Proceedings of the International Seminar of Languages, Arts and Literature Education (ISLALE 2025)

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Subjective Agency and Cultural Renewal: Chairil Anwar and the Making of Modern Indonesian Thought

Authors
Harkiman Racheman1, *, Eva Vanicek2
1English Literature Study Program, Universitas Methodist Indonesia, Medan, Indonesia
2Asian Languages Dept, Victoria University of Wellington, Wellington, New Zealand
*Corresponding author. Email: harkimanr@hotmail.com
Corresponding Author
Harkiman Racheman
Available Online 16 December 2025.
DOI
10.2991/978-2-38476-501-0_20How to use a DOI?
Keywords
Chairil Anwar; modern Indonesian literature; cultural renewal; subjective agency; modernization; cultural identity
Abstract

Chairil Anwar (hereafter, CA) has long been regarded as a leading figure of modern literary and cultural expression in Indonesia, whose poetic innovations also resonated in social and political arenas. This study, which adopts a biographical-critical approach, poses three questions: What intellectual profile defined CA, which formative forces shaped him, and what specific contributions justify his pioneering status? Focusing on the influence of modern Western socio-cultural paradigms, it examines how these frameworks informed CA’s thinking and differentiated him from his peers. The analysis finds that CA’s transformative role particularly in modern literature rested on his deliberate commitment to self-directed agency, resisting passive conformity to prevailing norms and traditions. This modern mode of reasoning enabled him to challenge the cultural stagnation of his era. The study’s findings elucidate the contours and reach of CA’s innovations, contributing to a deeper understanding of his role in shaping Indonesia’s cultural modernization.

Copyright
© 2025 The Author(s)
Open Access
Open Access This chapter is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits any noncommercial use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license and indicate if changes were made.

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Volume Title
Proceedings of the International Seminar of Languages, Arts and Literature Education (ISLALE 2025)
Series
Advances in Social Science, Education and Humanities Research
Publication Date
16 December 2025
ISBN
978-2-38476-501-0
ISSN
2352-5398
DOI
10.2991/978-2-38476-501-0_20How to use a DOI?
Copyright
© 2025 The Author(s)
Open Access
Open Access This chapter is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits any noncommercial use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license and indicate if changes were made.

Cite this article

risenwbib
TY  - CONF
AU  - Harkiman Racheman
AU  - Eva Vanicek
PY  - 2025
DA  - 2025/12/16
TI  - Subjective Agency and Cultural Renewal: Chairil Anwar and the Making of Modern Indonesian Thought
BT  - Proceedings of the International Seminar of Languages, Arts and Literature Education (ISLALE 2025)
PB  - Atlantis Press
SP  - 214
EP  - 225
SN  - 2352-5398
UR  - https://doi.org/10.2991/978-2-38476-501-0_20
DO  - 10.2991/978-2-38476-501-0_20
ID  - Racheman2025
ER  -