Exploring Indonesian Culture

Six bi-co students are spending this summer in Indonesia studying different research methodologies and working in the field in partnership with Indonesian students and local non-governmental organizations (NGOs).

The CPGC's Indonesia Research Program has sent 19 interns to Bali and Java over the past three years. This summer, Beth Patel '11, Lisa Liu '13, Yen Phan '12, Jacki LaBua '13, Waleed Shahid '13, and Sharon Kaziunas BMC '11 are exploring the country.

The students spent their first two weeks in Jogajakarta, Java's cultural and educational center, taking intensive Indonesian language instruction at Sanata Dharma University, living with Indonesian host families, and getting acclimated to Indonesian culture and history.

They then flew to Bali for an interdisciplinary course on research methodology, ethics, human rights and social justice issues in Indonesia. The research institute, which was also attended by Indonesian university students (ages 20-30) who applied to the program, was led by anthropologist Leslie Dwyer, a former visiting professor at Haverford. The bi-co students lived in a traditional Balinese Hindu compound in the capital city of Denpasar.

For the final phase of their 10-week internship, they have each partnered up with one of the Indonesian students to initiate a research project of their own while working with a variety of NGOs.

Patel, a political science major, is interning with COMBINE, a community-based information network that uses multiple media channels to increase the flow of information between poor communities and the government and private sectors. Patel is researching the impact that radio has had on democratizing developing nations, Indonesia being the case study.

"The medium of radio strikes me as being essential to the greater good of a developing society," says Patel. "It can begin at the grassroots and it aids in the dissemination of knowledge to a greater population. By studying its effectiveness, I hope to bring the relevance of radio to the forefront."

Phan, a history major, is developing a research project focused on the reconciliation of Indonesia's history with its current political, economic, and social inequalities. She is using facilities at the Center for History and Political Ethics (PUSDEP), Indonesia's foremost academic institute devoted to research on human rights and transitional justice efforts in Indonesia.

LaBua is researching fair trade with Mitra Bali, an organization that works with small-scale craft producers in remote areas of Bali, and helps them find viable markets and improve conditions in their communities.

Shahid is working with Syarikat, a progressive, youth wing within Nadhatul Ulama (NU), a traditionalist Muslim organization that funds schools, hospitals, and does community organizing to help combat poverty.

Liu is studying the cultural dynamics of a diverse Balinese community by merging demographic research with personal narrative. She hopes to apply her findings on the transformation of collective identity to other communities shaped by colonial influxes, including Native American communities back home. "This will hopefully help me construct a basis for greater awareness and appreciation for cultural integrity, as well as potential reform," she says.

--Heather Harden '11