Exploring Cultural Ethnography Research: Humaniora Holds Workshop with UGM Anthropology Expert

HUMANIORA – (21/8/2024) The Language and Culture Study Laboratory (LKBB) of the Faculty of Humanities at UIN Maulana Malik Ibrahim Malang held a Cultural Ethnography Research Workshop on Wednesday, August 21, 2024. The event took place in the Auditorium of the Faculty of Humanities and featured Dr. Sita Hidayah, a cultural ethnography expert from the Department of Anthropology at Gadjah Mada University (UGM) Yogyakarta, as the main speaker. The workshop was attended by the leadership, faculty members of the Faculty of Humanities, and other lecturers from UIN Maulana Malik Ibrahim Malang. The workshop was officially opened by the Dean of the Faculty of Humanities, Dr. M. Faisol. In his opening remarks, Dr. M. Faisol expressed his gratitude to Dr. Sita Hidayah for her willingness to share her knowledge with the Faculty of Humanities. He emphasized the importance of the workshop's theme, given the significant role of ethnographic research in developing social sciences and humanities, particularly in today's global era.

"Ethnographic research plays a crucial role in advancing social sciences and humanities, especially in the current global era. This method allows us to understand and document the cultural complexities present in society, providing a deeper perspective in addressing various social challenges. We hope that all participants will absorb a wealth of knowledge from the presentations and be able to apply it in their future research," said Dr. M. Faisol.

Dr. Sita Hidayah then began her session by explaining that social and humanities paradigms are interconnected concepts that form a framework for understanding and explaining realities and challenges in daily life. Citing the thoughts of Prof. Heddy Shri Ahimsa-Putra, she emphasized that ethnographic research must be based on key elements such as basic assumptions, values, research problems, models, concepts, research and analysis methods, the results of the analysis, and the ethnographic representation produced.

The alumnus of Albert-Ludwigs Universität, Freiburg-Germany, also highlighted that the anthropological approach, which combines religious and empirical approaches, shows a tendency to separate normative conservative truth from empirical truth. In anthropology, truth is empirical, meaning it is based not only on sacred texts but also on verifiable observation and real-life experience.

This empirical paradigm plays an important role in shaping our understanding of what is considered truth, influencing how we view and evaluate social phenomena and religious practices in a broader context.

"Through this approach, we can explore truth more comprehensively, combining textual and empirical dimensions to gain a fuller understanding of reality," she said.

Dr. Sita's presentation was expected to strengthen participants' understanding of the importance of ethnography as a tool to explore culture and social life. The urgency of this event lies in the need to deepen the understanding of Faculty of Humanities lecturers in conducting research that can reveal cultural dynamics more deeply and comprehensively. Cultural ethnography becomes a crucial method in exploring Indonesia's cultural diversity and highlighting the complex relationships between various social and cultural elements.

The workshop concluded with an interactive Q&A session, where participants had the opportunity to further discuss the challenges and opportunities in cultural ethnography research. This event is expected to serve as a strong starting point for the Faculty of Humanities lecturers to develop high-quality research relevant to the evolving cultural dynamics in society. [al]