The Media and Cultural Studies Program organized a research methodology workshop for doctoral students to provide a comprehensive understanding of the landscape of research methodologies and methodological practices in Media and Cultural Studies, in order to support the quality of doctoral research. Led by Heru Nugroho, the workshop was divided into two sessions. The first session was held on Wednesday (6/5) and focused on the Mapping of Research Methodologies. During this session, Prof. Heru Nugroho explained the philosophy of the social sciences and its development, ranging from positivism, interpretivism, to critical approaches. Furthermore, Prof. Heru, as he is commonly known, elaborated on the three philosophical foundations of social sciences: ontology, epistemology, and axiology, as well as several approaches commonly used in social science research, such as empiricism and positivism, interpretative approaches, critical approaches, feminism, post-structuralism, and postmodernism. Each of these approaches was explained in terms of its application, strengths, and limitations, complemented by case studies on internet algorithms and social media.
In this workshop, Prof. Heru presented three knowledge interests: technical, practical, and emancipatory. The technical interest of knowledge refers to the expectation that knowledge can provide control and prediction, such as in the study of social statistics and big data. The practical interest means that knowledge aims to understand meaning or conduct interpretation. Meanwhile, the emancipatory interest implies that knowledge should lead to liberation from domination. The logic of social sciences, according to him, must consider all three interests rather than relying on only one.
According to Prof. Heru, the position of Media and Cultural Studies does not stand within a single approach but is interdisciplinary in nature, combining interpretative approaches, critical theory, post-structuralism, and postmodernism. The main focus of Media and Cultural Studies lies in meaning, representation, identity, ideology, and power. The field views media not merely as technology, but as a structure (or architecture) that constructs social reality. Thus, Media and Cultural Studies stands at the intersection of these approaches, focusing on how media produces meaning, identity, and power, rather than merely measuring data. Before the workshop concluded with a question-and-answer session with students, Prof. Heru once again emphasized that students and research in Media and Cultural Studies must always maintain a sense of suspicion, as the spirit of the field is to critically question the workings of power.
The workshop was continued with the second session on Monday (11/5) at Meeting Room A, 5th Floor, Graduate School Building, Universitas Gadjah Mada, with Prof. Dr. Heru Nugroho discussing Cultural Studies Research Methodology in greater detail.
Contributor: Adhani J. Emha