NIU Today

Dino Patti Djalal, the newly appointed Indonesian ambassador to the United States, will deliver a public talk next week on the NIU campus.

Djalal’s presentation, titled “Indonesia’s Democratic Development:  Lesson for Transforming Societies,” will focus on progress in building and strengthening democracy in Indonesia. The event will be held at 4 p.m. Monday, Oct. 18, in the Capitol Room of Holmes Student Center.

In his native country, Djalal is a well-known government spokesman, diplomat and best-selling author. He served as presidential spokesman for President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, a post he held from October 2004 until recently, making him the longest serving presidential spokesperson in Indonesia’s modern history.

Dino Patti Djalal

Djalal holds a doctorate degree from the London School of Economics and Political Science. He has authored five books, including an Indonesian best-seller that contains political stories, anecdotes and leadership lessons from the Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono presidency, taken from Djalal’s personal diary. The book was turned into a television show in 2009 and has been translated into English with the title “The Can Do Leadership.”

“This is a great honor to be singled out to host the ambassador, especially in view of his busy schedule in Chicago,” said James Collins, director of the NIU Center for Southeast Asian Studies.  “It is a tribute to NIU’s long-standing commitment to Southeast Asian studies, in particular Indonesia. But it is also an indication of the renewed and enhanced linkages between the U.S. and Indonesia. 

 “We think there will be a lot of interest on campus in his talk,” Collins added. “Indonesia is the largest Muslim country in the world, an important trade partner for the U.S. and a strong ally in in the war against terrorism. In fact, President Obama is expected to visit Indonesia before the end of this year.”

Collins traveled to Indonesia earlier this year with Christopher McCord, dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Science, and Deborah Pierce, NIU associate provost for International Programs, to explore opportunities for expanding educational programs. Collins and McCord also traveled to the country in 2009 as members of a U.S. delegation of higher education leaders.

NIU’s Center for Southeast Asian Studies is one of a few federally funded national resource centers for study of the region. The university has a long history of hosting students from Indonesia and boasts more than 60 Indonesian alumni, including several who work within the highest reaches of academia and central government in the island nation, the world’s fourth most populous country.

“We’ve been working successfully to increase our exchange with Indonesia. Certainly, many of our faculty members would like to see it continue to grow,” Collins said.

Six NIU students have studied in Indonesia over the past two years. About a dozen Indonesian students are currently studying at NIU, which also is hosting 12 visiting scholars from the country.

“Strengthening educational exchange is a strategic priority for both the Republic of Indonesia and the United States,” Pierce added. “The visit of the ambassador to our campus highlights NIU’s significant role in expanding such cooperation.”

Related: McCord, Collins traveling to Indonesia with U.S. higher education delegation

Wicinski couldn’t be more thrilled—and proud.

That’s because it is her daughter, freshman outside hitter Lauren Wicinski, who is tearing up the court.

“I would love for her to break them all,” Gina says of her personal records.

Lauren is one of the primary reasons the Huskies opened the season with 11 consecutive wins, easily the best start in team history.

At the UIC Invitational tournament, which the Huskies won, she took home MVP honors. After the first six weeks of the season, Lauren already had been named Mid-American Conference West Division Offensive Player of the Week four times — and counting. The most recent honor came Monday, Oct. 11.

Her dominance isn’t all that surprising, though, considering that Lauren earned All-American honors during her senior year at Geneva High School.

She also was blessed with the sports gene: Not only was her mom an NIU standout, but dad Rob was an all-conference Huskie linebacker.

Rob and Gina, in fact, first met during their playing days at a combined get-together for Huskie football and volleyball players.

“After that, I started going to volleyball matches and became a groupie,” laughs Rob, now a science teacher at Geneva High School and head coach of its varsity football team.

He and Gina, a school nurse, often have returned to NIU, and Lauren and her two younger sisters grew up accompanying their parents to DeKalb for volleyball and football games.

Still, it wasn’t a foregone conclusion that Lauren would don the Huskie cardinal and black. A number of Division I universities had their sights set on the blue chip prospect, including Marquette, Loyola Marymount and Wichita State.

“We have all the NIU hardware, and it’s definitely a Huskie-flavored type of household,” Rob says. “But it was important to Gina and me that this would be Lauren’s decision. So we tried to downplay the NIU scene. It’s hard to, of course, when you’re proud of the university and you always want to represent, but Lauren had to make this decision on her own.”

