An Inter-Indonesian Postcolonial Trauma Reading of the Book of Ecclesiastes

This thesis develops a postcolonial trauma reading of the Book of Ecclesiastes by placing it in dialogue with Inter-Indonesian novels, specifically Pramoedya Ananta Toer’s Buru Quartet, Soe Tjen Marching’s Dari Dalam Kubur, and Felix Nesi’s Orang-orang Oetimu. Using Michael Rothberg's Multidirectional Memory theory, this work aims to ground Ecclesiastes in Indonesia's postcolonial context and introduce an Indonesian perspective to global biblical studies.

The study explores Ecclesiastes alongside the novels through the lenses of postcolonial literary theory, trauma, mourning, and affect. It argues that most Indonesian biblical scholarship simply applies Western methods. In contrast, this thesis critically develops a uniquely Indonesian reading of Ecclesiastes. By fostering a multidirectional dialogue between Inter-Indonesian novels, global scholarship, and the biblical text, this research contributes an interpretation rooted in the Indonesian context rather than merely repeating Western academic traditions.