Dear CRCS & ICRS students, faculty and guests, We kindly invite you to participate in the CRCS & ICRS Wednesday Forum of this week. Wednesday forum will have Mytha Candria (Ph.D. Student, ICRS-Yogya) as the speaker who will talk about “Women, Sexuality & Religiousity in Literary Works”. Some information about this forum can be read as follows.
Date: Wednesday, 24 February 2010
Time: 12.30 pm – 2.30 pm (free lunch)
Venue: Room 306, UGM Graduate School Teknika Utara, Pogung
Speaker: Mytha Candria
Abstract:
Contemporary female writers Ayu Utami and Dee (Dewi Lestari) have ignited pro-s and contra-s among Indonesian literary critics because they have openly discussed (female) sexuality in their novels. Focusing on their discussion of sexuality has made us neglect the religious sides of the novels. While it is true that their novels are rich in sexual metaphors, Ayu’s Saman and Bilangan fu, and Dee’s Supernova are full of religious sentiments and criticisms.
This essay is an attempt to reveal the religious sides of Saman, Bilangan fu, and Supernova. Religion has been fully occupied with formality and hypocrisy, and has neglected moral and humanitarian values. Instead of liberating, religion has intimidated its followers with the doctrine of right and wrong, of heaven and hell. Religion’s truth claims divide human beings into the in-group (the faithful, the saved) and the out-group (the condemned, the sinful). Meanwhile, an urgent question religion needs to address, i.e. what is religion’s contribution to mankind, is left unanswered. Poverty, injustices, gender inequality, and environmental destruction are real challenges religion needs to tackle.
Registration:
The forum is free of charge and on a first-come-first serve basis.
About the Speaker:
Mytha Candria is a Ph.D. Student at Indonesian Consortium for Religious Studies Yogyakarta.
Contact Persons:
Elis Z. Anis (ICRS): elis236.andri@yahoo.com,elis@ugm.ac.id; Lina Pary (CRCS): lina_pary@yahoo.com; Maria Ingrid (CRCS/ICRS): ingridita@gmail.com.
(JMI)