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"Leaderless" Resistance? An Anatomy Of Female Leadership In Orang Asli Grassroots Movements, Ruhana Binti Padzil, Vilashini Somiah

Wacana, Journal of the Humanities of Indonesia

This article unpacks community-level female leadership among Malaysia’s indigenous Orang Asli community. The power dynamics of this community’s relationship with state institutions have been uneven. Critics accuse the authorities of infantilizing the community, through gendered and patriarchal behaviour (for example, male government officers only interact with male heads of communities). Based on the fieldwork including seven interviews with female and male Orang Asli grassroots leaders of an independent, pro-indigenous movement – one which is apparently “leaderless” in terms of its organizational structure – we show how they challenge the abovementioned attitudes through neo-empowerment and agentic efforts, through collective narratives of …

"Bale Desa"; Preservation Of Cultural Values And Women’S Leadership In Tengger, East Java, Indonesia, Sony Sukmawan, Elvin Nuril Firdaus, Lestari Setyowati

Wacana, Journal of the Humanities of Indonesia

Indonesian bale desa (village halls) are traditionally seen as public service centres for rural communities. For the people living in Tengger, East Java, Indonesia, village halls play a dual role as public service centres and venues where villagers observe and preserve age-old customs in which women’s leadership is of paramount importance. This study aims to identify the local values related to women’s hard work and adroitness in maintaining the continuity of customs and tradition, and analyse the way Tengger women exercise their leadership in village halls and the contributions they make to the preservation of local culture. This research uses …

"Mama Lima"; The Significance Of Women’S Role In Protecting Nature, Nurture, And Culture In Banda Islands, Muhammad Farid, Juul Sadée

Wacana, Journal of the Humanities of Indonesia

The historiography of Banda has paid little attention to the existence of women. Stories involving women are mainly about romance, family, and suffering. In reality, the existence of “Mama Lima” (groups of five women) is very strong in the Banda tradition (adat). They are the carriers of knowledge and tradition, a consequence of matriarchy. They determine the content and implementation of adat ceremonies like Buka kampong, forming the set of social norms and customary law of the community. Mama Lima groups are a living example of women throughout the ages who have played a significant …

Indonesia’S Women; Diversity And Dynamics, Anke Niehof

Wacana, Journal of the Humanities of Indonesia

The study of Indonesian women inevitably involves methodological questions, a prime one being whether Indonesian women as a category form a meaningful object of study. In edited volumes on Indonesian women, the contributions usually form a mosaic of different kinds of Indonesian women, defined by variables such as ethnicity, class, residence, or historical time. This raises questions about diversity and difference and the applicability of specific findings to Indonesian women in general. Taking as a point of departure that it is useful to treat Indonesian women’s studies as one field of study, I explore these issues in relation to women’s …

Depiction Restoring Women’S Power Through Eatery Names, Ajar Pradika Ananta Tur, Arini Sabrina, Azelin Mohamed Noor, Yashinta Farahsani, Ida Puspita, Muhammad Hafiz Kurniawan

Wacana, Journal of the Humanities of Indonesia

Empowering women entails bolstering their mentality and state of mind, as patriarchy is founded not only on sexuality. Addressing a married woman with the name of her husband or first son is claimed to be a sign of respect. Woman’s public inclusion is also still considered undervalued, which is shown in the way they name eateries. This study, which unfolds eatery names in Yogyakarta Municipality in Indonesia and Malacca in Malaysia, two places with identical historical backgrounds, analysed women’s efforts to increase their bargaining position in society through the naming of their eateries. Although two eateries do place women in …

The Battle Of Female Chefs In Facing Dominant Social Norms, Intan Yusan Septiani, Mia Siscawati

Wacana, Journal of the Humanities of Indonesia

Many traditions in the world require women to master cooking at an early age. Cooking in a traditional kitchen (domestic area) – always attached to women – is often interpreted as an obligation and a form of women’s service to their families, spouses, children, and other people in their lives. Hence, cooking in the domestic space is an undefined job. When these activities shift to a public space, it becomes a profession, with a professional work area, and the workers are predicated professional chefs. Ironically, the professional kitchen, which people assume, could easily be run by women, is controlled and …

Minangkabau Mothers And Daughters In Contemporary "Rantau" Society; Regaining Power With Modified Matrilineal Principles And Patriarchal "Rantau" Norms, Mina Elfira

Wacana, Journal of the Humanities of Indonesia

The action of pai marantau (emigrating) is usually associated with the Minangkabau, the world’s largest matrilineal society, and one of the most fervently Islamic societies in Indonesia – the country with the largest Muslim population in the world. Once, it was mainly men who migrated, but more recently, women have also been emigrating. One consequence of emigrating from the matrilineal heartland in West Sumatra is that women lose some of the privileges conferred by the matrilineal adat, especially those pertaining to inheritance. Using qualitative fieldwork methods and Kandiyoti’s theory of the patriarchal bargain (1988), this paper explores how these …

