Indonesian Language Education in Australia: Politics,Policies and Responses

This paper takes an interdisciplinary approach to the history and politics of the development of Indonesian language studies within Australia. It examines the effect on Indonesian language education of government policies such as the National Asian Languages and Studies in Australian Schools (NALSAS) strategy, and responses developed by Indonesian language educators at the tertiary level. It suggests that, in order to achieve a more complete understanding of such issues as changes in the popularity of Indonesian language studies at the tertiary level, or the development of language education per se, it is necessary to broaden the frame of reference to include not only national policies but also politics. The impact of ideological, social, political, national and international frameworks also needs to be considered. Stakeholders may be able to effect improvements if the academic sector and government bodies identify and consciously pursue common goals, notably through a critique of the status of language teachers and continuous, collaborative consultation between the stakeholders on planning and problem solving.     

Feature Reviews

Abstract

Liberal education has a real, if precarious, place in America. Its purpose is to remind each of us that were all more than middle-class, more than beings with interests or rights. American liberal education finds its resources in classical and Christian thought, both European and indigenous. The main challenge to liberal education today comes from the libertarians.     

Here We Go Again: Presidential Elections and the National Media

The fear of death is a major preoccupation in the West. This is not surprising given the debt we owe to Hobbes, who encourages this fear and makes it a central feature of his account of human nature. Rousseau, in contrast, wishes to reduce this fear as much as possible. Amour propre and the humanity Rousseau encourages are incompatible with excessive concern for self-preservation. This accounts for his antipathy to doctors and the medical arts. Rousseau, through his presentation of Emile and the savage, initially claims that the fear of death is unnatural and that humans should take a stoic stance toward it and all human attachments that lead to our "feeling death twice." A closer reading reveals that humans always have an awareness of death and that modern humans cannot entirely avoid these attachments. We can, however, avoid making preservation our highest goal, and this is essential to our happiness and ability to have compassion for others.     

The Author Responds

Abstract

Administrative practices, political initiatives, and budgetary concerns are eroding the ability of most universities to fulfill their mission as engines of meritocratic upward mobility. Colleges fulfilled this mission because they signaled that a student had acquired—or had always possessed—superior skills. Elite universities admit students who we know can succeed: Upward mobility occurred because other schools took chances on students whose backgrounds suggested that they might or might not succeed. Pushes to improve undergraduate retention and completion rates at these other universities result in a lowering of standards that threatens their signaling role, and with it, their ability to open doors for their students.     

‘Wanderer,kommst du nach Pforta …’: the tension between Classical tradition and the demands of a Nazi elite-school education at Schulpforta and Ilfeld, 1934–45

This paper explores the tensions which arose when Schulpforta, Germany's leading humanistic boarding school, was forcibly turned into a Nazi elite school (a Nationalpolitische Erziehungsanstalt, or Napola). The time-honoured traditions of Christianity and enlightened humanism previously cultivated at the erstwhile Landesschule zur Pforta (alma mater of Fichte, Ranke and Nietzsche) were swiftly subordinated to the demands of National Socialist ideology. Schulpforta, a former monastic foundation, was radically dechristianised, and the school's Classical curriculum soon served only to emphasise those aspects of Greco-Roman Antiquity which could ‘help the Third Reich achieve its destiny’, portraying the Greeks and Romans as proto-National Socialists, pure Aryan ancestors of the modern German race. The Napola curriculum focused on sport and pre-military training over academic excellence, and contemporary documentary evidence, memoirs and newly obtained eyewitness testimony all suggest that the Napola administration wished to assimilate Pforta with any other Napola. This idea is borne out by comparing the case of Napola Ilfeld, a former Klosterschule (monastery school) with a similar history. By the mid-1940s, Ilfeld had lost almost all connection with its humanistic past. Ultimately, we can see the erosion and Nazification of these schools' Christian and humanistic traditions as exemplifying in microcosm tendencies which were prevalent throughout the Third Reich.     

The Langkawi Global Geopark: local community’s perspectives on public education

The study reported in this paper represents one of the first attempts at exploring the perspectives of the local communities on the designation of Langkawi Island in Malaysia as a UNESCO Global Geopark. It is premised on the widely acknowledged assertion that the local communities constitute an important group of stakeholders in the planning and implementation of development activities. Hence, the communities living in the geopark areas in Langkawi are considered important stakeholders who play a crucial role in the development of heritage tourism in Langkawi Global Geopark. This paper examines their views on their appreciation of the geopark as heritage, the interpretation of their shared values, the benefits and opportunities afforded by the geopark, and the extent of their involvement in the implementation of geopark activities. The findings point to the need for more support for public education programmes, and awareness initiatives aimed not only at ensuring community engagement with the development of Langkawi Geopark but also at generating stewardship actions from the community.     

‘Hold the Heathen Hammer High’: representation,re-enactment and the construction of ‘Pagan’ heritage

Viking Metal, Pagan Metal and their relatives represent subgenres of Black and Folk Metal characterised by their historical and mythological references, their incorporation of folk melodies alongside traditional music and instruments, and the use of contemporary material culture and dress. Like earlier folk-rock traditions, these subgenres have often steered an interesting course between the hedonistic tendencies which can accompany rock music (the ‘rock “n” roll lifestyle’) and an educational role: metal as heritage and specifically as heritage interpretation. In this paper, the authors explore these various connections through conversations with members of two prominent bands (Týr and Heidevolk) who gave research seminars at the University of York in 2012 and 2013. The connections between music making, landscape, performativity and narration are prominent in both cases, and form the basis of this study.     

Readjusting Cultural Codes: Reflections on Anti-Semitism and Anti-Zionism

In this article I seek to apply the notion of anti-Semitism as a cultural code, which I initially developed 25 years ago with relation to the antimodernist trends in late-nineteenth-century Germany, to the phenomena of anti-Semitism and anti-Zionism today. From the 1960s anti-Zionism and anti-Semitism formed part of a larger ideological package consisting of anticolonialism, anticapitalism, and a deep suspicion of US policies. In the eyes of members of the developing countries, Jews became a symbol of the West and legitimate targets for hatred. Thus, the position on the Jewish question, even if not in itself of paramount importance, came to indicate a belonging to a larger camp, a political stand and an overall cultural choice. The question is whether the position towards Israel today, which has become a central issue for the European left, can still be considered a cultural code or whether it rather indicates a more direct anti-Jewish attack, above all as a result of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.     

The formation of secondary education in Israel, 1948–1964

As in most areas of Israeli historiography, studies in the history of the educational system rely mostly on sources concerning the leaders of the system, and above all, the political arena. However, quite surprisingly, the Israeli government had almost no part in the formation of the secondary education system. With no legal or budgetary sanctions, the Ministry of Education had no authority over the multitude of institutions. High schools were founded according to the parents’ demand for education, and maintained by their tuition fees, without any governmental intervention. Thus, any historical account of the system and its ramifications should take into consideration that it was shaped not by politics and ideology, but by an “Invisible Hand.”     

Nationalism and war commemoration – a Latin American exceptionalism?

Recent scholarship on collective memory and nationalism in Latin America argues that – in sharp contrast to Europe – war commemoration has been of little importance to the memory work of states in the region. The article challenges this claim. A comparative‐historical analysis of school textbooks and school ceremonies in twentieth‐century Mexico, Argentina and Peru reveals that the commemoration of major civil and international wars was central to official national narratives in these countries. The article further identifies important qualitative changes in war commemoration over time, especially with respect to how commemorative discourses portrayed agency and assigned responsibility for military victories and losses. These changes are situated within broader transformations of nationalism and new alignments in the politics of nationhood and memory.