I had the privilege of working under the supervision of Professor Michael Cullinane, Associate Director of the Center of Southeast Asian Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and Professor G.G. Weix from the University of Montana. Professor Cullinane provided invaluable advice on identifying potential respondents for oral history interviews and granted me access to the SEASSI archives. His expertise as a historian also broadened the scope of my research. Additionally, Professor G.G. Weix facilitated access to an oral history interview with Prof. John U. Wolff, an early Indonesian language instructor, and the archives at Cornell University.-Eko Widianto
Meet Eko Widianto, an AIFIS-Luce Fellow Researcher at the Center of Southeast Asian Studies, University of Wisconsin-Madison. His research delves into the history of teaching Indonesian in the United States from the 1940s to the present day. From June - July 2024 he was immersed in field research, primarily conducting oral history interviews at the Southeast Asian Studies Summer Institute, UW-Madison. Eko also explored numerous archives including the UW-Madison Memorial Library and the Olin Library at Cornell University. His work sheds new light on the educational and cultural intersections between Indonesia and the United States.
Check out this interview conducted by Eko Widianto in conversation with Toenggoel P. Siagian, focusing on the history of teaching Indonesian in the United States!