Faculty of Cultural Studies (FCS) Universitas Brawijaya (UB) was chosen to host the National Seminar of Three Indonesian Literature Scholars Association (HISKI) Commissariat Malang, Surabaya, and UNESA on Saturday (10/26/2024). The National Seminar of Three HISKI Malang, Surabaya, and UNESA was held in the 2nd Floor Hall of Building A FCS UB and attracted more than 150 participants from various universities in Indonesia.
The four main speakers at this event are Dr. Martin Suryajaya, M.Hum., from the Jakarta Institute of Arts (IKJ), Prof. Dr. Joko Widodo, M.Pd., from Universitas Muhammadiyah Malang (UMM), Dr. Phil. Mohammad Rokib, M.A., from Universitas Negeri Surabaya (UNESA), and Dewi Meyrasyawati, M.A., Ph.D., from Universitas Airlangga (UNAIR), Surabaya.
With the theme “Current Issues in Literature and Learning in the Digital Age”, the speakers and participants discussed current issues, such as digital humanities studies in literature, cyber literature, literature and character building, culturally responsive literature, children’s literature, power and gender literature, as well as culinary literature, literature learning, and various other interesting topics.
The Chief Committee of the National Seminar of Three HISKIs, Malang, Surabaya, and UNESA, Yusri Fajar, M.A., expressed gratitude to the various parties involved for organizing this event.
“On behalf of the committee, I would like to express my gratitude for the support from the Dean and the leaders of FCS UB, as well as the management of HISKI Commissariat Malang, Surabaya, and UNESA, so that this seminar can be held well,” he said.
Yusri Fajar thanked all speakers, participants, guests, and the committee for organizing the National Seminar of Three HISKI Malang, Surabaya, and UNESA.
“Hopefully, this seminar will become a forum for dialectics and offering ideas, full of novelty about literature in this digital era, especially how literature relates to developments in technology and culture,” he continued.
Prof. Dr. Sugiarti M.Si., Chairperson of HISKI Malang Commissariat, explained that the development of age and socio-political dynamics, as well as technology, seems to affect the world of literature. Literature, which we have understood as a form of study with a transdisciplinary nature, cannot let go of technology together.
“Technology as a means of expressing literature in conducting literary analysis studies is a tool because actually, the creative process and the innovative process carried out by researchers and literary scholars are critical,” explained Prof. Sugiarti.
“This morning, I am pleased because several themes have been raised by looking at various literary perspectives from various disciplines and related to technological issues. We realize that technology has an important contribution to the development of Indonesian literature because of how we, as creators of literature, as literary scholars, can present the results of our creation, the results of literary studies in digital form,” she added.
“Many people complain in the field of cyber literature, but they point to a creative economy. So, literature is a representation of the creative economy. Therefore, what we are doing today is very important, as is how we conduct studies and reviews of literature from various perspectives so that we will find out what literature is,” Prof. Sugiarti said further.
“In the meantime, we only understand literature as a form of genre, but further how we look back in the mind of new historization that literature is related to external problems that exist in this life,” she concluded.
This National Seminar is an annual agenda of the three HISKIs in Malang, Surabaya, and UNESA. Four rounds of this national seminar have been held with various interesting topics for us to study together.
The Dean of FCS UB, Hamamah, S.Pd. M.Pd., Ph.D., was also present to give a speech and officially open this activity.
“We would like to thank HISKI Commissariat Malang, Surabaya, and UNESA for their trust in FCS UB to host this national seminar. This privilege is a valuable opportunity for us to strengthen our relationship and productive academic cooperation,” she said.
“Literature is a field of study with its own depth and uniqueness. Its role in building world civilization is genuine. Then, literary studies and learning development have expanded and penetrated various digital aspects in this fast-paced digital era,” she explained.
“The presence of digital literature and digital studies, especially digital humanities, has enriched our literature today. It further emphasizes the importance of interdisciplinary perspectives in modern literary studies. This development shows how flexible it is in its global, technological, and media responses, commensurate with its strategic importance in understanding contemporary social and cultural dynamics,” she added.
“I hope that this seminar can be a conducive forum for productive scientific discussions where various perspectives and literary studies can be discussed in depth. I also hope that this forum will open a wide space for dialogue between academics, both lecturers and students, as well as activists and observers of literature,” she hoped.
The Dean of FCS UB also said that through this intellectual interaction, she believes we can all learn and enrich our insights. In addition, she hopes that the cooperation that has been established between HISKI and FCS UB can continue and get stronger in the future.
“We are optimistic that this synergy will make a significant contribution to the development of education, research, and community service, especially those related to literature and various other humanities disciplines,” she concluded. [dts/PR FCS]
