Exploring the Relationship between Colonial Education and Nationalism in Indonesia: A Reading of Pramoedya A. Toer’s This Earth of Mankind
Abstract
Objective: The research investigates the relationship between participation in colonial education and the emergence of nationalism in Indonesia. To better understand this relationship, it mainly analyzes the main character's portrayal of Pramoedya A. Toer's novel, This Earth of Mankind (1990). Method: The study uses a literary analytical approach to explore and interpret the main character's experiences and reactions within the colonial educational system as depicted in the novel. Results: The research concludes that merely undergoing colonial education does not directly lead to the rise of nationalism in Indonesia. Instead, individuals' complex and subjective experiences within this system, particularly navigating identity amidst challenges, foster nationalist sentiments. The protagonist's journey, as depicted in the novel, showcases how these subjective experiences contribute to developing nationalist feelings. Novelty: A distinctive aspect of the study is its emphasis on subjectivity, highlighting how individuals can autonomously and uniquely respond to challenging situations. The research also offers a nuanced perspective on the influence of colonial education on the growth of nationalism in Indonesia, addressing gaps in existing literature and building upon Viswanathan's (1989) inquiry into the mechanisms through which colonial education impacts nationalist sentiments.
Abstract View: 254 
PDF Download: 188
Similarity Check Download: 0
Metrics
References
Adick, C. (2023). Colonial education and the world market: The cotton school experiment in German Togo (1900–1914). International Review of Education, 1-12. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11159-023-10015-z
Agustiningsih, E. P., Sulistyono, S. T., & Puguh, D. R. (2021). Islamic and dutch schools in jambi during colonial era. Indonesian Historical Studies, 5(1), 59-72. https://doi.org/10.14710/ihis.v5i1.10006
Akbar, M., & Handayani, T. (2022). Science and technology development in dutch east indies. Indonesian Historical Studies, 5(2), 115-133. https://doi.org/10.14710/ihis.v5i2.13475
Ali, I., & Sulistiyono, S. T. (2020). A reflection of “indonesian maritime fulcrum” initiative: Maritime history and geopolitical changes. Journal of Maritime Studies and National Integration, 4(1), 12-23. https://doi.org/10.14710/jmsni.v4i1.8081
Allender, T. (2009). Learning abroad: The colonial educational experiment in India, 1813-1919. Paedagogica Historica: International Journal of History of Education, 45(6), 727-741. https://doi.org/10.1080/00309230903335645
Allouche, S. (2023). Beyond the canon: Un-learning the “Muslim woman” in UK higher education classroom with a “pedagogy of opacity.” Contemporary Islam, 1-14. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11562-023-00539-4
Alrasheedi, N. J. (2023). Exploring the role of indigenous communities in the fight against colonialism and prospects for decolonization in chimamanda ngozi adichie’s half of a yellow sun. Migration Letters, 20, 248–258. https://doi.org/10.59670/ml.v20iS7.4394
Armstrong, L. (2022). If this is indoctrination, we are all indoctrinated. Theory and Research in Education, 20, 272 - 288. https://doi.org/10.1177/14778785221143770
Becker, B. (2021). The colonial struggle over polygamy: Consequences for educational expansion in sub-Saharan Africa. Economic History of Developing Regions, 37, 27 - 49. https://doi.org/10.1080/20780389.2021.1940946
Bosma, U. (2020). Commodification and slavery in the nineteenth-century indonesian archipelago. Journal of Social History, 54(1), 109–124. https://doi.org/10.1093/jsh/shaa009
Budiharso, T., Bakri, S., & Sujito, S. (2023). Transformation of education system of the pesantren in indonesia from the dutch colony to democratic era. Journal of Social Studies Education Research, 14(4), 179–206.
Camufingo, A. (2021). When we feel: Racialized emotions and epistemic violence in german higher education. Teaching Anthropology, 10(4), 58–67. https://doi.org/10.22582/ta.v10i4.626
Chazan, B. I. (2021). What is “indoctrination”? Principles and Pedagogies in Jewish Education. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-83925-3_5
Farida, K., Aditia, R., & Fitri, M. (2021). An empirical study of leadership, organizational culture, conflict, and work ethic in determining work performance in Indonesia’s education authority. Heliyon, 7, 1-10. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2021.e07698
Gerrard, J., Sriprakash, A., & Rudolph, S. (2021). Education and racial capitalism. Race Ethnicity and Education, 25, 425 - 442. https://doi.org/10.1080/13613324.2021.2001449
Gill, D.A. (2022). Comprehending the colonial context: Education and law. Elders’ Cultural Knowledges and the Question of Black/ African Indigeneity in Education. Spring Cham.