An Analysis Of Speech Acts In Egyptian Billboard Advertising, Wissam Abdelkareem

Theses and Dissertations

The present study explores the realization of speech acts in 80 Egyptian billboard advertisements from five different locations in Greater Cairo, in an attempt to identify the most dominant types of speech acts utilized in such billboard advertising. Further examination of the linguistic elements in advertisements is conducted to identify the most salient syntactic structures constructing them. The study starts with a quantitative approach and ends with a qualitative content analysis based on framework of Searle’s (1969) Speech Act Theory. The findings of the study reveal that the most frequently employed speech act types are representatives, directives, commissives, and expressives …

Reclaiming Women’S Space, Manneke Budiman, Melani Budianta

Wacana, Journal of the Humanities of Indonesia

No abstract provided.

Preface Vol. 24 No. 1, The Editors Wacana

Wacana, Journal of the Humanities of Indonesia

No abstract provided.

In Memoriam, Edi Sedyawati, Supratikno Rahardjo

Wacana, Journal of the Humanities of Indonesia

No abstract provided.

Reclaiming Domestic Space; Decolonial Feminism And Women’S Sovereignty In Southeast Asia And Beyond Within The Context Of Artistic Practice, Alia Swastika

Wacana, Journal of the Humanities of Indonesia

Contemporary art practices have developed expansively over the global stage with the development of big international exhibitions, including those held in museums or biennales and festivals. In the last decade, the global art world has witnessed the contestation of powers among institutions and art practitioners generated by massive movements such as Occupy Movements, Arab Springs, Black Lives Matter, which has shifted the positionalities of artists and arts in the Global South. This shift also encourages discussions on decoloniality in the art system and art history, including how to centralize the issue of gender equality. Southeast Asian women artists have expanded …

Woman Becoming… Gender Possibilities In Selected Speculative Short Stories Of Intan Paramaditha And Isabel Yap, Grace V.S. Chin

Wacana, Journal of the Humanities of Indonesia

The ontological question of woman’s nature forms the focus of this essay, which develops the theory of “woman-becoming…” to examine how the hegemonic patriarchal discourses and constructs of woman and femininity are subverted and reinterpreted in two speculative short stories by transnational Southeast Asian women writers, namely Intan Paramaditha’s “Beauty and the Seventh Dwarf” (2018) and Isabel Yap’s “Good Girls” (2021). Of interest here are the gender possibilities of the female characters, which uphold women’s freedom, agency, thinking, feeling, creation, narration and expression in the making of herstory—indeed, everywoman’s potential for change and transformation, and to become more than what …

Kebaya Feminism; Political Strategies In The Works Of Indonesian Women Writers, Aquarini Priyatna

Wacana, Journal of the Humanities of Indonesia

This article attempts to show and map the feminist agenda in the writings of Indonesian women writers. Focusing on selected prominent Indonesian women writers whose works can be categorized as articulating feminist ideas and perspectives, namely Suwarsih Djojopuspito, Nh Dini, Oka Rusmini, Ratih Kumala, and Intan Paramaditha, I demonstrate how these writers question and examine cultural attributes as a crucial part of gender construction in their works. This article only focuses on writing in prose. By investigating how these writers articulate themselves and how women are written in[to] their works, this research elaborates on women’s writing as rebellion and protest …

"R.A. Kartini" (1982) And "Kartini" (2017); Anguish And Silent Struggles In The Narratives Of Indonesian Women’S Empowerment Role Model, Indah S. Pratidina, Rouli Esther Pasaribu

Wacana, Journal of the Humanities of Indonesia

This study compares the portrayal of R.A. Kartini, an Indonesian female national heroine, in the biopics Sjumandjaya’s R.A. Kartini (1982) and Bramantyo’s Kartini (2017). The films were produced in the New Order and post-Reformation eras respectively, with social and cultural values translating into context-shaped standpoints in interpreting the figure of Kartini’s. Kartini is a role model associated with empowered Indonesian women and equality in education; therefore, films produced in different social and political contexts retelling her story give insights into how these issues were framed during these eras. This study uses film discourse interpretation analysis referencing dialogues and gestures from …

Challenging The Patriarchal Culture; Feminist Critical Discourse Analysis Of The Indonesian Environmental Heroines, Ernanda Ernanda