NIU head coach Ray Gooden made the first scholarship offer to Lauren the summer after her sophomore year of high school, but she visited a number of other universities before making a decision.

“(Coach Gooden) knew our history and did a nice job of making sure it was not about us but rather about Lauren. That made an impression,” Gina says. “And the NIU facilities, compared to others we looked at, were just top notch.

“People always think you have to go far away,” she adds. “This is an amazing institution, and it’s right down the road.”

With aspirations of becoming an elementary school teacher, Lauren also knew she wanted to attend a university with a top education program. NIU certainly made that cut in that category. And the friendliness of Lauren’s future teammates cemented the deal.

“I just really liked the school and my teammates here,” Lauren says. “I also like how it’s close to home because otherwise it would be hard for my dad to come out to games during football season. Now he makes a lot of the games, probably more than when I was in high school. It’s easier for my mom and two sisters and grandma, too.”

Lauren also recognizes how special it is to be playing for her parents’ alma mater.

 “All along, my parents have been my role models,” she says. “It’s cool to make them proud at the university they played at and grew to love.

“The whole experience has been amazing,” she adds. “It’s crazy how much I love it here.”

by Tom Parisi

The Friday, Oct. 29, deadline is fast approaching to submit applications for NIU’s summer congressional internship program in Washington, D.C.

The competitive program will provide five NIU students with the opportunity to live, learn and work next summer in the heart of our nation’s capitol.

Each student will intern for a member of the Illinois congressional delegation and receive a $5,000 scholarship to cover housing costs and some living expenses.

More information on the program and an online application are available.

Related:

• Congressional interns learn real-life lessons during summer of work in Washington, D.C.
• NIU expands internship program in Washington, D.C.
• NIU’s congressional interns rewarded with scholarships

Jacquelynne Eccles of the University of Michigan will present a talk titled, “What Are We Doing To Our Young People? Designing Appropriate Educational Contexts for Adolescents,” from 4:30 to 5:30 p.m. Monday, Oct. 18, in the Sky Room of the Holmes Student Center.

Jacquelynne Eccles

Eccles is the McKeachie-Pintrich Distinguished University Professor of Psychology and Education and a research scientist at the Institute for Social Research at the University of Michigan.

For several decades, she has conducted interdisciplinary research aimed at better understanding and promoting optimal adolescent development. Eccles is especially interested in understanding how schools contribute to adolescents’ engagement in academics and achievement motivation by creating a developmentally appropriate learning environment.

Community members with interests in the education and development of adolescents are strongly encouraged to attend this event, which is open to the public and sponsored by the Northern Illinois University Collaborative on Early Adolescence (NIU-CEA). CPDU credit is available.

The NIU-CEA is a group of NIU faculty and staff with strong interests and expertise in adolescent development. The mission of the NIU-CEA is to support and enhance young adolescent learning and development in the academic, social, emotional, health, cultural, and civic areas of their lives.

The NIU-CEA is committed to working in partnership with schools and community youth organizations to understand the needs of the adolescents they serve, identify resources that can be accessed to address needs, and implement changes to meet adolescent needs. Visit the website or contact Nina Mounts at (815) 753-6968 or nmounts@niu.edu if you are interested in learning more about the NIU-CEA’s activities.

For more information on the event, contact Jennifer Karre at niu-cea@niu.edu  or (815) 753-8279.  Light refreshments will be served prior to the talk.

Two years ago, NIU’s popular Haunted Physics Laboratory was supersized into Spooky Science Saturday. Now the event, which uses Halloween themes to teach young people about the wonders of science, is about to get exponentially bigger.

NIU is gearing up to hold its first Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) festival from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 23, at the NIU Convocation Center.

Open to the public, STEMfest 2010 will feature spooky science demonstrations from years past — and much more. Event organizers expect the hands-on activities for children and mind-blowing exhibits to attract more than 5,000 people.

 “This has been such a popular event that we’re expanding considerably, which is why we’ve moved to the spacious NIU Convocation Center,” says Pati Sievert, NIU’s coordinator for STEM Outreach.

