The United States-Indonesia Society, 2014 Summer Language Program

The deadline for USINDO's Summer Language Study (Summer Studies) Program application submission is approaching: March 31, 2014.

USINDO runs an intensive ten-week language and general studies program from June to August held at Gadjah Mada University for U.S. students and recent graduates selected in a competitive application process. Due to the Eid holidays, this year Summer Studies program will begin on June 2 and end on July 25, 2014.
2014 Summer Study Language Program Applications are available here. In addition to the Application Cover Page, students are required to submit a 1-page personal statement, resume, transcript(s), and one letter of recommendation. For complete information on the program, download the information sheet here or visit the USINDO website.

Deadlines

Applications must be received by USINDO no later than March 31, 2014. Applicants will be notified of the decisions at the end of April 2014, subject to availability of funds.

Application Submission

All application documentations must be submitted via email to summerstudies@usindo.org. Recommenders must submit the letter of recommendation directly to the above email address. Applicants are responsible for ensuring their applications are submitted on time. Only complete applications will be considered.

Eligibility

Applicants must be U.S. citizens or permanent residents and undergraduate college seniors, enrolled in a graduate or post-graduate degree program, or recent graduates of any tertiary educational institution (within 6 months).

Criteria for Selection

Applicants will be judged by the clarity of communication in their personal statements and by their demonstrated interest in Indonesia. A good academic record will be required as well as a demonstrated interest and success in learning languages. Previous foreign travel is desirable but not necessary. Stated career plans will be judged in part on the likelihood that such a career will involve communicating knowledge of Indonesia to a broader audience.

Applicants will be required to participate in all Summer Studies activities, including attendance at classes and taking a final examination. Participants will be required to sign a statement verifying this intention, as well as a release form, upon admission to the program. Participants should be available to depart from the United States with the group.

Costs
The cost of the program participation is $2,000. Program cost covers tuition, housing and board, airfare, student visas, and health insurance. All other incidentals will be the responsibility of the students.

Airfare

USINDO purchases roundtrip air tickets to Yogyakarta for students from any city in the US. Travel arrangements are made by USINDO.

Visa

USINDO will process the student visas at the Embassy of Indonesia in Washington, DC.
Students MUST possess a passport that is valid at least until December 2014, AND must have at least four blank visa pages in their passport.

Health Insurance

USINDO purchases health insurance from HTH Worldwide and will pay for the premium for each student for 3 months coverage (June, July, August). Students will be responsible for any deductible payments.

Contact Information

Additional questions can be directed to summerstudies@usindo.org or call 202.232.1400.

 

Selamat Idul Fitri from Banda Aceh!

Selamat Idul Fitri from Banda Aceh, Indonesia! Idul Fitri marks the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan and it's certainly a unique time to be in Indonesia, especially in Aceh, often called Serambi Mekkah, or the Veranda of Mecca. I'm in Banda Aceh, the capital of the province here on the northern tip of Sumatra for a week of interviews, but in the meantime have been watching many of the Idul Fitri celebrations.

Takbir celebrations marking the start of Idul Fitri

The video and pictures here are from the night of August 7th, or the beginning of Idul Fitri. Each year various groups from across the city take part in takbir, a parade through the streets of Banda Aceh, making floats to represent their organization (e.g. schools, youth groups, mosques) or neighborhood. It's a competition, in a sense, with prizes awarded to the best groups.

Takbir, an act meant to glorify and praise Allah, is done as you'll hear the boys and men singing "Allahu Akbar" (God is great) over the loudspeakers as they walk down the street. It's amazing to watch, and hundreds of residents come out to watch the event. In the back of the video above you'll see an enormous (and beautiful) white mosque in the center of Banda Aceh, Masjid Baiturrahman. One thing to note is that the various boys and men seem to combine several different types of Islamic clothing. The boys wearing checkered black and white turbans adopt a more Middle Eastern style while the boys in white and the video below are more representative of Indonesian Islamic clothing, complete with a sarong, batik shirts, and a peci or kopiah, the black folded cap.