Wacana, Journal of the Humanities of Indonesia

This study unveils the representations of women in the documentary film, Tanah Ibu Kami, which depicts women’s movements defending nature from corporations in four islands in Indonesia. It utilizes feminist critical discourse analysis which incorporates critical discourse analysis and feminist studies to disclose perplexing hegemonic power relations. The data in this study are taken from the transcription of the dialogues in the film. Some extracts constructing the representations of women in the film are extracted for further analysis. Interviews were conducted with the film’s producer and female figures. The four themes constructing the representations of women are: (1) women in …

The Hidden Power Of Struggling; When Women At The Crossroads Between Nature And Culture, Dina Amalia Susamto, Erlis Nur Mujiningsih, Purwaningsih Purwaningsih, Dian Susilastri

Wacana, Journal of the Humanities of Indonesia

Women and nature have a bonding which reflect the connectedness between humans and non-humans. The exploitation of women affects nature and vice-versa. The novels Entrok, written by Okky Madasari, Tarian Bumi by Oka Rusmini, and Trilogi Ronggeng Dukuh Paruk by Ahmad Tohari narrate the experiences of women struggling to survive in cultures dominated by the patriarchal system. This article uses qualitative research methods to describe data about the women’s experiences of their encounters with exploitation in these three novels. All data were decoded using the ecofeminism theory. The results show that their nurturing character is a power in …

Men Coblong; Voicing The Everyday Agency Of Oka Rusmini, Pamela Allen

Wacana, Journal of the Humanities of Indonesia

Starting out as a column in the Bali Post, Oka Rusmini’s alter ego Men Coblong offers, among other things, a feminist perspective on mothers and women and the social relations and cultural practices that confine them. Men Coblong fearlessly voices her view on religious sensitivities, culture, politics and, especially, everyday life. In Men Coblong, the self-titled collection of her columns, the (re)claiming of power operates on two levels. First, we have the journalist Oka Rusmini using words as power to challenge the injustices and absurdities she witnesses in contemporary Indonesia. Second, Oka’s alter ego Men Coblong engages in …

Challenging The Elite-Public Divide; Representing Former Indonesian First Lady, Ani Yudhoyono In Online News Discourse, Jane Louise Ahlstrand

Wacana, Journal of the Humanities of Indonesia

Women in politics invariably attract heightened levels of attention due to their marked difference to the masculine political norm. With the rise of social media and online news, political women can achieve visibility, but also experience even more intense scrutiny. Former first lady, Ani Yudhoyono became an iconic figure in the lead up to the 2014 Indonesian presidential election, through her association with her husband’s flailing presidency, and as a high-profile political woman involved in social media blunders. Using critical discourse analysis, specifically social actor analysis, this paper examines the discursive strategies engaged by the mainstream Indonesian online news media …

Reintroducing Hemp (Rongony) In The Material Palette Of Madagascar: A Study On The Potential Of Hemp Clay Components And Its Impact On Social And Ecological Communities., Henintsoa Thierry Andrianambinina

Masters Theses

When mentioning the word hemp, especially in the local language of Madagascar, the literal translation does not set it apart from marijuana, as they are both called “rongony” - creating the stigma around hemp as the negative stereotype of marijuana. However, the material has been used by the ancestors of Madagascar, as well as across cultures, in its fibrous form to produce fabrication like textile goods and packaging. During colonization, the prohibition of hemp intensified, and since then, any activity related to either of these plants is prohibited and will end in severe punitive measures. This thesis explores the strengths …

Citizens Of The English Language: Sociolinguistic Perspectives On Postcolonial India, Prateek Shankar

Masters Theses

This paper introduces the concept of "extralingual citizenship," which I define as an expansion of translingualism to include the ethnoracial logic of the nation-state and demonstrates the entanglement of language, governance, and education in the policing of knowledge infrastructures and discursive practices. I am interested in the codification of postcolonial disparity into the teaching, social performance, and material assessment of English language users, and the infrastructural disqualification of World Englishes (and their amalgams) in favor of a standardized English. I frame extralingualism as a kind of citizenship, shifting the focus of English pedagogy/practice from the syntactical/etymological concerns of language …

Understanding The Afghan Diaspora: Exploring The Factors Driving Migration And The Impact Of Migration Policies On Recent Afghan Evacuees Resettling In The United States, Aya H. Mohamed

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Afghanistan has been at war with the West since the late 1900’s, remaining in a state of constant turmoil. During the Cold War (1979), Afghanistan had fought a war with the Soviet Union, known as the Soviet- Afghan War. During this time, Afghanistan was invaded by both the Soviet and US, creating a ground for terrorism and the rise of the Taliban in Afghanistan. In order to then eradicate the terrorist regime, the Taliban, the United States went to war with Afghanistan in 2001. The Taliban were suppressed by U.S. forces until August 2021, during which President Biden executed a …

