On Monday, the Indonesian Language and Literature Education Program at the Faculty of Language and Literature Education, Indonesia University of Education (UPI), held a public lecture on “Literature, Culture, and Globalization”. The guest speaker was Prof. Dr. Mikihiro Moriyama, a professor at Nazan University in Japan. The event was held in a hybrid format in the Auditorium on the 4th floor of the FPBS UPI building and via Zoom Meeting, attended by lecturers and students of the Indonesian Language and Literature Education Program at FPBS UPI on March 27, 2023.
The event was opened by Dr. Rudi Adi Nugroho, M.Pd., as the host and moderator, followed by a welcoming speech from the Vice Dean 1 of FPBS UPI, Dr. Yulianeta, M.Pd. In her speech, Yulianeta expressed her gratitude and familiarity with Prof. Miki, whom she affectionately calls Kang Miki because of his proficiency in Sundanese language. She also mentioned the importance of the lecture on Literature, Culture, and Globalization, which is highly valuable for the students.
During the lecture, Prof. Mikihiro shared his experience of learning Indonesian and Sundanese language and literature. He discussed various topics related to globalization discourse, the world literature system, English literature in globalization, and the study of literature and globalization. “Globalization discourse refers to rhetoric, narrative, and image that make globalization as a discourse for globality, something that can be abstractly defined in the scope of globalization,” he said.
“World literature is a system, as Italian scholar Franco Moretti wrote in his article Conjectures on World Literature, a reflection on world literature. Nowadays, national literature is not significant. Second, the world literature is uneven, and third, distant reading.” Mikihiro continued.
He further explained that the world literature system contains diversity. Literature is crucial because it has a strong position to enlighten the phenomenon of globalization. Mikihiro also emphasized the importance of understanding the history of globalization and its relation to the study of national literature.
“In conclusion, how do we globalize the study of literature? We need to differentiate the globalization of literature studies, where literary studies cannot be globalized without a full understanding of keywords, issues, discussions, analyzing and discussing the phenomenon of globalization, for example, LGBTQ. Globalization of literature studies needs to be understood in a long history, not just based on current events in the globalization era,” he explained.
During his lecture, Prof. Miki reminded students that when discussing theory, it is essential to consider its usefulness. “Literature has a system. We must be critical of theories, but what is important is that we use our time here as best we can. We must also utilize theories that are useful,” he said.
The event concluded with a Q&A session and a photo session. Dr. Isah Cahyani, M.Pd. presented a souvenir to Prof. Miki on behalf of the faculty.