“We’ll have more than 100 hands-on activities, and people will be free to move around in a carnival- or festival-like atmosphere,” Sievert says. “We’ve duplicated some of the more popular exhibits, and the Convocation Center’s concession area will be open so families can take a break, get a bite to eat and relax.”

STEMfest promises to both entertain and educate. Volunteer NIU students and professors will be on hand to explain the science behind the demonstrations.

Visitors can explore a darkened laboratory made spooky by a fog machine, glowing liquids, colored shadows, lightning bolts in a plasma globe, extensive hands-on laser displays and a glowing gaze from Albert Einstein.

Other STEMfest areas will feature funhouse mirrors, levitating globes, innovative STEM research displays and mini-presentations by NIU scientists and STEM innovators from across northern Illinois.

STEMfest attendees also can learn about storm chasers; investigate the ultra-high-mileage vehicle (1,265 mpg!) and other award-winning vehicles designed by NIU students; observe sunspots and see how a telescope works; detect cosmic rays with cosmic-ray detectors and cloud chambers; create music, animations and videos in a technology playground setting; and participate in a spaghetti tower building competition.

The STEM Book-Nook will allow parents and children to preview science and engineering titles for all ages. And visitors need not go home empty-handed. They can pose for pictures that are digitally enhanced to include famous scientists or make and take home slide whistles and “talkie tapes”—thin strips of plastic with ridges that “talk” when you rub your fingernail over them.

STEMfest is part of the larger NIU STEM Outreach effort to spark young people’s interest in science, technology, engineering and math well before they reach college age.  The event is being held in coordination with the Oct. 23 U.S. Science and Engineering Festival, which will take place on the Mall in Washington, D.C., and at locations nationwide. The NIU festival is modeled after the San Diego Science Festival and successful science festivals in Europe. 

“Science, technology, engineering and mathematics—we really need to encourage young people to get involved in and get excited about these fields,” Sievert says. “The STEM fields are the driving force behind innovation, which is what made America great. Our students, as future innovators, can ensure that northern Illinois thrives in the global economy.”

Members of the public can arrive any time during the open-house event. While entrance is free, a donation is suggested, and “mood pencils” will be handed out to the first thousand donors. Parking will be available at the Convocation Center for a $5 fee. For early STEMfest attendees who would also like to take in the 3 p.m. Huskies vs. Central Michigan football game, NIU Intercollegiate Athletics will provide vouchers for reduced ticket prices.

Sievert also is looking for volunteer workers, particularly college students and teachers. Area teachers who participate will earn Continuing Professional Development Units. They also will receive a booklet on how to create similar displays for their classrooms.

To volunteer or for more information, visit the STEMfest website. The event is sponsored by Abbott Laboratories, TCF Bank, LaserFest.org, the DeKalb County Community Foundation, the Midwest Girls Collaborative Project and NIU Engineering and Technology Alumni Society.

Two prominent Indonesian leaders will present “Indonesian Update 2010: Political Islam and Regional Autonomy” at 11 a.m. Monday, Sept. 27, in the Heritage Room of the Holmes Student Center.

Professor Bahtiar Effendy, dean of the Social and Political Science Department at Syarif Hidayatullah State Islamic University in Jakarta, will discuss Islam politics in his portion of the program.

A prominent leader of Muhammadiyah, the second largest mass religious organization in Indonesia, he received his doctorate in political science at Ohio State University. He has written extensively on issues related to politics and Islam, democracy and Indonesian politics in general. He is the author of the 2004 book, “Islam and the State in Indonesia,” which was based on his dissertation and published by Ohio University Press.

Ryaas Rasyid, a member of Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono’s advisory board and formerly the country’s Minister of Regional Autonomy, will speak on regional autonomy issues. Rasyid received his master’s degree in political science from NIU in 1988. He went on to receive his doctorate from the University of Hawaii in 1994.

The lecture is co-sponsored by NIU’s Center for Southeast Asian Studies, the Political Science Department and the Division of International Programs. During their time in the U.S., the two leaders are touring several universities with Southeast Asian Studies centers, including NIU, Ohio University and the University of Hawaii.

For more information, contact the center at (815) 753-1771.

As an NIU senior majoring in political science and journalism, Dave Thomas knew Washington, D.C., is a big, busy, fast-paced and sprawling newsmaker of a town.

This past summer, he became part of it.

