Danau Tanu

• PhD
• Fellow at Waseda University

Thousands of refugees transit through Indonesia, often for prolonged periods of time. With limited access to basic rights, including the right to work, some young or underage male refugees forge intimate relationships with older Indonesians. Public perception of these relationships is, for the most part, dichotomous: the refugees are seen either as...

This virtual seminar aims to move the discussion on 'Third Culture Kids (TCKs)' forward by encouraging researchers to rigorously consider the analytical usefulness and pitfalls of the TCK concept in light of developments in related fields. It explores the possibility of embracing the value of the concept as founded by Ruth Hill Useem and further de...

This article explores a unique form of environmental education (EE) being implemented in schools in Surabaya, Indonesia. An environmental NGO (TENGO) and the national in-school programme, Adiwiyata, attract students to engage in pro-environment activities such as making compost and rehabilitating mangroves. Ethnographic research in and around high...

This is one of the first papers to examine the experiences of mixed-race individuals who have one Japanese parent, commonly referred to as ‘hafu’, living outside of Japan. Specifically, it analyzes the experiences of Japanese-Indonesians living in Indonesia who have attended an overseas Japanese school and an Indonesian or international school in I...

In this compelling study of the children of serial migrants, Danau Tanu argues that the international schools they attend promote an ideology of being “international” that is Eurocentric. Despite the cosmopolitan rhetoric, hierarchies of race, culture and class shape popularity, friendships and romance on campus. By going back to high school for a...

This chapter focuses on ‘mixed race’ transnational youth who grow up as children of serial temporary migrants with childhoods that are spent in multiple countries, and who are popularly known as ‘Third Culture Kids’ or ‘global nomads’. It explores the experiences youth of mixed Asian/European or Japanese/Indonesian descent through the setting of an...

Across Asia, English-medium international schools have been established to cater to children of expatriate workers, serial migrants and affluent local families. These schools market themselves as ‘international’ by drawing on the multinational composition of their student body. Yet, the methodological nationalism of much of the existing research ra...

While in transit, unaccompanied minors and young asylum-seekers form friendships and intimate relationships with Indonesian boys and girls as well as adults. Barred from legal options for employment and with limited options for education, some unaccompanied minors develop intimate relationships with older Indonesian women in order to “make a living...

The term “Third Culture Kids” is currently used to describe children who experience a high level of international mobility while they are growing up. It is usually applied to those who are relatively economically privileged and move due to their parents’ career choices, typically in the corporate, diplomatic, military, religious (missionary), or NG...

This paper analyses the impact of the researcher's linguistic fluency or competence (or lack thereof) on the data collection process during fieldwork and subsequent analysis. We focus on researcher interaction with the field in a largely monolingual setting in Japan, and the multilingual setting of an international school in Indonesia. Researcher p...

Indonesia's educational landscape has changed in the last two decades. The pressures of globalization have led to the rising popularity of international education offered by international schools, which purport to nurture 'global citizens' who are internationally minded and skilful at engaging with the Other. This article explores the role of an in...

Children’s education and future career trajectories are of paramount concern for many transnational families. Educational concerns impact upon whether and when families decide to move internationally together or stay apart. This paper focuses on teenage and young adult children of Asian and African backgrounds who experience a high degree of intern...

This is an article for the New Mandala, an online magazine that publishes short articles by researchers written for public consumption. It is an application of the Third Culture Kid concept on a political figure in Indonesia. It is not a peer-reviewed article. Available online: https://www.newmandala.org/prabowo-the-chameleon/

Download here: http://research-repository.uwa.edu.au/en/publications/record(8c6175be-feaa-4b28-9068-d4066dbf3135).html This thesis studies young people who experience a high-level of international mobility while they are growing up either directly (by moving geographically) or indirectly (by attending an international school with a transient stud...

International education, with an emphasis on the English language as a medium of instruction, has become increasingly popular since the late 1990s in Indonesia. While some schools incorporate an international aspect to the national curriculum, other schools opt for international curriculums such as the International Baccalaureate (IB) program, or n...

The privileged are increasingly opting for international schools where students learn the good and the bad of multiculturalism This an Open Access article written for the general public for the academic magazine "Inside Indonesia". http://www.insideindonesia.org/educating-global-citizens

If you like this conference paper, I would recommend reading the monograph/book, 'Growing Up in Transit: The Politics of Belonging at an International School' which is based on my doctoral dissertation about Asian Third Culture Kids and structural racism in international schools. You can find more information here: www.danautanu.com This conferenc...