Indonesian Studies

Students develop their ability to communicate in Indonesian and their understanding of Indonesia by engaging with key themes in modern Indonesian society such as: youth culture and urbanisation, family structures and practices, and ethnic and religious topics. Students’ cultural knowledge and ability to use linguistic resources are expanded by reading authentic materials from magazines and newspapers, watching and discussing video clips of dramas and comedies, producing short summaries, and engaging in informal discussion.

Students further develop their communicative abilities in Indonesian and their understanding of contemporary Indonesian culture and society by studying key issues such as the environment, modernity and development, and the complexities of ethnic and religious diversity. Students’ linguistic skills develop through reading short newspaper and magazine articles, viewing film and television clips, producing small research projects and opinion pieces, and engaging in informal and formal discussion groups. At the end of this subject students should be able to converse and write on a range of common topics, and be familiar with broad issues relevant to understanding Indonesian society.

This subject is a multidisciplinary introduction to key concepts in the social sciences and cultural studies and their application in the study of modern Indonesia, covering the historical, political, cultural, social, and linguistic factors that have helped shape the contemporary nation-state of Indonesia. The subject should prepare students for research in the field of Indonesian studies. This subject is available as an overseas intensive subject taught in Indonesia. Enrolment is by application and limited to a maximum of 15 students.

This unit addresses the politics of modern Indonesia in relation to broader social developments and the changing global context. Students will learn about the evolution of Indonesian politics from the early post-colonial period, through to the authoritarian New Order and the current democratic era. What have been some of the most prominent sources of tensions and contradictions within Indonesian politics? How are they related to broader changes in Indonesian society? How have domestic social and political transformations in Indonesia been intertwined with the changing global political context from the Cold War to the post-Cold War era? How are developments in Indonesian politics and society relevant to the broader region and to Australia?

Students will expand and deepen their understanding Indonesian society and develop their ability to communicate progressively more complex ideas in Indonesian. Topics covered may include challenges facing the new generation, migrant workers, contemporary nationalism and tackling environmental problems. Authentic materials such as short stories and media reports – and the key issues these materials raise – will be investigated through increasingly sophisticated Indonesian language use in class discussions, presentations and essays and short translation exercises.

Students explore current issues in Indonesian society and further develop their linguistic abilities; topics covered may include democracy at work, religious disputes, other current events and a look at pre-independence Indonesia. These will be investigated through reading or viewing authentic material such as literary forms (e.g. short stories, poems) media reports, magazine articles, film & television clips. Students will undertake class discussions, presentations, essays and short translation exercises in order to consolidate linguistic resources gained in previous levels and develop a better understanding of complex and subtle language usage. At the end of this subject, students should have the linguistic resources necessary to begin tackling in-depth study of specific topics in professional and academic contexts using the Indonesian language.

This subject focuses on the transforming power of creative arts and communicative technology in social history, with specific empirical reference to modern Indonesia. Students will closely examine the profound social transformation brought about by art, print, broadcasting and social media at a time of global invasion of electronic high technology. Contemporary politics, popular cultures, social networks, urban spaces and creative enterprises will be some of the key issues in the subject.

This subject focuses on two areas, namely the location of a particular study of popular culture within the broader study of cultures, and questions of aesthetic and political values with specific reference to Indonesian contexts. Students will examine critically selected analyses of different genres of popular cultures in Indonesia. The subject will refer to theoretical texts on ideology, cultures, hegemony, identity politics and resistance. Issues of gender, ethnicity and religion will be of importance.

Corruption is widely considered to be a major obstacle to sustainable economic and social development in Asia. This subject examines the notion of corruption and the analytical frameworks that scholars, policy-makers and activists have used to understand it. It also analyses the nature, magnitude, causes, and consequences of corruption within the region focusing on a set of case studies related to matters such as economic growth, public service provision, the rule of law, and environmental protection. The subject concludes by evaluating alternative strategies for combating corruption within the region.

This subject focuses on the role of personal, societal, and historical contexts in the use and development of languages in the Indonesian archipelago, focussing on specific Indonesian societies (eg. Batak, Javanese, Maluku) and the Indonesian nation as a whole. The subject engages with issues of language in society including language planning, literacy, politeness, multi-lingualism, interpersonal interaction, traditional and modern communication systems, differences in style according to genre (eg. written and spoken language), function (eg. conversational, ritual, or political language) and social identity (eg. class, ethnic, gender or sexual identification). Students should develop an understanding of the close relationship that social context, interpersonal interaction, and culture have with language form and usage.