 English Language Studies Graduate Program once again just held the annual Graduate Students Conference (GSC) for the 11th time last Saturday (6/11). Unlike the fully online conference last year, this year’s GSC was held in a hybrid fashion, both online and offline. This hybrid system is made possible as this year’s GSC invited two plenary speakers from Indonesia and overseas, the first speaker is Michael Nieto Garcia, Ph.D. from Clarkson University, USA and the second speaker is Father P. Mutiara Andalas, S.J., S.T.D. from Universitas Sanata Dharma. Hence, allowing the presence of Father Andalas in the venue to deliver his presentation while being accompanied by the committee. “The first plenary session by Michael Garcia describes this challenge as the ‘Digital Dark Ages’ which is mainly characterized by the new media ‘illiteracy’ and mass ignorance. Meanwhile, in the second part of the plenary session by Father Andalas, the challenges encountered to develop critical thinking are the idea in society that critical thinking is only limited to the branch of philosophy, the idea of dogmatism that stops critical thinking, and the idea of superficiality in everyday life”, as quoted in the synthesis delivered by the plenary session moderator, Esther Deborah Kalauserang. Meanwhile, in the parallel session, a total of eleven (11) papers from 3 sub-themes were presented to a total of thirteen (13) participants.
While many of the presenters share their thoughts and struggles regarding the speedy time they had in the preparation, the conference remains insightful for both the presenters and participants who attended. The chair of the committee of the 11th GSC, Clara Pontifisia, shared her response to this year's conference by stating, “This year’s GSC holds its own challenges and still has many rooms for improvement, but it was a great learning experience for the board, and everyone involved. Moreover, the opportunity to invite two credible speakers is what makes this year’s GSC feels more contributory. My gratitude goes to the whole board of committee, our advisor, the lecturers, and the staff of ELS who compassionately worked hard to prepare for this conference and made it possible despite the aforementioned challenges. It is my hope that the next GSC can be even better and can expand its wings even further as we have learned from this year and last year's GSC that distance is no longer an obstacle when it comes to learning and improving ourselves as scholars”. (CP)
The link to the conference YouTube video can be accessed here
The 11th Graduate Students Conference Book can be accessed here
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