Indonesia needs to study Australia, scholar says<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Indonesia needs to study Australia because it is
\none of Indonesia's closest neighbors with whom it will always
\ncome into contact, a scholar said.<\/p>\n
Despite crucial differences in cultural, social and political
\nbackgrounds, Australian studies in Indonesia are important if
\nIndonesians are to understand its neighbor better, Wardiningsih
\nSoerjohardjo of the University of Indonesia said yesterday.<\/p>\n
\"Differences in the historical and cultural backgrounds of the
\ntwo are obvious, but I think these distinctive characteristics
\nactually make studying much more attractive,\" said Wardiningsih,
\nwho heads the university's Australian Studies Center (PKA-UI).<\/p>\n
Lack of understanding between the two countries was singled
\nout as a reason for their turbulent bilateral relations
\nthroughout most of the 1980s.<\/p>\n
Speaking during a discussion on diverse ways of studying
\nAustralia at the Jakarta Arts Institute (IKJ), she said an
\nunderstanding of another country's history and culture can
\nencourage one to better understand one's own cultural background.<\/p>\n
The discussion, attended by about 20 participants from
\nresearch institutions, the mass media and the Australian embassy,
\nis part of the Australia Today Indonesia 94 promotion program,
\nwhich was launched on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
Director of the Australian Studies Center of the University of
\nMelbourne, Prof. Chris Wallace-Crabbe, said that in studying
\nAustralia, Indonesians could \"show us things which we had not
\nguessed about our assumptions, our heritage ... and in finding
\nout what is paradoxical about us, you can also harvest further
\ninsights about yourselves.\"<\/p>\n
He pointed out that English literature, from which most of the
\nstudies are based on, tend to lead to a particular impression of
\nAustralian society.<\/p>\n
This could raise misgivings among scholars since it
\n\"emphasizes works of the individual imagination...over steady
\nempirical research,\" he added.<\/p>\n
He concluded that in either a literary or a social science
\napproach to Australian studies, the choice is either to establish
\nlarge general truths about a nation or to research small
\nempirical facts. \"Either way, your need here will be for more
\nbooks, journals and magazines. I hope that we, in Australia, can
\ncontinue helping you with such resources.\"<\/p>\n
The PKA-UI, which comes under the rector of the University of
\nIndonesia, was founded in 1991 to develop research and studies
\nabout Australia. Its sponsors include the Australia Indonesia
\nInstitute and the International Development Program of Australian
\nUniversities and Colleges.<\/p>\n
Wardiningsih explained that Australian studies in Indonesia
\nfrom the beginning have been focused on being a discipline-based
\nstudy, with an emphasis on humanitarian aspects.<\/p>\n
About 320 students from the university's departments of
\nhistory, literature, geography, archeology, political science,
\ninternational relations and mass communication have joined the
\ncenter.<\/p>\n
During the discussion, the need for an Australian cultural
\ncenter -- such as the Erasmus Huis of the Netherlands, the Goethe
\nInstitute of the German or the British Council -- to accommodate
\nAustralian cultural events overseas, was addressed.<\/p>\n
\"That idea was actually raised several times to the Australian
\ngovernment ... but there seemed to be no response,\" said Wallace-
\nCrabbe. (pwn)<\/p>",
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