On Wednesday, February 22, 2023, the History Department of Universitas Gadjah Mada held its first departmental discussion event. The speaker of the discussion was Dr. Ahmad Athoillah with a research entitled “The Role of Sayid Saqqaf Al-Jufri and Modern Islamic Education in Arab Society in Kedu in the Early 20th Century.”

This research focuses on the roles and interactions of Sayid Saqqaf Al-Jufri in developing the modernization of Islamic education in the Kedu region in the early 20th century through the Al-Iman school that was established in Magelang. The results of this study show that Sayid Saqqaf was one of the Hadrami Arab Islamic education reformers who built a trans-local network of Islamic education modernism which was supported by Hadrami Arab kinship, Muslim intellectuals, and trade activities. Some of the themes explored during the discussion were the Islamic education systems in the early 20th century and the development of Islamic modernism during the same period. read more

On January 25, 2023, a public lecture entitled Critically Reviewing the History of the Indonesian Women’s Movement was held. This public lecture was a collaborative event between the Department of History of Universitas Gadjah Mada and Ruang Arsip dan Sejarah Perempuan (RUAS). The event invited Prof. Dr. Saskia E. Wieringa, professor of history, gender studies and same sex cross culturally at Universiteit van Amsterdam, and Ita Fatia Nadia as the moderator.

This public lecture departed from her book entitled The Destruction of the Women’s Movement in Indonesia, published by Kalyanamitra, Garba Budaya, in 1999. In this public lecture, Prof. Wieringa discussed the history of gender in Indonesia, especially in the pre-Islamic period, how the New Order politicized gender for its interests, and several theories that underlie her book, namely: 1) passionate aesthetics, 2) symbolic subversion, and 3) postcolonial amnesia. read more

On Wednesday (23-11), the UGM Department of History organized an event entitled Environmental History Conference: Dialogue of Academics and Movements in Shared Environmental History. The event lasted for 2 days in the multimedia room of Margono Building, Faculty of Cultural Sciences UGM. The conference was organized to build an environmental history education base that is relevant to the needs of the environmental movement. This is done by creating a deep understanding of the forms of research and knowledge needed by the movement. read more

On Monday (14-11), the History Department of Universitas Gadjah Mada held an Oral History Exhibition “Soeara Rakjat Tahun 1945-1965”. The event was held in the basement of Soegondo Building, Faculty of Cultural Studies UGM until November 24, 2022. The opening of the event presented Satrio Dwicahyo, Muhammad Faisal Adnan, and Dinda Nabila. In the opening, it was mentioned that this exhibition was the result of the annual assignment of the class of 2019 in the Oral History class.

There are several themes raised in this exhibition, namely family, education, military, culture, and politics. Although the themes vary, they all have one goal, which is to present people’s perspectives on history. In general, history presents stories of great figures. However, in the midst of great change, many people are affected, from members of religious organizations to residents of burnt houses. Their hardships, struggles, feelings and aspirations are the main focus of this exhibition. read more

Wednesday (19-10), The Department of History UGM conducted a workshop entitled Transnational Histories of Activism in Southeast Asia and Beyond. With Bristol University and Ruang Arsip dan Sejarah Perempuan (RUAS), speakers from different fields were invited to present a public lecture on transnational activism. The speakers included Brigitta Isabella, Fadiah Nadwa Fikri, Ita F. Nadia, Su Lin Lewis, Widya Fitrianingsih, Wildan Sena Utama, and Yulianti. The event started with a speech from Abdul Wahid, the head of History Department UGM. read more

Tuesday (20-9), Department of History UGM conducted a public lecture entitled Towards an End of Colonialism: Mid-Century European Photographers Working for an Independent Indonesia. Brian Arnold from Cornell University became the speaker of this lecture, accompanied by Satrio Dwicahyo, a lecturer from Department of History UGM. In this public lecture, Arnold discussed the power of photography and European photographers who sided with Indonesia.

Photography is often seen as a snippet of the past. In both archives and history books, it seems like a neutral static proof of the actuality of an event. However, Arnold argued that photos are so much more complex than that. It is a powerful tool to disseminate knowledge. “Everything that a photographer experiences affects the decisions they make,” explained Arnold. “What is in the frame is as important as what is not in the frame. All of that creates subjective sensibility in photography.” That subjectivity can be manifested in the way as subtle as the background of a photographer following orders, to concrete ones such as institutionalized interests. read more

On Saturday, September 17th 2022, Department of History UGM conducted a reunion and congress of the alumni entitled Knitting Memories, Crocheting Struggles. The song Cintaku by Chrisye was sung in the auditorium of Soegondo Building, ending conversations and the selling of books during the coffee break. The event was started by singing Indonesia Raya and the anthem of UGM, continued by an opening speech by Abdul Wahid as the Head of Department of History UGM.

The reintroduction of the department, including the regular activities and committees of the programs, was done by Abdul Wahid. Then, the audience was served with a variety of performances from the alumni and students. There were music performances, poetry, dances, as well as a magic show. read more

Prof. Dr. Marieke Bloembergen from KITLV/Leiden University was the speaker of the public lecture The Burden of Colonial Things: Alternative Knowledge Production, Indonesian Perspectives, and the Search for Enlightenment, on Thursday, 18 August 2022, at 10.00-12.00 WIB. This event was held by the Department of History UGM and was guided and moderated by Dr. Agus Suwignyo. This lecture is part of the jointly organized program from PPSI (The Society of Indonesian History Program), thus, attended by lecturers and students from 12 universities in Indonesia, they are Universitas Airlangga, Universitas Negeri Malang, Universitas Negeri Yogyakarta, Universitas Halu Oleo, Universitas Sanata Dharma, Universitas Sultan Ageng Tirtayasa, Universitas Jember, Universitas Sam Ratulangi, Universitas Andalas, Universitas Hasanuddin, Universitas Islam Negeri Sunan Kalijaga, dan Universitas Negeri Semarang. Students who had morning classes had to attend this public lecture instead. read more

Department of History, Faculty of Cultural Sciences UGM, held a workshop with Fridus Steijlen, a professor and researcher from The Netherlands. The event entitled “Meniti Arti: Cerita-Cerita dari Sumber” (Walking through Meaning: Stories from Sources) was held offline on the 3rd floor of Soegondo building, Faculty of Cultural Sciences UGM, on June 14th, 2022 at 10.00-12.00 WIB. This workshop was attended by students and the public.

Fridus Steijlen started his presentation with his experience listening to stories from 2 perspectives, the Dutch and Indonesians, about the 1945-1949 period. Fridus has conducted a lot of interviews and met a lot of veterans. One of the interesting experiences he shared was how he interviewed a veteran from Delanggu, Klaten, whose grandchild he met after a few years. After the lecture, he opened an interactive discussion with the participants. read more

Department of History, Faculty of Cultural Sciences UGM, held a workshop with Isabelle Boon, a professional photographer from The Netherlands. This event was conducted offline on June 13th 2022 at 09.30-12.30 WIB, enrolled by students with limited quota. It was held in the Soegondo building, Faculty of Cultural Sciences UGM. This workshop was led by Isabelle herself, while her husband documented the event.

It started with Isabelle’s introduction as a photographer and her story in learning about Sutan Sjahrir in Indonesia and The Netherlands. In Indonesia, she had visited Jakarta, Bandung, Banda, Linggarjati, and Yogyakarta. Isabelle also showed her past exhibitions, such as I Love Banda where she told the stories of young Indonesians and their connection to colonial heritage. Throughout the workshop, students and academics discussed the themes close to Sutan Sjahrir, such as education, liberty, equality, and exchanged ideas about their experiences. With Mentimeter and Kahoot, this workshop became interactive. Participants were asked to get into small groups for a more in-depth discussion using Koneksi Cards, which were relevant to the themes of the workshop. read more