Mely G. Tan
Mely G. Tan | |
|---|---|
| Born | Mely Tan Giok Lan 11 June 1930 Jakarta, Indonesia |
| Died | 30 April 2024 (aged 93) Jakarta, Indonesia |
| Nationality | Indonesian |
| Alma mater | University of Indonesia Cornell University University of California, Berkeley |
| Known for | Studies on Chinese Indonesians |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Sociology |
| Doctoral advisor | Wolfram Eberhard (main) Robert Blauner Daniel Lev |
| Mely G. Tan | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Traditional Chinese | 陳玉蘭 | ||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 陈玉兰 | ||||||||
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| Indonesian name | |||||||||
| Indonesian | Tan Giok-lan | ||||||||
Mely Tan Giok Lan (11 June 1930 – 30 April 2024), professionally known as Mely G. Tan,[1] was an Indonesian sociologist. Tan obtained her bachelor's degree from the University of Indonesia, later receiving a scholarship to study at Cornell University. After finishing her doctorate at University of California, Berkeley, Tan returned to Indonesia and wrote extensively on economics and Chinese Indonesians.[2]
Biography
Tan was born on 11 June 1930 in Jakarta, Indonesia,[1] to a "probably fifth generation" Chinese father and second generation mother;[3] she was the third of five siblings.[1] As a child and teenager, she studied foreign languages, including Dutch, English, French, and German, speaking Dutch with her father and Indonesian with her mother.[3]
Tan studied for her bachelor's degree at the Department of Sinology at the University of Indonesia. In her third year, she entered a scientific writing competition that was organized by the Catholic Scientific Circle, winning the competition with her sociological field study. Tan later wrote that that was one of the factors that interested her in studying sociology formally; the contemporary focus on Chinese literature bored her.[4]
When G. William Skinner arrived in Jakarta to study Chinese Indonesians, Tan was chosen as one of his three apprentices. Using the opportunity to study fieldwork and research methodology, Tan spent 18 months in the position. Based on her work with him, Skinner chose Tan to receive the Cornell Southeast Asia Training Fellowship.[4] Tan later graduated from the University of Indonesia in 1959.[2]
In January 1959, Tan arrived in Ithaca, New York, to begin her studies at Cornell University. Despite slight culture shock, Tan enjoyed her studies.[5] She received her Master of Arts in sociology in 1961,[6] with her thesis based on her studies with Skinner.[4] The thesis was later published in 1963 as The Chinese of Sukabumi: A Study in Social and Cultural Accommodation.[5]
After graduation, Tan returned to Jakarta to teach sociology at the Atma Jaya Catholic University of Indonesia, Jakarta, later becoming a researcher with the Center for Economic and Social Research of the Indonesian Council of Sciences (ICS, later renamed the Indonesian Institute of Sciences) in 1963. The ICS sent her to further her studies at the University of California, Berkeley, in August 1963.[7] She later described this period as a time of great anxiety, as the political turmoil that Indonesia was experiencing – including a deteriorating economy and growing communist party – led many students to fear that their fellowships would be cancelled.[8] During her studies at Berkeley, Tan participated in sit-ins as part of the Free Speech Movement, only stopping when warned that she could be deported if arrested.[9]
Tan took her oral examination with Wolfram Eberhard, Herbert Blumer, Robert Blauner, Neil Smelser, and Daniel Lev as her examiners. After passing, Tan began work on her dissertation.[10] Tan wrote her dissertation under the guidance of Eberhard, Blauner, and Lev, with approval given on 13 June 1968. Tan became the first Indonesian to receive a PhD in sociology from Berkeley as well as the first female Indonesian with a doctorate in sociology.[11][12] The dissertation, Social Mobility and Assimilation: The Chinese in the United States, was later published in Taiwan in 1971.[6]
