Gender and its representation in Indonesian societies
Barbara Hatley
12 points
* 3 hours per week
* First semester
* Clayton
Objectives Students successfully completing this subject should have gained an understanding of dominant and alternate gender ideologies and practices in Indoneisan societies, and of the modes in which these are represented in cultural forms. Comparisons with Western feminist theories should have helped illuminate the particular nature of Indonesian gender experience and its representation.
Synopsis This subject looks at representations of women and gender in Indonesian cultural forms - literature, performing arts, films - in the light of studies in gender relations in Indonesian societies, as well as feminist theories of representation. It seeks to establish links between the gender practices and ideologies of particular periods and social groups and the representation of gender in corresponding cultural forms. Acknowledging but seeking to avoid the danger of distorting Indonesian voices by imposing Western models, the subject seeks to make use of the findings of Western feminist criticism to explore the particular nature of Indonesian gender experience and its representation. The subject is available both to students of Indonesian language and to those without Indonesian. Texts without published English translations will be suplemented with photocopied material.
Assessment Written (7000 words): 75%
* Seminar participation: 25%
Prescribed texts
Sears L (ed.) Fantasizing the Feminine in Indonesia Duke U P
Recommended texts
Atkinson J and Errington S (eds) Power and difference: Gender in island Southeast Asia Stanford U P, 1991
Berninghausen J and Kerstan B (ed.) Forging new paths: Feminist social methodology and rural women in Java Zed Books
Jayawardena K Feminism and nationalism in the third world Zed Books
Gilbert S and Gubar S The madwoman in the attic Yale U P
Moi T Sexual/textual politics Methuen
Pramudya Ananta Tur This earth of mankind Penguin
Radway J Reading the romance: Women, patriarchy and popular literature U North Carolina P
Showalter E The new feminist criticism Virago
Umar Kayam Sri Sumarah dan Bawuk (Sri Sumarah and other stories) tr. H Aveling, Heinemann
Options for studies in Indonesian Options exist for students of Indonesian to undertake subjects in consultation with the Department of Asian Languages and Studies: `Indonesian for special purposes', `Special project in Indonesian', `Beginning Javanese', `Intermediate Javanese', `Introduction to Old Javanese', `Beginning Sundanese', `Intermediate Sundanese', `Introduction to Classical Malay', `Classical Malay'.
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