Master thesis | Cultural Anthropology and Development Sociology (MSc)
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This research focuses on the analysis of the forms of human-environment relationship that characterize different communities in the coastal area of North Jakarta, and on how these might be...Show moreThis research focuses on the analysis of the forms of human-environment relationship that characterize different communities in the coastal area of North Jakarta, and on how these might be connected to inequalities between local communities. In North Jakarta, relationship with the environment is strongly affected by the presence of environmental issues, namely sea level rise, land subsidence, and chronic floods, which force local communities to come to terms with the surrounding waters on a daily basis, developing different experiences and perceptions of the environment. Moreover, such different experiences and perceptions are connected to political struggles related to the protection of the Jakarta bay ecosystem, the livelihood of fishing communities, and mitigation projects such as the construction of a giant seawall and of reclaimed islands off the coast of the city. The research population includes residents of four different neighbouring districts located along the coast of the Indonesian capital. Despite being so close to each other, these are very different areas, home to fish markets, fishing settlements and industries, luxurious residential areas, shining malls and exclusive leisure spaces. These districts are inhabited by very different communities in terms of social class, income, lifestyle, occupation, and ethnicity. Therefore, they are an ideal field to observe diverse forms of human-environment relationship, and to test to what extent could these be related to the above-mentioned inequalities and to different ontologies of the environment.Show less
This thesis explores how Jakarta's Merdeka Square acts as a contested public space where both state institutions and society groups have contended with the idea of a pluralistic Indonesian society...Show moreThis thesis explores how Jakarta's Merdeka Square acts as a contested public space where both state institutions and society groups have contended with the idea of a pluralistic Indonesian society during the months preceding the 2017 Jakarta Gubernatorial Election.Show less
This thesis examines the massacre of Chinese in Tangerang that occurred between late May and June 1946, following the Dutch occupation in Serpong, Tangerang. More than a thousand Chinese men, women...Show moreThis thesis examines the massacre of Chinese in Tangerang that occurred between late May and June 1946, following the Dutch occupation in Serpong, Tangerang. More than a thousand Chinese men, women, and children were killed in various places in the interior of Tangerang. This thesis argues that the massacre was not an incidental event, but had its roots in the social disorganization, economic instability, and the collapse of authority occasioned by the Dutch colonial regime and Japanese occupation. Although outbursts of violence in Indonesia have a long history, the Tangerang massacre is a unique case, as it was targeted at a specific population, and it was perpetrated by a specific religious group. Moreover, jawara was also included in local patterns of violence and played a useful role of intimidation of those considered a problem of local government. Perpetrators of anti-Chinese violence in Tangerang justified their actions by saying that the Chinese were aliens in the community, as well as non-believers. The Tangerang massacre was only one in a long series of cases of anti-Chinese violence all over Java, in which both the Dutch and the Indonesian Republic failed to protect the lives of the Chinese population during the Indonesian Revolutionary period. Although considerable efforts were made by the Republic to protect the Chinese in order to enlist their support, the Republic's military forces were insufficient to prevent hostile acts by extremist elements whose animosity had been directed against the Chinese. Soon after the massacre in Tangerang, more cases of anti-Chinese violence emerged in other parts of Indonesia: Bagan Siapi-Api (1946), Cirebon (1947), Cibadak (1947), and Cilimus (1947). To date, no specific research has been conducted to examine the communal violence in those areas.Show less