In August 1968, Tan returned to Indonesia.[13] Within a few months, she had become head of a subdivision at the Indonesian Institute of Sciences.[14][8] During this period, she also concentrated on advancing the teaching and study of sociology at the University of Indonesia.[12] In the early 1970s, she became involved in discussions for the economic development of Indonesia. In an article in Tempo, Tan argued for development to use local materials, manufacturers, and equipment.[15]
Afterwards, Tan later took numerous jobs as a lecturer. From 1968 to 1997, Tan taught women’s studies at the University of Indonesia. During the same period, she taught at the Jakarta Police Academy. From 1997 – 2001, Tan became the head of the research department at the Atma Jaya Catholic University of Jakarta.[16] On 15 July 1998, responding several days of rioting the previous May, Tan – together with the activists Saparinah Sadli, Mayling Oey, and Sinta Nuriyah – spoke with President B. J. Habibie regarding the need to prevent violence against women; the National Commission on Violence against Women was established later that year.[12] Charles Coppel noted that, after the riots and the violence against Chinese Indonesians that resulted, Tan's academic studies of Chinese Indonesians shifted from explorations of assimilation to questions of discrimination.[8]
As of 2008, she worked as a lecturer on Police Practices at the University of Indonesia.[17] She was recognized for her scholarship on Chinese Indonesians, social stratification, and gender and development.[12] She took the position that sociology should work together with economics and politics to promote development and allow for better understandings of cooperation.[8]
Tan died on 30 April 2024 at Medistra Hospital, Jakarta. She was 93.[12]
Recognition
Tan received six honorary medals from the government of Indonesia, including the Satyalancana Karya Satya and Bintang Mahaputra Pratama in 1995 and the Bintang Jasa Nararya in 2000.[8] Atma Jaya University opened the Mely G. Tan reading room in her honour in 2008.[8] In 2009, she received the Nabil Award. She was recognized by the newspaper Kompas with a Cendekiawan Berdedikasi Award for her dedication to academia in 2010.[12]
List of awards
- 1981: Satyalencana Sistha, for work with the Indonesian Navy[18]
- 1982: Satyalencana Dwidya Sistha, for work with the Indonesian National Police[18]
- 1989: Satyalencana Karya Satya Level II[18]
- 1995: Satyalencana Karya Satya for 30 years of work[18]
- 1995: Bintang Jasa Nararya[18]
- 2000: Bintang Mahaputera Pratama[18]
Notes
- ^ a b c Tan 2008, p. 298
- ^ a b Suryadinata 1995, p. 174
- ^ a b Tan 2008, pp. 281–282
- ^ a b c Tan 2008, pp. 280–281
- ^ a b Tan 2008, pp. 283–284
- ^ a b "Mely G. Tan". Pusat Data dan Analisa Tempo. Retrieved 3 February 2010.
- ^ Tan 2008, p. 285
- ^ a b c d e f Hermawan, Ary (19 June 2008). "Melly G. Tan: Promoting multiculturalism". The Jakarta Post. Archived from the original on 1 July 2008. Retrieved 3 February 2010.
- ^ Tan 2008, p. 286
- ^ Tan 2008, pp. 287–288
- ^ Tan 2008, pp. 288–289
- ^ a b c d e f Napitupulu, Ester Lince (30 April 2024). "Perempuan Doktor Sosiologi Pertama Indonesia Berpulang" [Indonesia's First Female Doctor of Sociology has Passed]. Kompas (in Indonesian). Archived from the original on 30 April 2024. Retrieved 30 April 2024.
- ^ Tan 2008, p. 290
- ^ Tan 2008, p. 293
- ^ Tan 2008, pp. 291–292
- ^ Tan 2008, p. 299
- ^ Tan 2008, p. 299
- ^ a b c d e f Tan 2008, pp. 300–301
References
- Suryadinata, Leo (1995), Prominent Indonesian Chinese: Biographical Sketches (3rd ed.), Singapore: Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, ISBN 978-981-3055-04-9.
- Tan, Mely G. (2008), Etnis Tionghoa di Indonesia: Kumpulan Tulisan [Ethnic Chinese in Indonesia: A Collection of Writings], Jakarta: Yayasan Obor Indonesia, ISBN 978-979-461-689-5.
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