Indonesians have forgotten the genocidal violence of 1965. Or have they? In this town in Central Java, locals and officials recently gathered for a remarkable commemorative service to the 1965 dead. Gerry van Klinken investigates. "Every time I visit Indonesia...
What’s not to love about a big Indonesian wedding? Food, socialization, and the chance to pull on your best kebaya. But, writes Jacqueline Hicks, for Indonesia’s political and economic elites, they are much more than that....
One-Tété Lohkay and Alida, the legend of the enslaved woman whose breast was cut off, have become folk heroines. What to do asks Jessica Roitman, an historian who wonders if these disfigurements occurred?...
This weekend Anne-Lot Hoek reports for NRC Handelsblad and Reporter Radio KRO-NCRV about the forgotten bloodbath in Rengat, Sumatra. The idea was to find out what happened. But what happened was not what struck her most. Every year a memorial service ...
Earthquakes resulting from the extraction of natural gas for decades on end are now taking a heavy toll on the people of Groningen in the north of Holland. Typically, according to Willem van der Molen, the Dutch government reacts to the demand...
To my surprise I encountered an old Oral History project of mine, the SMGI, featuring in a novel, writes Fridus Steijlen. And it plays its role with excellence. Between 1997 and 2001 I coordinated the oral history project...
Chris Chaplin reflects on recent debates about radical Islam in Indonesia and warns against the use of simplistic labels. Islam in Indonesia has recently been in media headlines for all the wrong reasons, as the ...
Thursday morning January 14, a terrorist attack in downtown Jakarta was on the news. Media contacted KITLV for comments. How did Dutch media react? Observations by Henk Schulte Nordholt and Fridus Steijlen....
Lotte Akkerman, Kimberley Bootsma, and Bente de Leede reflect on a public symposium held at the National Archives about the KITLV project Dutch Military Operations in Indonesia, 1945-1950. They explain that...
A little more than three years ago Ridho Reinanda joined KITLV as a researcher in the Elite Network Shifts project. Since then he found several things to be done that are unavoidable for applying computational approaches...