Hadzic, F. (2022). Space and place of jerusalem; Sociology of religion and inter-cultural sociopolitical peace and conflict. Journal of Islamicjerusalem Studies, 22(1), 47–72. https://doi.org/10.31456/beytulmakdis.1036835
Hartman, E., Reynolds, N.P., Ferrarini, C., Messmore, N., Evans, S., Al-Ebrahim, B., & Brown, J.M. (2020). Coloniality-decoloniality and critical global citizenship: Identity, belonging, and education abroad. Frontiers: The interdisciplinary journal of study abroad, 32, 33-59. https://doi.org/10.36366/frontiers.v32i1.433
Iswahyudi, I. (2023). The existence of taman siswa amidst the domination of colonial education in the dutch east indies. Randwick International of Education and Linguistics Science Journal, 4(3), 583–596. https://doi.org/10.47175/rielsj.v4i3.793
Kim, H. A. (2014). ‘Rethinking colonialism: Korean primary school music education during the Japanese colonial rule of Korea, 1910-1945’. Journal of Historical Research in Music Education, 36(1), 23-30, https://doi.org/10.1177/153660061403600103
Kroeze, R. (2021). Colonial normativity? Corruption in the dutch–indonesian relationship in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Springer Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-0255-9_7
Lalujan, J. D., & Pranjol, M. Z. (2024). Project-based learning as a potential decolonised assessment method in STEM higher education. Trends in Higher Education, 3(1), 16–33. https://doi.org/10.3390/higheredu3010002
Maluleka, K. J. (2021). Education for self-reliance and its relevance to lifelong learning in the previously colonised countries. International Journal of Lifelong Education, 40, 129 - 141. https://doi.org/10.1080/02601370.2021.1899320
Manu-Osafo, M. J. (2021). ‘The days of their heedless power were over and done’: Dynamics of power in the military structures of the precolonial asante state, 1874–1900. The Journal of African History, 62, 254 - 270. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0021853721000281
Mayya, S. S., Martis, M., Ashok, L., & Monteiro, A. D. (2021). Women in higher education: Are they ready to take up administrative positions?—A mixed-methods approach to identify the barriers, perceptions, and expectations. SAGE Open, 11(1), 1-16. https://doi.org/10.1177/2158244020983272
Mehri, M., & Choulis, I. (2021). The colonial roots of structural coup-proofing. International Interactions, 47, 750 - 776. https://doi.org/10.1080/03050629.2021.1898958
Nugraha, I. (2023). Unearthing the academic time capsule : Delving into the evolution of science education among indonesian students. Journal of Science Learning, 1-19. https://doi.org/10.17509/jsl.v6i4.60828
Nwanosike, O. F., & Onyije, L. E. (2011). ‘Colonialism and education’, Mediterranian journal of social sciences, 2(4), 41-47.
Odugu, D. (2016). Historiographic reconsideration of colonial education in africa: domestic forces in the early expansion of english schooling in northern igboland, 1890–1930. History of Education Quarterly, 56, 241 - 272. https://doi.org/10.1111/hoeq.12182
Panade, D. S., & Londhe, D. S. (2021). Post-structural Meditations of jacques lacan on human subjectivity. ENSEMBLE, 3(1), 13-23. https://doi.org/10.37948/ensemble-2021-0301-a013
Perales Franco, C., & McCowan, T. (2021). Rewiring higher education for the sustainable development goals: The case of the intercultural university of veracruz, mexico. Higher Education, 81(1), 69–88. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-020-00525-2
Qian, L., Xu, B., & Chen, D. (2017). Does history education promote nationalism in china? A ‘limited effect’ explanation. Journal of Contemporary China, 26, 199 - 212. https://doi.org/10.1080/10670564.2016.1223103
Sai, S. M. (2012). ‘Educating multicultural citizens: Colonial nationalism, imperial citizenship and education in late colonial Singapore’, Journal of Southeast Asian Studies, 44(1), 49-73, https://doi.org/10.1017/S0022463412000616
Salusky, I. R., Kral, M., Amarok, B., & Wexler, L. M. (2022). Navigating between two the worlds of school and ‘being on the land’: Arctic Indigenous young people, structural violence, cultural continuity and selfhood. Journal of Youth Studies, 25(2), 170–192. https://doi.org/10.1080/13676261.2020.1858040
Sharonova, S. A., Trubnikova, N. V., Erokhova, N. S., & Nazarova, H. A. (2018) Intellectual colonialism and national education system. X-Linguae: European Scientific Language Journal, 11(2), 338-351.
Shaturaev, J. N. (2021). Indonesia : Superior policies and management for better education. Community Development through Education, 1–11.
Thahir, L. S. (2021). Islam of the archipelago : Cosmopolitanism of islamic. Jurnal Ilmiah Islam Futura, 21(1), 23–45.
Tilley, L. (2021). Extractive investibility in historical colonial perspective: the emerging market and its antecedents in Indonesia. Review of International Political Economy, 28(5), 1099–1118. https://doi.org/10.1080/09692290.2020.1763423
Toer, P. (1990). This earth of mankind. Penguin Books.
Varela, M. D. (2020). Fundamental education and decolonization of the mind. Journal for Research and Debate, 3(7), 1-15. https://doi.org/10.17899/ON_ED.2020.7.10
Viswanathan, G. (1989). Mask of conquest. Literary study and British rule in India, Columbia University Press.
Zembylas, M. (2022). Affective and biopolitical dimensions of hope: From critical hope to anti-colonial hope in pedagogy. Journal of Curriculum and Pedagogy, 19(1), 28–48. https://doi.org/10.1080/15505170.2020.1832004
Zimbico, O. (2023). The construction of Mozambican colonial and postcolonial identity through schooling projects: From 1930 to 1990. Pro-Posições, 34, 1-17. https://doi.org/10.1590/1980-6248-2021-0087en
Copyright (c) 2024 IJORER : International Journal of Recent Educational Research
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Abstract viewed = 254 times
PDF downloaded = 188 times
Similarity Check downloaded = 0 times
