Think about the texts you send to friends or family. The jokes you make, the plans you discuss, and the questions you ask. What do they say about you? What do they reveal about the society and time you live in? Imagine historians analysing these texts a hundred years later—what could they learn about you and your world?
In this first episode of “Call Me Kartini,” host Dasja Zonneveldt, a Dutch history student, goes back in time to understand the life and legacy of Raden Ajeng Kartini, an Indonesian feminist and nationalist icon from the early 1900s. Kartini’s letters offer a rare glimpse into the life of a Javanese woman under Dutch colonial rule. The episode discusses the Dutch colonial society in Java, power, silence and violence in the archives.
Guest Experts:
Dr. Farabi Fakih – Scholar specialising in the political history of Indonesia at the Universitas Gadjah Mada in Yogyakarta.
Dr. Vineet Thakur – Scholar of International Relations at the University of Leiden.
Prof. Elise van Nederveen Meerkerk – Professor of Social History at the University of Utrecht.
Bibliography and Additional Resources
Are you interested in reading more about the topics that were discussed in this episode? I would recommend reading the following:
Kartini’s letters and their impact on Indonesian history.
Kartini, Raden Adjeng, and Joost Coté. 2014. Kartini: The Complete Writings 1898-1904. Monash Asia Series. Clayton, Victoria: Monash University Publishing. http://site.ebrary.com/id/11057227.
Bijl, Paul, and Grace V.S. Chin. 2020. ‘Introduction’. In Appropriating Kartini: Colonial, National and Transnational Memories of an Indonesian Icon, edited by Grace V. S. Chin and Paul Bijl, 1–16. Lectures, Workshops, and Proceedings of International Conferences. ISEAS–Yusof Ishak Institute. https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/appropriating-kartini/introduction/15DAA043D6D5060E7AB1ABCAA211D5CA.
Books and articles on Dutch colonialism and its legacy.
Locher-Scholten, Elsbeth. 2000. Women and the Colonial State. Essays on Gender and Modernity in the Netherlands Indies 1900-1942. Amsterdam University Press. http://www.jstor.org.proxy.library.uu.nl/stable/j.ctt46n2p0.4.
Van Reybrouck, David. 2024. Revolusi: Indonesia and the Birth of the Modern World. Translated by David Colmer and David McKay. London: The Bodley Head.
Taylor, Jean Gelman. 2013. Global Indonesia. Routledge.
Studies on the role of archives in preserving history.
Burton, Antoinette. 2007. ‘Archive Stories: Gender in the Making of Imperial and Colonial Histories’. In Gender and Empire, edited by Philippa Levine. Oxford: Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199249503.003.0013.
Finden, Alice E. 2023. ‘Counter-Mapping the Archive: A Decolonial Feminist Research Method’. Cambridge Review of International Affairs 0 (0): 1–22. https://doi.org/10.1080/09557571.2023.2285759.
Hartman, Saidiya. 2008. ‘Venus in Two Acts’. Small Axe 12 (2): 1–14.
Music and Sound Credits
Ashot-Danielyan-Composer. 2023. “Serious Dark Sorrow”. Accessed May 16, 2024. https://pixabay.com/nl/music/omgeving-serious-dark-sorrow-157909/.
Lexin_Music. 2022. “Cinematic Time Lapse.” Accessed May 16, 2024. https://pixabay.com/nl/music/hoofdtitel-cinematic-time-lapse-115672/.
Lexin_Music. 2022. “Europe Travel”. Accessed May 16, 2024. https://pixabay.com/nl/music/mooie-toneelstukken-europe-travel-119948/.
Pixabay. 2022. “Library ambiance”. Accessed May 16, 2024. https://pixabay.com/nl/sound-effects/library-ambiance-60000/.
Pixabay. 2021. “Sea and Seagull, wave”. Accessed May 16, 2024. https://pixabay.com/nl/sound-effects/sea-and-seagull-wave-5932/.
Pixabay. 2022. “Typingphone”. Accessed May 16, 2024. https://pixabay.com/nl/sound-effects/typingphone-101683/.
Pixabay. 2022. “Writing with Fountain Pen Nib”. Accessed May 16, 2024. https://pixabay.com/nl/sound-effects/writing-with-fountain-pen-nib-70563/.
William_King. 2024. “Separation”. Accessed May 16, 2024. https://pixabay.com/nl/music/solo-gitaar-separation-185196/.
William_King. 2023. “Stalemate (Relaxing Acoustic Nylon Guitar)”. Accessed May 16, 2024. https://pixabay.com/nl/music/akoestische-groep-stalemate-relaxing-acoustic-nylon-guitar-149916/.
Call Me Kartini - the podcast 
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