Head of the Doctoral Program in Cultural Studies Udayana University Invited to Southeast Asian Literature and Visual Culture Conference in Naples, Italy

• Posted by: Admin
• Senin, 17 Maret 2025
• Has been read 48 time(s)

The Head of the Doctoral Program in Cultural Studies and lecturer in the Indonesian Literature Program at the Faculty of Humanities, Udayana University (FIB Unud), Prof. I Nyoman Darma Putra, M.Litt., was invited as a speaker at the international conference Voices from Southeast Asia: Literature and Visual Culture held at the University of Naples L'Orientale, Italy, on Monday, March 17, 2025.

At the conference, Prof. Darma Putra presented a paper titled "The Heterogeneity of Literature and Its Development in Response to Social and Technological Changes: The Case of Bali."

The conference featured six speakers from Italy, Vietnam, Malaysia, France, the Philippines, and Indonesia. Three attended in person, while the other three presented online. In addition to Prof. Darma Putra, the other five speakers and their respective presentations were as follows:

1. Prof. Antonia Soriente, University of Naples L'Orientale (Italy), "What do we talk about when we talk about Indonesian literature?"
2. Prof. Thuy Hien Le, University of Naples L'Orientale (Italy), "Understanding Vietnam through comics"
3. A/Prof. Michela Nessi, INALCO (France), "Modern Vietnamese Literature: Towards New Horizons"
4. Prof. Sharifah Aishah Osman, Universiti Malaya (Malaysia), "Empowerment through Storytelling: Amplifying the Voices of Women and Children through Malaysian Youth Literature and Culture"
5. Prof. Jayson Petras, University of the Philippines (Philippines), "Voices from the Archipelago: The Diversity of Philippine Literatures"

The conference was attended by 15 participants, consisting of Italian lecturers and students, and lasted nearly four hours.

In her opening speech as the conference initiator, Prof. Antonia Soriente expressed her delight in bringing together six speakers to discuss literature and visual culture in various Southeast Asian countries.

"This is certainly a vast topic. Because of its breadth, we can select interesting aspects to discuss," said the Indonesian literature and language expert, who has translated several Indonesian novels into Italian, including Saman by Ayu Utami and Tarian Bumi by Oka Rusmini.

In addition to literature, the conference also covered topics such as literary translation, comics and cartoons as a literary genre, literature and performing arts, storytelling, and literature in the context of national identity.

"Hopefully, in the future, a larger conference can be held to discuss both longstanding issues and new developments in Southeast Asian literature and visual culture," Prof. Antonia expressed.

Prof. Darma Putra conveyed his gratitude to Prof. Antonia for inviting him as a speaker at the conference. He emphasized that this event was a form of institutional collaboration, in addition to being part of a student exchange program between FIB Unud and the Department of Asia, Africa, and the Mediterranean (DAAM) at the University of Naples L'Orientale.

In recent years, Prof. Antonia has consistently facilitated the exchange of Italian students studying the Indonesian language to directly experience learning at the Faculty of Humanities Studies, Udayana University. (*)