Discourses of ethnic accommodation: Issues of othering in Indonesia Susana Widyastuti A thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Department of Linguistics Faculty of Human Sciences Macquarie University Sydney, Australia April 2016 i Acknowledgements The completion of this thesis would not have been possible without the support and encouragement of several special people. Hence, I would like to take this opportunity to show my gratitude to those who have assisted me in a myriad of ways. First of all, I would like to thank my supervisor, the late Emeritus Professor Christopher Candlin, who passed away four months before the completion of this effort. He was a really special person, and I will never forget his affection and support. He was always prepared to sit and listen to my troubles and always made me feel as if my work mattered. I owe further gratitude to my current supervisor, Dr. Peter Roger, for his valuable advice and guidance to improve my thesis and to finalize everything at the closing stages of my thesis. This thesis could not have been completed without his indispensable direction and encouragement. The willingness of both my supervisors to offer me so much of their time and intellect is the major reason this thesis has been completed. This thesis is dedicated to two precious persons who have made this all possible – my husband, Jalu, who has been a constant source of love, support and encouragement, and my daughter, Revive, who, as her name suggests, always revives my soul and cheers up my day. I would like to thank my parents, brothers and sisters for keeping me in their prayers. I have also had the good fortune to study with some wonderful people, especially Pei Soo, Daniel Changpeng Huan, Agus Maradona, and Dahlia Sartika from whom I have learned a lot. Their ability to remain always upbeat despite their own difficulties provided me with a balanced perspective that will always remain. My debt is also extended to my Hillsong Church and Indonesian Christian Macquarie Fellowship friends who have made my life in Sydney so enjoyable. I would like to thank them for sharing their life genuinely and for praying for me continuously. I would like to extend my appreciation to DIKTI (the Indonesian Directorate General of Higher Education) for its generosity in granting me a full PhD scholarship. I also would like to express my gratitude to the important people at Yogyakarta State University, Indonesia – the rector, International office staff, and my colleagues at the Department of English Education – for their invaluable support. ii Abstract This discourse-based research investigates discourses of ethnic accommodation within the context of ethnic othering of Chinese Indonesians in Indonesia. The overriding purposes of this research are twofold, to identify and illuminate discursive indications of ethnic accommodation; and to formulate actions that can be taken to reduce the effects of othering so as to create more accommodative environments, particularly through discursive means. The research adopts a multi-perspectival approach by incorporating multiple analytical perspectives with relevant theories, methods and data and by taking interdiscursivity as a key apparatus in the research. Integrating the principles of discourse analysis, ethnography and social psychology as its theoretical and methodological underpinnings, the research incorporates five studies representing four analytical perspectives: (1) the social historical perspective; (2) the semiotic perspective; (3) the participants’ perspective; and (4) the analyst’s perspective. Two types of data are examined, namely, government policies and narratives of personal experience which are drawn from three key sites, i.e. schools, churches, and businesses. By incorporating the micro and macro dimensions of discourse, all the perspectives are embraced as a unified whole in order to provide grounded and all-embracing explanations, rather than simple descriptions or interpretations, of situated discursive practices of ethnic accommodation. The discourse analytical findings of the five studies can be synthesized into two main points, which are best explained within the social historical context of the construction of the Chinese Other under three Indonesian regimes, the Old Order, the New Order, and the Reform. Firstly, with respect to indications of ethnic accommodation, the semiotic perspective suggests that, at the state level, Indonesia has ideologically moved away from othering and towards accommodation of Chinese Indonesians. This ideological change is enacted by the Reform regime and is demonstrated through the foregrounding of human rights protection and the annulment of othering practices through the Reform policies. The participants’ perspective articulates the societal level of ethnic accommodation. Participants’ perceptions of social reality can be distilled into four interconnected focal themes – equality, acceptance, tolerance, and trust. Within these themes, the Reform period is perceived as more accommodative than the New Order era, although some traces of subtle forms of othering practices are still iii evident. In reacting to social reality due to othering, participants demonstrate positive behaviours, e.g. hard work and resilience, to overcome it and, to manage their relations with the majority society, embrace adaptation into mainstream society while retaining aspects of their Chinese identity. These behaviours, this research argues, may contribute to fostering the accommodation of Chinese Indonesians within that wider Indonesian society. Secondly, this research argues for the urgency of further practical actions in order to address the gaps between the ideal and real world, or the state and societal level, of ethnic accommodation so as to create ethnically accommodative environments. The research proposes relevant discursive actions to constitute ‘integrated strategies of ethnic accommodation’ which, it is argued, can be effective if implemented by and through various levels of society – the state, organizations, and individuals; and targeted at and practised by both the minority and majority groups. These actions flow from a key finding that has emerged in this research, i.e. achieving ethnic accommodation entails political support by the government, social change in society, and behavioural change by individuals. In this research, ethnic accommodation emerges as a complex, contested, and co- constructed social phenomenon, particularly within its political, social and psychological dimensions. The research concludes by suggesting that discourse analysis, through a multi- perspectival approach, offers an overarching resource for addressing social problems of ethnic accommodation and for reflection that is of practical relevance for the Indonesian government, Indonesian society at large, and Chinese Indonesians in particular. iv Certificate of Originality I hereby certify that this work is the result of my own research and that the work has not been submitted for a higher degree to any other institution university or institution. I certify that sources of information used and the extent to which the work of others has been utilized have been indicated in the thesis. This research was granted approval by the Macquarie University Human Research Ethics Committee (Reference no. 5201200311) and conducted in accordance with the guidelines stipulated. Susana Widyastuti April 2016 v Table of Contents Acknowledgements ............................................................................................................... i Abstract …………………………………………………………………………… .... ……ii Certificate of Originality …………………………………………………………………iv Table of Contents ................................................................................................................ v List of Figures ………………………………………………………………………....…. ix List of Tables ……………………………………………………………………………... x Chapter 1 Introduction .................................................................................................... 1 1.1 Research objectives ................................................................................................ 5 1.2 Key themes in the study ......................................................................................... 5 1.2.1 Ethnicity and identity ................................................................................... 5 1.2.2 Ethnic othering: The Self and the Other ...................................................... 7 1.2.3 Ethnic accommodation ................................................................................ 9 1.3 Approaching discourses of ethnic accommodation ............................................. 13 1.4 Overview of chapters ........................................................................................... 14 Chapter 2 A multi-perspectival approach to discourses of ethnic accommodation: From ontology to methodology .................................................................... 15 2.1 On the ontology ................................................................................................... 16 2.1.1 Delineating discourse ................................................................................. 17 2.1.2 Approaching discourse .............................................................................. 19 2.2 On the methodology: Charting the research map ................................................ 23 2.2.1 The socio-historical perspective: