Application deadline: 30 November 2025
Research period: 2026
About the program
This program is part of a larger research entitled “Tracing evolutionary pathways in grassroots climate governance: Connecting the past, present, and future inter-scalar adaptation strategies in Southeast Asia – TRACE” based at KITLV and Leiden University, the Netherlands. The Department of History UGM as a partner of this research program invites university students and alumnus who are eager to trace traditional knowledges associated with irrigated agriculture, particularly with wet rice cultivation in Java, Bali, Nusa Tenggara, Sulawesi, and islands of Eastern Indonesia. What kinds of knowledge consulted, how they are stored, and how they relate between different ontological forms are the primary task of the tracing. This program intends to look into layers of memories and reposited knowledges amongst farming communities of irrigated rice agriculture in the archipelago. These layers point to its emergence and entanglements with states, including the traditional kingdoms, sultanates, Dutch Indies colonial state, and the post independence Republic of Indonesia. Through ethnographic/oral history and archival research and by providing a space for farmer/community agency, we intend to work together with farming communities, environmental groups, and the government in order to trace the knowledges that must have been passed down from various generations on the ecological knowledge related to the creation and maintenance of irrigated agriculture.
Benefits:
- Research funding, operational supports, and access to research facilities at UGM.
- Mentorship and interdisciplinary networking with various experts in social sciences, humanities, natural sciences; environmentalists; and NGOs activists.
General Requirements:
- Current student or alumnus of master’s programs in History, Anthropology, Sociology, Agriculture, Biology, Law, Philosophy, or other related fields, or environmental activist based in Indonesia
- Experience in environmental advocacy and/or community development is preferred
- Selected applicants will conduct research assistant works for 6 to 12 months (with possible contract renewals) in a multidisciplinary team setting
- Applicants are required to submit the following documents (in PDF):
- Curriculum vitae (max. 2 pages)
- Short biography (50-100 words)
- Motivation letter (approx. 500 words)
- Portfolio (writing example, if any)
Please send all application materials to: sejarah@ugm.ac.id
Subject line: TRACE Research Assistant – [Full Name]
Photo: A.A. Cense, Rijstvelden tegen berghellingen nabij Limbong. Rechts hangt een dierenhuid te drogen, Leiden University Library Digital Collections. http://hdl.handle.net/1887.1/item:699294