The Doctoral Program (S-3) of Cultural Studies at the Faculty of Cultural Sciences (FIB) Udayana University successfully held the first Public Lecture online on Monday, March 14. The lecture, which was opened by the Dean of FIB Unud, discussed the topic of “Gender, Ideology, and Cultural Studies”.
Prof. Aquarini Priyatna, M.A, M.Hum., Ph.D., the Dean of Faculty of Cultural Sciences Unpad, appeared the guest lecturer. She is also active in writing books and conducting research, especially in the fields of culture, literature, media, and gender studies.
The Public Lecture was hosted by Doctoral Program of Cultural Studies student, Ni Luh Putu Ari Sulatri, S.S., M.Si. and was attended by 100 participants consisting of students and lecturers of Cultural Studies at Udayana University, as well as alumni and academics from various universities in Indonesia.
The number of registrants is 125 people with only 100 people participating in zoom as it is limited by the capacity. Meanwhile, other participants follow via the Youtube channel https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N_ROUr5h5HI
Until this news was revealed, the number of Youtube viewers continued to grow, and it was compiled there were 141 viewers.
Active Academician
Dean of Faculty of Cultural Knowledge Unud, Dr. Made Sri Satyawati, S.S.M. Hum., opens the public lecture by expressing her gratitude to Prof. Aquarini who is a very active academician in research, education, and publication.
“Even though she is busy being Dean, she still has time to share her knowledge with us at FIB Unud.
We are grateful for her cooperation in sharing her knowledges,” said the Dean of of Faculty of Cultural Knowledge Unud.
Dean Made Sri Satyawati also welcomed the initiative of Doctoral Program of Cultural Studies Coordinator who had held a public lecture by inviting lecturers from other universities as a form of partnership. The Dean hopes that partnerships and guest lectures such as those conducted with Unpad need to be continued for the progress of the institution.
Doctoral Program of Cultural Studies Coordinator Unud, Prof. I Nyoman Darma Putra, M.Litt., said that the topic of gender and ideology is an important keyword in the study of Cultural Studies.
“Although it has long been present in the world of humanities disciplines, ideology has never lost its appeal, in fact it is increasingly important because it is always actual and contextual discussed in various contexts and dimensions,” said Prof. Darma.
In the Doctoral Program of Cultural Studies, gender and ideology are two different subjects. This shows how important it is for Cultural Studies students to understand gender and ideology theories. Good mastery of these two theories can provide Cultural Studies students or researchers with productive analytical tools.
Prof. Darma also said that he deliberately invited Prof. Aquarini as a resource speaker, not only because she is a young and prominent academic in the field of gender studies and cultural studies in Indonesia, but also because she is actively researching and has won many grants including funds from abroad, such as Sumitomo.
A “Political” Study
In her presentation, Prof. Aquarini said that cultural studies is not just about the study of art and culture but also includes other aspects of life that are critical and political.
“Cultural studies are always political. For cultural studies scholars, there is no such thing as normal or normative, but everything has a political element behind it,” said the lecturer who earned his doctoral degree from Monash University, Melbourne, Australia.
Cultural Studies always questions why meanings and the establishment of meanings are carried out in such a way, and tries to unveil meanings that seem natural but are political.
Gender studies, according to Prof. Aquarini, also questions practices and concepts or meanings that seem natural when in fact they are political constructions.
“Gender studies help make cultural studies greater because gender studies try to dispose of unequal arrangements,” she said.
Up until now, many aspects of cultural practices have been seen only as something natural and that leads to gender inequality. For example, cooking in the kitchen is often considered women’s work. Although that is factual, if the cultural practice is naturalized as if men are not accustomed to working in the kitchen, that makes gender bias and thus needs to be straightened out.
In her 40 minutes presentation, Prof. Aquarini also discussed the theory and research techniques of cultural studies.
“Cultural Studies always researches about people but never uses the term research object because people cannot be considered as objects, but subjects,” she said.
Q&A Session
After the presentation, Prof. Aquarini received many questions from the participants. The questions included how to reduce gender injustice, how to prevent patriarchal domination, whether taboos in terms of sex should be studied, and so on.
In her various responses, Prof. Aquarini said that various discussions and shared understanding of the unequal gender order can be solved together through discussion and equalization of perceptions and deepening of understanding.
For example, she illustrated, gender inequality in the household can occur because women are always considered the ones in charge of washing and cooking. If girls spend two hours a day, it means 14 hours a week of time is reduced, while men have excess time to do other things that women cannot because they have domestic duties.
“Such things should not be considered normal and natural, even though they are very political,” she said.
The public lecture was warm and engaging. Participants were mesmerized by Prof. Aquarini’s presentation, as they stayed to the end of the two-hour lecture.
The whole event lasted two hours, delivered neatly by the emcee who is a Doctoral Program of Cultural Studies student, Renata Lusilaora Siringo Ringo S.I.Kom.
Writer: FIB Media Team
Translator: Firda Khoirunnisa