Hmong Parents' Perspectives On The Effectiveness Of Hmong Language And Culture Programs, Lia Vang

Doctorate in Education

In this dissertation, I examined Hmong parents' perspectives on the effectiveness of Hmong language and culture (HLC) programs in helping their children maintain the Hmong language and cultural practices. It was guided by three research questions that sought to uncover Hmong parents' experiences with heritage language shifts (HLS), their perceptions of their children's experiences, their perceived effectiveness of Hmong language and culture programs, and the roles they believe home and school play in the language and culture maintenance process. Drawing from a phenomenological research approach, narratives from semi-structured interviews with nine Hmong parents from two Hmong charter schools brought forward …

The Artistry Of Mediation: A Look At Mediation’S Effectiveness For Resolving Cross-Cultural Disputes Through The Leonardo Da Vinci Conflict Between France’S Louvre Museum And Italy’S Uffizi Gallery, Sophia D. Casetta

Pepperdine Journal of Communication Research

Art is powerful, as it symbolizes the history and identity of the country that claims it. However, through timely transitions, such as trade and wars, the ownership of meaningful artworks blurs, with museums fighting to claim their heritage to put on honorable display for their people. Mediation can be a peaceful means to resolve art ownership disputes, as it accounts for respecting the individual cultures of the countries represented in the dispute. Using the key medication traits described within this essay, a prepared mediator involved in such a cross-cultural conflict should be able to help resolve the issue at hand. …

Who Am I?: How Natives’ Mental Trauma Develop During Precolonial And Colonial Eras As Seen In Achebe’S Things Fall Apart And Fanon’S The Wretched Of The Earth, Sophia D. Casetta

Pepperdine Journal of Communication Research

Colonialism is a long, brutal process, where natives’ identities are uprooted as colonizers establish their influence in a foreign land. Consequently, through the exploration of the natives’ response to this upheaval throughout the precolonial and colonial eras, the psychological toll that is placed on the colonized is evident. Such mental trauma that is incited is explored in Chinua Achebe’s fictional novel Things Fall Apart, which unveils the slowly lost of the natives’ identities during the precolonial shift, and the non-fiction work of Frantz Fanon, The Wretched of the Earth that details psychological disorders of the colonized due to colonization. …

Medical Interpreters' Work Impact On Their Lives: Understanding Medical Interpreters' Work Experience, Nicholas M. Herrarte Smith

Senior Honors Projects, 2020-current

Medical interpreters in the US are crucial health workers that specialize in facilitating communication between non-English-speaking patients and English medical professionals. Although much research has been done regarding the positive impact of professional medical interpreters on LEP (limited English proficient) patients' health, it is less known how medical interpreters’ lives are impacted in this line of work. Thus, this study was aimed at gaining a better understanding on the impact that this line of work has on the lives of medical interpreters. For this study, a survey was created with questions regarding demographics, interpretation’s certification process, interpreter’s satisfaction/experience, and mental …

Haramed And Dangerous: A Thematic Examination Of Muslim Women’S Representation In We Are Lady Parts, Reham Bohamad

Dissertations

Since the early days of Western media, Muslim women have been portrayed in a negative way. From belly dancers to oil-rich horny sheikhs to voiceless passive wives of terrorists. This image has led the Western spectator to associate Islam and the Muslim women’s headscarf (Hijab) with backwardness, extremism, and oppression. In recent years, there has been a positive shift towards a more inclusive and authentic representation of Muslim women. This shift is the result of the post-network era which provides on-demand media outlets that challenge the dominant hegemonic production system and provide diverse and inclusive images that cater to niche …

Other Oceans, Other Skies, Sharlene Lee

MFA in Visual Art

I create immersive installations, performances, and time-based media artworks that delve into stories of belonging, feminism, and language as power. These stories offer a potential for transformation from viewer to participant and a shift in how our world is seen and experienced. Through an exploration of perception and affect, I challenge dominant narratives, prompting a contemplation of contemporary power struggles for control.

In this text, I examine the impact of historical borders and migration on my life while also investigating questions of home, shared values, and rituals that contribute to one’s sense of belonging. I also highlight my commitment to …

Mehenna Mahfoufi, Chants Et Poèmes De La Kabylie Dans La Lutte De Libération. Algérie 1954-1962, Marielle Rispail

Journal of Amazigh Studies

N/ A

Dulce Sueños De Tierra, Sweet Dreams Of Earth, Jordany Genao

Theses and Dissertations

Jordany's paper congregates their archival research into an art practice that examines the decolonial impulse to excavate the self and produce autonomy. Using ceramics to reference and re-animate Taino ritual objects found in museums, resulting in alternative museology, their work seeks to honor Caribbean ancestors by subverting colonial history.