Youth groups taking part in the parade in Banda Aceh

"Mari bermaaf-maafan" = Let us ask for forgiveness from each other

Back at home, Idul Fitri means cooking special foods for the celebration, chief among them being lontong, or rice cooked in banana leaves and eaten with various stews and curries. A few days before Idul Fitri the city suddenly becomes full of butchers selling lamb and beef on side of the road in preparation for the holiday. In the dish below, the dark chunks of beef are rendang, a spicy (and delicious) dry beef curry which, I might add, somehow managed to be voted the #1 most delicious food in the world by CNN a couple years ago. http://travel.cnn.com/explorations/eat/readers-choice-worlds-50-most-delicious-foods-012321

lontong

I count myself among the rendang fanatics as I used to live in Padang, a city on the west coast of Sumatra credited as the origin of rendang. The first meal I ate after touchdown in Indonesia? Rendang at Padang restaurant in Jakarta.

Jamison Liang
MA Candidate, Anthropology & International Development
Sigur Center Grant for Asian Field Research

Negotiating LGBT Rights and Development in Indonesia

Sawatdee krap/Selamat pagi!

Well, it has been a couple weeks since I arrived in Thailand, so perhaps this is a good time to introduce myself and my research this summer (generously supported by a Sigur Center Grant for Asian Field Research).

My name is Jamison Liang and I am currently in the middle of my MA in Anthropology & International Development at George Washington. My research focuses on the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) rights movement in Indonesia—particularly in Aceh province—where I look at the intersection of international, national, and Islamic law and how they have been applied to issues of gender and sexuality. Aceh is coming to an important crossroads this year; the provincial legislature is debating how to formulate its Islamic criminal bylaw (qanun jinayat), which could potentially criminalize homosexuality. One of the central questions I am investigating this summer concerns the influence of international development and human rights organizations, ultimately asking how effective (or ineffective) a purely rights-based argument is in producing societal change on the ground.

As advocacy for human rights of LGBT communities has gained traction among international organizations, especially the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC), Indonesian NGOs have followed suit, adopting human rights-based rhetoric. Yet how do international actors and local NGOs implement these abstract strategies, especially in areas where they appear to contravene societal morals, religious beliefs, or local laws? What happens when government officials and local leaders explicitly reject queer communities? My research aims to answer this question by focusing on the intersection of LGBT rights advocacy and international development initiatives in Indonesia, noting how global LGBT rights policies are “translated” into culturally appropriate and effective messages by local activists.

So, why am I in Bangkok? As it turns out, I am doing this research while helping the United Nations Development Program Asia Pacific Regional Center (UNDP APRC) with their project “Being LGBT in Asia: A Participatory Review and Analysis of the Legal and Social Environment for LGBT Civil Society in Asia.” I am largely in charge of helping write Indonesia’s national report, though I am also assisting with the social media side of the project, posting about LGBT-related news across the region in bahasa Indonesia and English.

At the same time I am identifying people from various international development and human rights organizations to interview in Bangkok—the hub of the development field in Southeast Asia. Accordingly, these individuals should be able to talk about how rights-based advocacy is practiced at a regional and international level by tracing the flow of recommendations from civil society to policy dialogues at the UN. To be sure, I remain critical of how development agencies have historically interacted with “sexual/gender minorities” solely through the lens of HIV—a discourse which I argue has “medicalized” their identities by linking them to the HIV epidemic. While this issue has rightfully opened up space in development to talk about sexuality and gender more critically, it has also made it harder to see other social problems as legitimate.

Once my research wraps up in Bangkok at the end of July, I will head to Indonesia (Jakarta and Banda Aceh) for a spree of interviews with CSOs and international NGOs. To be sure, there will be much to learn in the coming months! In the meantime, if you’re interested in the Being LGBT in Asia project, check out:

- Crowdmap: http://beinglgbtinasia.crowdmap.com

- Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/lgbtinasia

- Instagram and Twitter: @beinglgbtinasia

- QQ-tencent: t.qq.com/beinglgbtinasia 

- Weibo: www.weibo.com/beinglgbtinasia

- Douban: www.douban.com/people/beinglgbtinasia

Jamison Liang
MA Candidate in Anthropology & International Development

Sigur Center 2013 Summer Grant for Asian Field Research

Site: Thailand and Indonesia