NIU’s 2010 Washington, D.C., interns, from left: Leigh Owano, Meagan Szydlowski, Dave Thomas, Nomeda Tautkute and Jaclyn Curtis.

While serving as an intern for U.S.  Rep. Mike Quigley (5th District), Thomas learned that congressional staffers not only work fast, but they work hard. He also learned that everything they do is for a good reason.

“It’s mindboggling the number of people that are working for the federal government,” the West Chicago resident said. “(Politicians) have staff and every committee has a staff.”

Thomas was one of five NIU students who spent three months learning the ins and outs of Washington, D.C., as part of the university’s congressional internship program.

The students worked with federal lawmakers and their staffs, stayed in George Washington University residence halls and gained valuable learning experiences in our nation’s capital.

Senior political science majors Jaclyn Curtis of Hickory Hills, Leigh Owano of Rockford, Meagan Szydlowski of Hampshire and Nomeda Tautkute also participated in the program.

“To get along in Washington, D.C., you have to adapt to a fast-paced environment; otherwise you’ll be eaten alive,” Owano said. “Working in Washington can be intimidating, but it’s so exciting.”

The Rockford resident worked with U.S. Rep. Don Manzullo’s (16th District) staff. Like Thomas, her duties included sorting mail, meeting constituents, working with full-time staff members and attending meetings and briefings.

“At one meeting, employees of the (U.S.) Department of Agriculture discussed the reduction in pollination and the collapse of bee colonies,” Owano said. “I never realized that every three to four bites of fruits and vegetables depend on pollination.”

After graduating, Owano wants to enroll in graduate school at NIU and study business. Then she wants to return to Washington D.C. to work and live.

“I always suspected I would love Washington, D.C. Now, I want to go back there as soon as I can,” she said.

This is the second year NIU’s summer internship program has been offered in Washington D.C. It was started to give students a real-life experience in the workings of democracy and government, NIU Political Science Professor Matthew Streb said. He and Department Chair Christopher Jones worked with President John Peters and Vice President for University Relations Kathryn Buettner to create the scholarship program.

“What the students learn in Washington, D.C., I could never teach in a lecture,” Streb said.

Owano and Thomas agreed.

“Washington, D.C. is one of those places you have to be thrown into to do the work and feel the environment,” Owano said. “That’s the best way to learn about it. I am so thankful to NIU for giving me the opportunity to work there during the summer.”

“It was probably one of the most enriching learning experiences I have ever had,” Thomas added. “I walked away from it with a respect for government.”

Information about the 2011 Summer Internship Program is available online. The deadline to submit an application is Friday, Oct. 29. 

by Gerard Dziuba

Christine Worobec

The work of professional historians isn’t all glitz, glamour and high drama, as fictional accounts such as “The Da Vinci Code” and “The Historian” would lead readers to believe.

“It is interesting work, but it also can be painstakingly slow,” says Christine Worobec, who is among the world’s leading historians of tsarist Russia.

Worobec has conducted pioneering work on women, folklore, peasants, family, social life, religion and even witchcraft in Russia and Ukraine during the 18th and 19th centuries. It’s a labor of love that has required frequent trips to distant countries, poring over centuries-old, hard-to-read handwritten Russian documents and overcoming uncooperative archivists and the bureaucracy of foreign governments.

By sharing her experiences with students, Worobec makes history come alive and piques their interest in cutting-edge scholarship that is sometimes so fresh it hasn’t yet reached the textbooks.

Worobec will discuss ways to incorporate research into the classroom during the inaugural Board of Trustees Professorship Seminar from noon to 1 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 28, in the Capitol Room of the Holmes Student Center.

All are welcome, and refreshments will be served prior to the presentation, titled “Scholarly Witchcraft: Research and Mentoring In and Out of the Classroom.”

Worobec was one of three professors named to the first group of NIU Board of Trustees Professors in 2008. The professorships recognize outstanding faculty, especially those who have earned national or international acclaim for their scholarship and continue to engage students in their research and professional activities.

“I try to give students a glimpse of what it’s like to be a professional historian,” Worobec says. “Students will ask, ‘How much are you paid to do book reviews and write articles?’ When you say, ‘Zero,’ their eyes open wide.”

Worobec retired in August but continues to work on research topics with students and scholars alike. She has written and edited books that have become widely adopted in classrooms across the country and world.

