Pm Allen

Ajeg Bali: Multiple Meanings, Diverse Agendas

Based on research and interviews conducted in Bali in 2003-04, this paper explores ways in which a new term, ajeg Bali, has become part of public and performance discourse on culture and identity in Bali since the October 2002 Kuta bombings. It examines the variety of meanings and attributes that have been attached to the term, concluding that the elusiveness of its meaning makes it potentially a powerful ideological weapon.

Literature and the Media Contemporary Literature from the Chinese 'Diaspora' in Indonesia

Since the fall of Suharto a number of Chinese Indonesian writers have begun to write as Chinese Indonesians, some using their Chinese names, some writing in Mandarin. New literary activities include the gathering, publishing and translating (from Mandarin) of short stories and poetry by Chinese Indonesians. Pribumi Indonesians too have privileged Chinese ethnicity in their works in new and compelling ways. To date, little of this new Chinese Indonesian literary activity has been documented or evaluated in English. This paper begins to fill that gap by examining the ways in which recent literary works by and about Chinese Indonesians give expression to their ethnic identity.

Strategies for leading academics to rethink humanities and social sciences curricula in the context of discipline standards

Abstract The introduction of discipline standards in Australia has required a comprehensive rethinking of humanities and social science curricula from first year through to graduation. This paper proposes a model to facilitate academics’ engagement with discipline standards and their implication for first-year curricula. The model supports discipline-focussed professional development that integrates consideration of discipline threshold learning outcomes, first-year pedagogy principles, and discipline threshold concepts. The model is demonstrated using strategies that were applied, tested, and shown to be effective in workshops across five disciplines in the humanities and social sciences.

Teaching the history threshold learning outcomes to first-year students

Stakeholder ownership and implementation are crucial when applying the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) to the development of curriculum. Threshold Learning Outcomes (TLOs) are a case in point. While they might seem to be triumphs of managerialism over pedagogy, we argue that they can be used to build lecturers’ deep engagement with the teaching of their discipline and thus foster sustainable change. By extending the professional use of TLOs, beyond the stages of agreement, establishment and early dissemination, to the point of implementation, we offer a framework for how to elicit collegial conversations to improve teaching and learning practice in history. First, we combine ‘Decoding the Disciplines’ methods developed by historians at Indiana University. Second, we add key principles of first-year pedagogy, associated with Sally Kift. Third, we link to Threshold Learning Outcomes. The framework is supplemented by a good practice guide that translates our theoretical model into practical strategies in teaching and assessment.

Diasporic representations of the home culture: case studies from Suriname and New Caledonia

The focus of this paper is the ways in which certain customs and traditions are actively selected and/or reinvigorated and subsequently authorised, by institutions or by individuals, as being key markers of the culture of the ‘homeland’. The cultural practices chosen for discussion are the kejawen mystical system as practised in Suriname and the acquisition of the Indonesian national language, bahasa Indonesia, in New Caledonia. The discussion is informed by two key ideas. The first is that immigrant communities designate certain cultural practices as being worthy of preservation as an ‘inheritance’ for the future. The second is the interplay between cultural practices and power or authority, which gels in scholarly discussions about ‘cultural heritage’. I argue that the continuation of a cultural practice or tradition lies as much with its authorisation by key individuals or institutions as it does with its purported authenticity.