Moderator or Provocator? The Teacher’s Contribution of the Algemeene Middelbare School AI in Strengthening Indonesian Cultural Identity 1926–1932

DOI

10.2991/978-2-38476-212-5_12How to use a DOI?

Keywords

Teacher; Indologist; AMS A I

Abstract

This article analyses the story of the teachers of the Algemeene Middelbare School (AMS) AI Eastern Literature department in strengthening Indonesian cultural identity in its students from various regions in the Dutch East Indies. Indologists who teached at AMS AI were among others, Dr. W.F. Stutterheim, Dr. Th. G. Th. Pigeaud, Dr. C.C. Berg, Dr. J.H. Bavinck, C. Hooykaas, and Dr. A. Bekker. There were also indigenous teachers, like R. Katamsi and Jasawidagda. Thanks to the indologists and indigenous teachers, the school succeeded in creating an early Indonesian “golden generation”, with the likes of Amir Hamzah, Armijn Pane, Achdiat K. Mihardja, Tjan Tjoe Siem, Jartobitoe, and others. With the historical method, it is known that the teachers did contribute in seeding knowledge which became the foundation for Indonesian nationalism in the cultural sector. This historical reality deconstructs the understanding that not all indologists were ‘evil’ and agents of the colonial government who sought to strengthen colonial power. They were different from orientalists like J.H. Boeke, J.S. Furnivall, dan C. Snouck Hurgronje, because they were brave to open the minds and future in front of the indigenous students which led to Indonesia’s freedom. Concrete proof of the teacher’s role was, among others, creating a Indonesian curriculum, allowing students to indulge in politics outside class, taking students to visit historical sites to get closer to their heritage and appreciating their students’ artistical expressions on stage. The teachers strengthened Indonesian cultural nationalism, instead of killing the anti-colonial ideology.

Copyright

© 2024 The Author(s)

Open Access

Open Access This chapter is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits any noncommercial use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license and indicate if changes were made.

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TY  - CONF
AU  - Heri Priyatmoko
AU  - Singgih Tri Sulistiyono
AU  - Dhanang Respati Puguh
PY  - 2024
DA  - 2024/02/12
TI  - Moderator or Provocator? The Teacher’s Contribution of the Algemeene Middelbare School AI in Strengthening Indonesian Cultural Identity 1926–1932
BT  - Proceedings of the International Conference on Cultural Studies (ICCUS 2023)
PB  - Atlantis Press
SP  - 118
EP  - 124
SN  - 2352-5398
UR  - https://doi.org/10.2991/978-2-38476-212-5_12
DO  - 10.2991/978-2-38476-212-5_12
ID  - Priyatmoko2024
ER  -