“Throughout her career, Christine Worobec has done an exemplary job of using her own research experiences to engage, captivate and mentor students of history,” NIU Provost Ray Alden said. “We’re thrilled to have her share her talents, experiences and the secrets to her success in this first Board of Trustees Professorship Seminar.”

In addition to being a top scholar and educator, Worobec has mentored countless students and junior faculty — not only at NIU but at universities nationwide.

She and her husband, David Kyvig, a distinguished research professor of history who also recently retired from NIU, frequently opened their DeKalb home to graduate students. Each, in fact, conducted graduate-level seminars from their home this past spring.

“Mentoring takes time and patience,” says Worobec, who previously served as director of graduate studies in the Department of History. “In my field of Russian history, I benefitted from the mentorship of several scholars who were very generous in helping younger faculty members. I feel it is important to carry on that work.”

During her seminar, Worobec also will talk about her latest research project. She was named a fellow of the Institute for Advanced Studies in Paris and spent the summer there collaborating with other scholars. The project focuses on the dissemination of the latest research and primary documents on witchcraft among the Eastern Slavs at the dawn of the modern era.

Northern Illinois University Press has received several book awards over the past few months.

The Midwest Independent Publishers Association announced the winner of the Midwest Book Award in the General Fiction category for 2010 as “Season of Water and Ice” by Donald Lystra. The book, which was published in October 2009 by NIU Press’s fiction imprint, Switchgrass Books, had earlier this year been named to the 2010 Michigan Notable Books list as well.

The Milwaukee County Historical Society awarded the 2010 Gambrinus Prize to “Making Milwaukee Mightier: Planning and the Politics of Growth 1910–1960” by John M. McCarthy. The Gambrinus Prize is awarded each year for the best book-length contribution to Milwaukee historiography.

“Manufacturing Truth: The Documentary Moment in Early Soviet Culture” by Elizabeth Astrid Papazian won the 2009–2010 award for best book in literary/cultural studies from ATSEEL (AAmerican Association of Teachers of Slavic and East European Languages). The award will be formally presented at the annual conference in January 2011 in Pasadena, California.

“Publishing award-winning books is a major goal for NIU Press. This group of winners proves the strength and breadth of our list,” said J. Alex Schwartz, director of NIU Press and Switchgrass Books. “We’ve long been recognized as a leader in Russian studies and are pleased to continue to receive awards in that area. The other awards validate our regional scope, especially in the new area of fiction, and we are proud to be awarded for those efforts.”

All of these award-winning books, as well as all other NIU Press books, can be purchased through NIU Press by calling (800) 621-2736, visiting your local bookstore or ordering online.

NIU’s own Zeta Gamma Chapter of Phi Beta Delta, the honor society for international scholars, is conducting elections to membership in the society, as well as for officers. 

Kurt Thurmaier, director of NIU’s Division of Public Administration, is the current president of Zeta Gamma Chapter of Phi Beta Delta.

Phi Beta Delta is the first honor society dedicated to recognizing scholarly achievement in international education.

As an intergenerational organization, the society recognizes and honors three categories of members: distinguished faculty, staff and visiting scholars involved in international endeavors such as teaching, leading exchange programs, conducting research, or providing services to international students and scholars; nonimmigrant students who have demonstrated high scholastic achievement at their U.S. institutions; and domestic students who have demonstrated high scholastic achievement in the pursuit of academic studies abroad.

NIU has a long and proud history of involvement in all aspects of international education, from the early creation of the Division of International Programs and Studies, through the pioneering establishment of the Foreign Language Residence Program, to the recognition of the Center for Southeast Asian Studies as a Title VI National Resource Center.

These activities and commitments, plus many others, made NIU an ideal institution for a Chapter of Phi Beta Delta.

On Nov. 18, 2004, the Founding Induction Ceremony was held to induct 80 charter members into Zeta Gamma Chapter. Because of the strong record of continuing support for the Chapter at NIU, Zeta Gamma was honored as the 2008 and 2009 Outstanding Midwest Regional Chapter.

And, in 2009, professor Susan D. Russell of NIU’s Department of Anthropology received the international society’s Faculty Award for Outstanding Contributions to International Education. 

