Professor Marieke Bloembergen’s Public Lecture at Unpad History Study Program
History Study Program, Faculty of Humanities, Universitas Padjadjaran held an international public lecture with Professor Marieke Bloembergen from Leiden University, the Netherlands, on Monday, May 15, 2023. Professor Marieke Bloembergen is a professor of heritage and postcolonial studies at Leiden University. Her research focuses on the production of cultural knowledge in colonial and postcolonial Indonesia in local dimensions and global relations.
In the public lecture held at the Hall of the Center for Japanese Studies (PSBJ), Professor Marieke gave a lecture entitled “Unsettling Colonial Knowledge. ‘Greater India’”, Transnational Scholarly Networks and Indology in/on Indonesia (1930s-1960s). Professor Marieke raised the main question of colonialism in terms of academic knowledge production. According to her, Indonesia has been part of knowledge production and knowledge networks within Asia and the world for centuries. In the context of colonial knowledge production, Indonesia has been studied by Western scholars, creating a research institute on Indonesia called Indology. Indology was not only intended for Dutch people who wanted to learn about Indonesia—to later become colonial employees—but also became an academic achievement for Indonesians themselves, such as Hoesein Djajadiningrat and Ngabehi Poerbatjaraka.
In terms of knowledge production, although the majority of Indonesians are Muslims, Indonesia is strongly identified with Hindu-Buddhist culture as seen from Western scholars’ research on cultural sites, as well as objects brought and displayed in museums in Europe. This indicates that India’s influence in Indonesia is very strong in the context of both cultural heritage and cultural diplomacy. This reinforcement continues in the form of education and research diplomacy between India and Indonesia after independence. In another context, Professor Marieke also explained that Indonesia has a local genius in the form of a knowledge system that existed before the arrival of foreign influences, such as India, China, Arabia and Europe.
Professor Marieke’s presentation received a positive response from the discussion attendees, which was participated by several lecturers of the History Study Program and dozens of students from two batches. Professor of History at Universitas Padjadjaran, Professor Kunto Sofianto appreciated that Professor Marieke’s lecture added a new understanding of Indonesian history, especially in the colonial period. According to him, “Students need to be given a new paradigm, perspective, and scope in understanding colonial history. Moreover, students in the Unpad History Study Program produce many interesting and diverse studies”. Furthermore, Professor Kunto Sofianto commented on colonialization that provides good and bad sides for Indonesia. Although colonialism is strongly associated with negative meanings in the tradition of education in Indonesia, but on the other hand colonialism also provides a legacy in the form of technology and the development of cities in Indonesia. It is not surprising that in the past Bandung was known as the Parijs van Java, and Garut as the Swiss van Java.
Professor Marieke Bloembergen’s public lecture was the second public lecture in 2023 organized by the History Study Program. Previously, the History Study Program held a public lecture by inviting Arlo Griffiths, Professor of Southeast Asian History, École française d’Extrême-Orient (EFEO) in March 2023. The whole series of public lectures is part of the FIB World Class University Program which carries the theme “Ngakar di Saraan Punjul di Buana”.
Writer: Budi Gustaman, S.S., M.A.
Translator: Firda Khoirunnisa
