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Language, Memory, and the Natural World in Storytelling by the English Language Studies Graduate Program

30/03/2026 WIB

Friday, March 27, 2026 – The English Language Studies (KBI) Graduate Program of Universitas Sanata Dharma held a public lecture titled “Language, Memory, and the Natural World in Storytelling: Ecocritical Approaches.” The session took place in Room 304 of the Graduate Building from 14.00 until 15.30 WIB. The lecture featured Prof. Dra. Novita Dewi, M.S., M.A. (Hons.), Ph.D., a professor from the KBI program, as the speaker.

This event was organized as part of a thesis writing support series for both undergraduate and graduate students. The goal of the session was to help students turn literary texts into research topics using a clear framework.

The lecture focused on Ecocriticism, which looks at how literature and the physical environment connect. Prof. Novita explained that nature in a story is not just a passive background. Instead, the environment can act and respond to what humans do. Using the story 'Crying Cuckoos over the Kahayan' by Han Gagas, she showed how a river can become an “active agent” that suffers from pollution and impacts the health of a community.


During the session, participants learned how to:

- Formulate an analytical research question instead of just retelling the story.
- Identify data by extracting specific words and descriptions from a text.
- Apply a "Mini Thesis Blueprint" to organize their titles, theories, and methods.

The event was attended by many students and lecturers, including those from Universitas Sanata Dharma and other institutions such as Universitas Katolik Widya Mandala Madiun and Universitas Pignatelli Triputra. Notably, KBI alumni also joined the session to participate in the academic discussion. Prof. Novita closed the talk by encouraging students to start their research by listening closely to the stories found in nature.

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