Aloysius Sartono Kartodirdjo (15 February 1921 – 7 December 2007) was an Indonesian historian. A pioneer in Indonesia's
postcolonial
Postcolonialism is the critical academic study of the cultural, political and economic legacy of colonialism and imperialism, focusing on the impact of human control and exploitation of colonized people and their lands. More specifically, it is a ...
historiography, he was and is considered one of the most influential historians in the country.
Early life and education
Sartono was born in
Wonogiri Regency
Wonogiri Regency is a regency () in the southeastern part of Central Java province in Indonesia. It covers an area of 1,822.36 km2, and its population was 928,904 at the 2010 Census and 1,096,138 at the 2020 Census. The capital and largest t ...
, in the southeastern part of
Central Java
Central Java ( id, Jawa Tengah) is a province of Indonesia, located in the middle of the island of Java. Its administrative capital is Semarang. It is bordered by West Java in the west, the Indian Ocean and the Special Region of Yogyakarta in t ...
Province, on 15 February 1921. He was the last of three children in an
Abangan
The ''Abangan'' are Javanese people who are Muslims and practice a much more syncretic version of Islam than the more orthodox santri. The term, apparently derived from the Javanese language word for red, ''abang'', was first developed by Clif ...
family. He studied at colonial schools, with his father Tjitrosarojo an employee of the postal service. Tjitrosarojo wanted Sartono to become a doctor, but the latter rejected claiming his
fear of blood.
Sartono had developed an interest in history during his teenage years, having stayed in the vicinity of
Borobudur Temple
Borobudur, also transcribed Barabudur ( id, Candi Borobudur, jv, ꦕꦤ꧀ꦝꦶꦧꦫꦧꦸꦝꦸꦂ, Candhi Barabudhur) is a 9th-century Mahayana Buddhist temple in Magelang Regency, not far from the town of Muntilan, in Central Java, Indone ...
for a month.
Career
After graduating from
MULO, Sartono for a time enrolled at a
Brother
A brother is a man or boy who shares one or more parents with another; a male sibling. The female counterpart is a sister. Although the term typically refers to a familial relationship, it is sometimes used endearingly to refer to non-familia ...
's School before becoming a schoolteacher in 1941. Following Indonesia's independence and the end of the
Indonesian National Revolution
The Indonesian National Revolution, or the Indonesian War of Independence, was an armed conflict and diplomatic struggle between the Republic of Indonesia and the Dutch Empire and an internal social revolution during Aftermath of WWII, postw ...
, he enrolled at the
University of Indonesia
The University of Indonesia ( id, Universitas Indonesia, abbreviated as UI) is a public university in Depok, West Java and Salemba, Jakarta, Indonesia. It is one of the oldest tertiary-level educational institutions in Indonesia (known as the Dut ...
in 1950, graduating in 1956 and beginning to teach at
Gadjah Mada University
Gadjah Mada University ( jv, ꦈꦤꦶꦥ꦳ꦼꦂꦱꦶꦠꦱ꧀ꦓꦗꦃꦩꦢ; id, Universitas Gadjah Mada, abbreviated as UGM) is a Public university, public research university located in Sleman Regency, Sleman, Yogyakarta (special region) ...
before continuing his studies at
Yale University
Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wo ...
between 1962 and 1964.
At Yale, Sartono studied under
Harry J. Benda, and then studied under at
Amsterdam University
The University of Amsterdam (abbreviated as UvA, nl, Universiteit van Amsterdam) is a public research university located in Amsterdam, Netherlands. The UvA is one of two large, publicly funded research universities in the city, the other being ...
.
During his time in the Netherlands, Sartono found archival records of the
1888 Banten peasants' revolt, which led to his dissertation and later publication.
It was the first recipient of the Benda Prize – for first publication in Southeast Asian studies – in 1977.
He was made a professor at Gadjah Mada in 1968.
By the 1980s, his eyevision had worsened rendering him nearly blind. However, he continued to teach and release commentaries. He was part of a team of historians tasked by the
New Order government to compile a National History series, however, the final volume of the series was blocked by Sartono, as he did not want to align with the government's account of the
1965 coup.
Style
Sartono pioneered the
postcolonial
Postcolonialism is the critical academic study of the cultural, political and economic legacy of colonialism and imperialism, focusing on the impact of human control and exploitation of colonized people and their lands. More specifically, it is a ...
historiography now widespread among Indonesian historians, using social and cultural analysis at a grassroots level not unlike India's
Subaltern Studies
The Subaltern Studies Group (SSG) or Subaltern Studies Collective is a group of South Asian scholars interested in the postcolonial and post-imperial societies. The term ''Subaltern Studies'' is sometimes also applied more broadly to others who sha ...
. He presented complex images of history, contrary to the simplified, nationalistic history which was commonly spread during his time by the New Order government.
One such example was Sartono's use of the 1925 political manifesto by
Perhimpoenan Indonesia
The Perhimpoenan Indonesia (PI) (Eng: Indonesian Association; Dutch: Indonesische Vereniging) was an association for Indonesian students in the Netherlands in the first half of the twentieth century. It was established under the Dutch name ''Indis ...
as the key marker of Indonesian nationalism, instead of the 1928
Youth Pledge
The Youth Pledge ( id, Sumpah Pemuda) was a declaration made on 28 October 1928 by young Indonesian nationalists in the Second Youth Congress (). They proclaimed three ideas: one motherland, one nation and one language.Ricklefs (1982) p177
Back ...
as commonly used by the Indonesian government.
Legacy
His works are extremely influential in Indonesian history studies, with many of his books becoming key references for future history students.
Adrian Vickers
Adrian Vickers is an Australian author, historian and professor of Southeast Asian Studies at the University of Sydney. He writes a blog on Indonesian subjects. He has studied and documented Gambuh dance traditions, Panji (prince) stories, and ot ...
, who referred to Sartono as "Indonesia's greatest historian of the twentieth century", noted that most younger historians in Indonesia based their work on Sartono's historiographic paradigms.
Many of his students later became Indonesia's leading historians.
The Sartono Kartodirdjo award has been awarded annually by the Indonesian Historical Conference since 2018.
Family
In 1948, Sartono married Sri Kadarjati, who worked as a teacher. The couple had two children.
Death
He died on 7 December 2007 in
Yogyakarta
Yogyakarta (; jv, ꦔꦪꦺꦴꦒꦾꦏꦂꦠ ; pey, Jogjakarta) is the capital city of Special Region of Yogyakarta in Indonesia, in the south-central part of the island of Java. As the only Indonesian royal city still ruled by a monarchy, ...
, having suffered from illness for a long time by his death. After a funeral ceremony at Gadjah Mada University, he was buried at his family grave in
Ungaran
Ungaran (Dutch: ''Oengaran'') is a town in Central Java, Indonesia and the administrative centre of the Semarang Regency in the province of Central Java. Ungaran is located at -7° 8' 17", 110° 24' 18" at an elevation of 319 metres. It encompas ...
,
Central Java
Central Java ( id, Jawa Tengah) is a province of Indonesia, located in the middle of the island of Java. Its administrative capital is Semarang. It is bordered by West Java in the west, the Indian Ocean and the Special Region of Yogyakarta in t ...
.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sartono Kartodirdjo
1921 births
2007 deaths
University of Indonesia alumni
Yale University alumni
University of Amsterdam alumni
Academic staff of Gadjah Mada University
People from Wonogiri Regency
20th-century Indonesian historians
Indonesian Catholics