On Wednesday, October 1, 2025, the Department of History at Universitas Gadjah Mada (UGM), in collaboration with the Master’s Program in International Relations, Faculty of Social and Political Sciences, UGM, hosted the launch of the book Rethinking Histories of Indonesia: Experiencing, Resisting, and Renegotiating Coloniality. The event was integrated into the series of activities of Go South (Annual Convention on the Global South) 2025, which carried the theme 70 Years Bandung Spirit: Re-Invigorating Decolonial Struggle Amidst Geopolitical Turbulence.
Several faculty members from the Department of History at UGM participated as speakers, discussants, and moderators, including Dr. Abdul Wahid, M.Hum., M.Phil., Dr. Widya Fitria Ningsih, S.S., M.A., and Dr. Wildan Sena Utama, S.S., M.A. In addition to UGM scholars, the book launch was attended by external researchers who contributed to the writing of the volume, such as Prof. Katherine McGregor (University of Melbourne), Brigitta Isabella, M.A. (Indonesian Institute of the Arts), and Dr. I Ngurah Suryawan (University of Papua).
The program consisted of two main sessions: the presentation and introduction of the book’s central ideas and themes, followed by a discussion and Q&A session involving respondents and participants. The discussion highlighted the foundational concepts underpinning each chapter, which collectively seek to reinterpret and reframe historical narratives of colonialism and revolution. These narratives, often shaped by Indonesiasentric and Neerlandosentric perspectives, have historically produced research biases that marginalized or excluded certain social groups, particularly women and Chinese Indonesians, from dominant historical accounts.
This work aims to foster a more comprehensive academic debate by re-examining Indonesian historical narratives through inclusive perspectives, especially those of marginalized communities, in the context of both the colonial and revolutionary periods.
Author: Mochamad Rizky Saputra
