- Full Name
- James Danandjaja
- Pen Name
- James Tan
- Photograph by
- Link to Photograph
- Website for biography
- Place
- Trunyan
- Related Music
- Related Books
- Related Scholars Articles
James Danandjaja obtained a bachelor's degree in Anthropology in 1963 from the Faculty of Letters, University of Indonesia. He also obtained a doctorate in Psychological Anthropology from the University of Indonesia in 1977. For the writing of his scientific work he conducted research for approximately a year in the Trunyan area of Bali, and produced the book Culture of the Trunyan Village Farmers in Bali, which was published in 1980. James Danandjaja who whose real name is James Tan, with the nickname Jimmy, was appointed Professor of the University of Indonesia in 1983.
He was the first Indonesian folklorist, starting to pursue the science since he studied at the University of California, Berkeley, in 1969. His mentor at that time was Alan Dundes, a prominent folklorist from the United States. With a paper entitled An Annotated Bibliography of Javanese Folklore, which was later made into a book, he obtained a master's degree in folklore from the university in 1971.
Upon his return to Indonesia, in 1972, he taught the science at the Department of Anthropology, FISIP, University of Indonesia. According to him, folklore which is part of culture in the form of folk language, traditional expressions, puzzles, legends, fairy tales, jokes, folk songs, fine arts, etc., is closely related to the culture of a society. For this reason, he assigned his students to collect various folklores in the country. These writing materials were later made into a book with the title Indonesian Folklore (1984). In addition, he also wrote several other books related to folklore, such as Guidance on How to Collect Folklore for Archiving (1972), and Some Problems with Folklore (1980).
James Danandjaja gelar sarjana Antropologi diperolehnya pada tahun 1963 dari Fakultas Sastra Universitas Indonesia. Gelar doktor dalam bidang Antropologi Psikologi diperolehnya juga dari Universitas Indonesia pada tahun 1977. Untuk penulisan karya ilmiahnya ia mengadakan penelitian selama kurang lebih setahun di daerah Trunyan Bali, dan menghasilkan buku Kebudayaan Petani Desa Trunyan di Bali, yang diterbitkan pada tahun 1980. James Danandjaja yang mempunyai nama asli James Tan, dengan panggilan akrab Jimmy, diangkat menjadi Guru Besar Universitas Indonesia pada tahun 1983.
Ia merupakan ahli folklor Indonesia yang pertama, mulai menekuni ilmu itu sejak ia belajar di Universitas California, Berkeley, pada tahun 1969. Pembimbingnya waktu itu Alan Dundes, seorang ahli folklor terkemuka dari Amerika Serikat. Dengan karya tulis berjudul An Annotated Bibliography of Javanese Folklore, yang kemudian dijadikan buku, ia memperoleh gelar master dalam bidang folklor dari universitas itu pada tahun 1971.
Sekembalinya ke Indonesia, 1972, ia mengajarkan ilmu tersebut di Jurusan Antropologi FISIP Universitas Indonesia. Menurut dia, folklor yang merupakan bagian budaya berupa bahasa rakyat, ungkapan tradisional, teka teki, legenda, dongeng, lelucon, nyanyian rakyat, seni rupa, dsb, sangat erat kaitannya dengan kebudayaan suatu masyarakat. Untuk itu, ia menugaskan para mahasiswanya untuk mengumpulkan berbagai folklor yang ada di tanah air. Bahan-bahan tulisan tersebut kemudian dijadikannya buku dengan judul Folklor Indonesia (1984). Selain itu, ia juga menulis beberapa buku lain yang berhubungan dengan folklor, seperti Penuntun Cara Pengumpulan Folklore bagi Pengarsipan (1972), dan Beberapa Masalah Folklor (1980).
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