“The powerful attraction of Phi Beta Delta across the NIU campus is that it draws together the faculty, staff, and students who are actively engaged in international scholarship,” said Kurt Thurmaier, current chapter president and director of the public administration program at NIU. “Better still, these faculty and students are from the U.S. and countries throughout the world, and the conversations at our events are so rewarding.”

Professor Christopher Jones, incoming chapter president and chair of the Department of Political Science, said, “I think the campus community is going to discover that Phi Beta Delta is vibrant organization here at NIU and a superb vehicle for advancing globally focused scholarship, teaching and service across our faculty and student body.”

The Zeta Gamma Chapter at NIU conducts its annual induction ceremony during International Education Week in November each year.  This year’s induction will take place at 4:30 p.m. Nov. 18, in the Holmes Student Center Sky Room.

At each induction, one or two honorary members are chosen for lifetime membership in the society. Honorary members need not be employees of NIU, but can be community members who have worked with NIU to support the goals of Phi Beta Delta on the NIU campus.

Notable recipients of this distinguished honor at NIU are: President John Peters; State Rep. Robert Pritchard; Megan Spillman of the Institute for International Education; Amy Crook of DeKalb Community Unit School District 428; Sue Orem, formerly of District 428; Sally Stevens; Ladd Thomas; and Dena Funkhouser.

This is an exciting period of growth for NIU’s Zeta Gamma Chapter. The chapter is raising funds in a calendar project to support international projects at NIU, co-hosting with President Peters a reception for international scholars, and growing its membership. 

For more information about Phi Beta Delta and the Zeta Gamma Chapter at NIU, contact Deborah Pierce, chapter coordinator, at dpierce@niu.edu, or Pamela Rosenberg, treasurer, at prosenberg@niu.edu.

Nearly 500 local fifth-graders will carry the international flags of more than 100 nations during the 11th annual Parade of Flags, set to step off at 11:30 a.m. Friday, Sept. 17, from the east side of Huskie Stadium.

Participants will march along Lucinda Avenue to the Martin Luther King Commons, where Dr. Awni Alkarzon, graduate assistant in the Division of International Programs, will lead the ceremony.  Originally from Gaza, Alkarzon is currently pursuing a second doctoral degree, this one in higher education administration. 

“This year we’re trying to focus the program on our students, so we’ve asked Awni to speak and lead the ceremony as a current student himself,” said Deborah Pierce, associate provost for International Programs at NIU.  “Displaying all these beautiful flags reminds us all of the wonderful diversity of our campus and community, and hosting the DeKalb schoolchildren emphasizes the strong partnership between NIU and the local community.”

The students, their teachers, chaperones and other parade participants will enjoy a pre-parade luncheon on the grass near the stadium (with a rain location in the Convocation Center).

Also prior to the parade, participating students from DeKalb-area public and private schools will have an opportunity to meet with NIU international students and study-abroad participants, to learn directly from the NIU students about other countries where they have lived. 

“Both the NIU students and the elementary school students really seem to enjoy this part of the parade, because they’re learning from each other as they talk about other nations,” Pierce said.

In the last academic year NIU enrolled students from more than 90 nations, with India and China sending the largest numbers.  NIU also enrolls students from such nations as Armenia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Malaysian, Moldova and Saudi Arabia.

NIU history professor Eric Jones has a written a new book that explores the development of modern social and legal relationships of Asian women in the Dutch colony of Batavia-Jakarta, modern-day Indonesia.

Jones will deliver a talk on the book – titled “Wives, Slaves, and Concubines: A History of the Female Underclass in Dutch Asia” (Northern Illinois University Press) – at 2:30 p.m. Friday, Sept. 17, at the Center for Black Studies, 600 Lincoln Terrace Drive.

Professor Michael Laffan, a specialist in Southeast Asian history at Princeton University, will provide comments on the book at the reception.

The book argues that Dutch colonial practices and law created a new set of social and economic divisions in Batavia-Jakarta, modern-day Indonesia, to deal with difficult realities in Southeast Asia.

Jones uses compelling stories from ordinary Asian women to explore the profound structural changes occurring at the end of the early colonial period—changes that helped birth the modern world order.

Based on previously untapped criminal proceedings and testimonies by women who appeared before the Dutch East India Company’s Court of Alderman, this fascinating study details the ways in which demographic and economic realities transformed the social and legal landscape of 18th-century Batavia-Jakarta.