BUILDING IDENTITY IN GLOBAL REALITY: A POSTCOLONIAL STUDY ON RAJAA ALSANEA'S BANAT AR-RIYADH
Hindun Ichsan(1*)
(1) Universitas Gadjah Mada
(*) Corresponding Author
Abstract
This study aims to examine the novel Banaat ar-Riyadh (Girls of Riyadh) from the perspective of globalization using a postcolonial approach. This novel was written by Rajaa Alsanea, a Riyadhi girl who moved to the United States of America and then published her novel in Lebanon. The novel was written in the form of a series of electronic mails sent by four young Riyadhi girls who discuss the contestation between traditional Saudi Arabian norms and American norms. Fittingly, this study uses postcolonial theory, with the theoretical framework of globalization as a basis for investigating the aspects identified in the theory, such as mimicry, inferiority, and hybridity, and applies deductive qualitative method from a globalization perspective. The results of this study indicate the influence of American culture on the lives of Saudi Arabians. The influence of American culture is obtained through Saudi people, both men and women, who study and work in the United States. It is the relationship between Arab culture and American culture that influences the Arab way of thinking, which leads to certain behavioral changes. Some Arabs, previously compliant to their traditional values, display behavorial changes that are inspired by Americans, especially American women. Arab women who are supposed to constantly obey state rules, want changes which they adopt from American culture.
Penelitian ini bertujuan meneliti novel Banaat ar-Riyadh dari perspektif globalisasi dengan mengambil pendekatan poskolonial. Novel ini ditulis oleh Rajaa Alsanea, seorang gadis Riyadh yang pindah ke Amerika Serikat lalu menerbitkan novelnya di Lebanon. Novel ini berbentuk rangkaian surat elektronik yang dikirimkan oleh empat sekawan gadis-gadis Riyadh yang membicarakan kontestasi antara norma-norma tradisional Arab Saudi dengan norma-norma Amerika Serikat. Oleh karena itu, penelitian ini menggunakan teori poskolonial, serta globalisasi sebagai landasan untuk melihat aspek-aspek yang dikemukakan dalam teori tersebut, yaitu mimikri, inferioritas, dan hibriditas, dengan metode deduktif kualitatif yang ditempatkan dalam perspektif globalisasi. Hasil dari penelitian ini menunjukkan adanya pengaruh budaya Amerika pada tata kehidupan sebagian orang Arab Saudi. Pengaruh budaya Amerika itu diperoleh melalui orang-orang Arab Saudi, baik laki-laki maupun perempuan, yang menempuh studi dan bekerja di Amerika. Keterhubungan antara budaya Arab dengan budaya Amerika inilah yang memengaruhi pemikiran orang Arab, yang kemudian berdampak pada perubahan perilaku. Orang Arab yang semula berpegang teguh pada aturan-aturan tradisi kemudian menginginkan perubahan-perubahan yang mengarah pada pada perilaku orang Amerika yang mereka lihat, terutama pada perempuan. Perempuan Arab, yang diharuskan patuh pada aturan-aturan yang dibuat oleh negara, menginginkan perubahan-perubahan dengan mengadopsi budaya Amerika.
Keywords
Full Text:
PDFReferences
Al Alhareth, Y., Al Alhareth, Y., & Al Dighrir, I. (2015). Review of Women and Society in Saudi Arabia. American Journal of Educational Research, 3(2), 121–125.
Algahtani, Noura. (2016). “The Impact of Socio-Cultural Contexts on the Reception of Contemporary Saudi Novels” in Sociology Study Vol. 16 No 2, 104-110 February 2016. David Publishing.
Alsaleh, S. A. (2012). Gender inequality in Saudi Arabia: Myth and reality. International Proceedings of Economics Development & Research, 39(1), 123–130.
Alsanea, Rajaa. (2004). Banāt ar-Riyadh. Beirut: Join Aafaq Group.
Arika, Merdu dan Novi Ramadhani. (2018). “An-Niswiyah fi Riwayah Banaat ar-Riyadh li Rajaa Abdullah Alsanea” in Bulletin al-Turas Vol 24, No 1. Jakarta: Faculty of Adab and Humanities, UIN Syarif Hidayatullah.
Bhabha, H.K. (1994). The Location of Culture. London dan New York: Routledge.
Booth, Marilyn. (2010). “The Muslim Woman” as Celebrity Author and the Politics of Translating Arabic: Girls of Riyadh Go on the Road” in Journal of Middle East Women’s Studies Vol.6, Number 3, Fall 2010. Indiana University Press. p 149-182
Foulcher, K., & Day, T. (2008). Sastra Indonesia modern: Kritik postkolonial. Jakarta: Yayasan Obor Indonesia.
Giddens, A. (2013). The Consequences Of Modernity. New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons.
Graham-Harrison, Emma. (2018). Saudi Arabia Issues First Driving Licences to Women. Dari laman http://theguardian.com.world/2018/jun/05/. Accessed on July 18, 2018.
Hall, S. (1997). The work of representation. Representation: Cultural Representations and Signifying Practices, 2, 13–74.
KumparanNEWS. (2017). 5 Kebijakan Baru Arab Saudi yang “Membebaskan” Perempuan. Rabu, 27 September 2017. Accessed on July 18, 2018.
McGrew, A., & Held, D. (2002). Governing Globalization: Power, Authority And Global Governance. Cambridge: Polity Press.
Prabhu, A. (2012). Hybridity: Limits, Transformations, Prospects. New York: SUNY Press.
Qusti, Raid. (2006). "Court Case Against Rajaa Al-Sanea". www.arabnews.com Mon. 2006-10-09.
Rajkhan, S. (2014). Women in Saudi Arabia: Status, Rights, and Limitations.Bothell: University of Washington Bothell.
Syahril. (2014). “Arena of Cultural Production and Symbolic Violence against Banaat ar-Riyadh Novel: Sociological Perspective Pierre Bourdieu” in Journal Peuradeun Vol 2, Number 1, January 2014. SCAD Independent. p 75-82.
Sumayyah, Alalami. (2019). “Identity Crises in Contemporary Saudi Arabian Women’s Writing”. PhD Thesis. Arabic and Middle Eastern Studies, Faculty of Arts, Humanities, and Culture. University of Leeds.
Thalib, Amirah Anis. (2013). “Saudi Arabian Women’s Marriage Life in Girls of Riyadh, a Novel by Rajaa Alsanea: Subordination and Struggle”. Faculty of Culture Studies, Universitas Brawijaya. https://media.neliti.com/media/publications/187143
Tomlinson, J. (1999). Globalization and culture. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Tribunnews. (2018). 11 Larangan yang Harus Dipatuhi Wanita Arab Saudi, Termasuk Tidak Boleh Naik Transportasi Umum. From www.tribunnews.com. Accessed on June 20, 2018.
Ware, Vron. (2010). “The New Literary Front: Public Diplomacy and the Cultural Politics of Reading Arabic Fiction in Translation”
Waters, M. (1995). Globalization. London and New York: Routledge.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.22146/poetika.v9i1.63956
Article Metrics
Abstract views : 2698 | views : 4068Refbacks
- There are currently no refbacks.
Copyright (c) 2021 Poetika : Jurnal Ilmu Sastra
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.