Students of the Cultural and Media Studies Program Participate in Ethnography Training
The Cultural and Media Studies Program (KBM) at the Graduate School of Universitas Gadjah Mada (UGM) conducted an Ethnography Training on Tuesday (04/06) at Meeting Room A, 5th Floor, Graduate School Building of UGM. The training, themed "Ethnographic Expedition in Papua: Pathology, (Dis)-Information Conflict, and Creating Conditions," was attended by master's and doctoral students of the KBM program. The training aimed to enhance students' understanding and discuss misinformation occurring in Papua. By utilizing ethnographic methods, students could gain in-depth insight into the social, cultural, and political conflicts occurring in Papua.
Dr. Vindhyandika Djati Perkasa, a senior researcher at the Department of Politics and Social Change at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), served as a speaker during the event. Throughout the training, Dr. Vindhyandika encouraged students to actively participate in each discussion session. Students were also encouraged to address Papua-related issues in their writing. When asked about their plans for final research topics, several students expressed interest by raising their hands to make Papua-related issues the subject of their thesis or dissertation research.
During his presentation, Dr. Vindhyandika stated that there is a lot of misinformation about Papua spread across various social media platforms. This misinformation can influence public sentiment regarding events in Papua.
"The information about Papua in the media shapes two major sentiments. Positive sentiments are portrayed through the kindness displayed by the police/military in Papua. Meanwhile, negative sentiments are related to the actions of the Armed Criminal Groups (KKB), which often resort to violence and cause casualties," said Dr. Vindhyandika.
Aziz, a Master's student in the KBM program, inquired about how to package ethnography when entering a group/community with differing views. Dr. Vindhyandika explained that in ethnography, our task is to interpret why these views exist, as well as the variables and reasons that influence these views.
As a follow-up to the training, students will be divided into several groups to present on ethnographic experiments they have conducted. This training supports the achievement of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly in the field of quality education. Activities like this will continue to be conducted by the KBM program to enhance students' insights and skills in critiquing and researching conditions in their surrounding environment as well as various regions by discerning the information they receive.
Tags: Skills; Students; Conflict; Papua; SDG 4: Quality Education; SDG 16: Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions; SDGs
Author: Asti Rahmaningrum