initial design of the basic framework of the story to be written, the formation of the main character and important characters, the finalization of the basic framework of the story, and the concoction of several themes raised in the novel. Leila tries to show that in dark situations there is always hope. For example, Leila tries to show how people who are repressed in the past can still tell their stories through various ways and mediums.

Through the presentation of Dr. Sudibyo, M.Hum., he explained that in the novel “Namaku Alam” there are issues such as the entanglement of photographic memory, dystopia, and traumatic memory. The images of utopian successes in the novel, such as freedom from bullying, lead to failure, which in this case becomes dystopia. In “Namaku Alam”, traumatic memories are attempted to be negotiated, however, in this first volume, the negotiation is still unsuccessful, the nightmares experienced in the novel can be read as evidence of this failure. Alam’s strong photographic memory, in this case, makes her unable to escape her past traumatic experiences.

T.A. Prapancha Hary, seeks to answer whether Alam’s trauma can disappear or linger? In “Namaku Alam”, the first volume of the novel, according to Prapancha, the character Alam still retains his trauma. There is always a conflict between Alam and himself. Alam, in this situation, has an oedipus complex. Alam’s behavior, which always tries to protect the people around him, shows how Alam tries to be a “father” figure as a protector described in the oedipus complex phenomenon. Expressive expressions in the form of cursing by Alam in this novel actually show how his disappointment cannot be defeated which is then collected in the form of cursing. The hopes that are still kept by Alam in a difficult situation prove that this character has the talent of good emotional processing.