On Thursday (16/5), the Architecture Study Program of the Architecture Department, Faculty of Engineering, Universitas Indonesia (FTUI) held a guest lecture featuring Dr. Julie Nichols from the University of South Australia. She delivered a lecture titled “Yarning as a Research Method: Myth; Memories; Imagination.” The lecture was held in person in the Seminar Room, FTUI Architecture Department Building, from 7:30 to 9:30 WIB, attended by students from the Heritage Architecture course.
“Yarning,” a term Julie mentioned in her presentation, is a process of listening to stories from related parties, often passed down through generations.
Julie uses the yarning process as a research method. In the contemporary context, where architectural practice in Australia seeks conceptual and pragmatic processes to design ‘Country,’ this is an intriguing narrative and a potential learning experience to explore how to honour and respect First Nations Peoples and decolonize design processes through the Makassan community residing in Northeast Arnhem Land and the Yolngu descendants rooted in Makassar.
Her approach involves borrowing stories, images, art forms like weaving, skills like boat-building, forensic archaeology, anecdotal tales, conversations, and interviews to provide an impression of the historically built environment in both destinations. The goal is to conceptually map a discursive terrain that reimagines relationships leading to the construction of a diverse and enduring maritime historical identity and living spaces they have built.
“Anthropologist Fred Myers, after conducting long-term field research with the Pintupi people in Central Australia, referred to their landscape as a ‘series of stories,’ a land made up of stories, not atoms,'” Julie quoted from McBryde’s journal (2014).
FTUI Dean, Prof. Dr. Ir. Heri Hermansyah, S.T., M.Eng., IPU, stated, “I extend my gratitude to Dr. Julie for graciously coming and delivering a guest lecture at FTUI. The lecture titled ‘Yarning as a Research Method: Myth; Memories; Imagination’ opens a new perspective in Heritage Architecture studies, encouraging students to delve deeper through narrative and imaginative approaches. We hope that such academic collaborations continue to enrich the learning experience of our students. May the material presented by Dr. Julie be beneficial and inspiring to the attendees.”
Dr. Julie Nichols is a Senior Lecturer and founder of the Vernacular Knowledge Research Group at the University of South Australia. Her main research interests connect the fields of urban history and theory, urban cartography, and urban design through drawing and representation practices. Julie’s interdisciplinary research interests include digital heritage, reconceptualizing vernacular architecture, Islamic & cross-cultural history, and spatial design theory in Indonesian cities. These perspectives are evident in her current research projects in Indonesia and Australia, focusing on the reconstruction of post-disaster cultural heritage sites, archive management, and cultural heritage tourism.
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Faculty of Engineering, Universitas Indonesia
