Sastra wangi

Sastra wangi (also spelled sastrawangi; literally, "fragrant literature") is a label given to a new body of Indonesian literature written by young, urban Indonesian women who take on controversial issues such as politics, religion and sexuality. Initiating the movement was writer Ayu Utami's best-selling first novel, Saman (1998), a contemporary view of Indonesian society published two weeks before the downfall of President Suharto. Large numbers of similar works by young women have followed.

Label

The controversial label "sastra wangi" originated among predominantly male critics in the early 2000s to categorize such young, female writers as Ayu Utami, Dewi Lestari, Fira Basuki and Djenar Maesa Ayu.

Feminist writer Julia Suryakusuma notes that reception of the label has been mixed. Those against the label argue that it demeans women, as if it "implies the authors are secondary and unintellectual, producing inferior works popular only because of looks and sensuality". Despite the controversy, the sastra wangi label has resulted in publicity and focused attention on the writers' style, word use and subject matter. Suryakusuma writes that "they cross sectors of class, ethnicity and religion, do not bear the psychological, political and ideological burdens of the New Order and explore daring sexual themes -- taboo-breaking even."

Shastra

Shastra (शास्त्र, IAST: Śāstra, IPA: [ʃaːst̪rə]) is a Sanskrit word that means "precept, rules, manual, compendium, book or treatise" in a general sense. The word is generally used as a suffix in the Indian literature context, for technical or specialized knowledge in a defined area of practice.

Shastra has a similar meaning to English -logy, e.g. ecology, psychology, meaning scientific and basic knowledge on particular subject. Examples in terms of modern neologisms include bhautikashastra "physics", rasayanashastra "chemistry", jīvashastra "biology", vastushastra "architectural science", shilpashastra "science of mechanical arts and sculpture", arthashastra "science of politics, economics" and nitishastra "compendium of ethics or right policy".

In Western literature, Shastra is sometimes spelled as Sastra.

Etymology

"Shastra" commonly refers to a treatise or text on a specific field of knowledge. In early Vedic literature, the word referred to any precept, rule, teaching, ritual instruction or direction. In late and post Vedic literature of Hinduism, Shastra referred to any treatise, book or instrument of teaching, any manual or compendium on any subject in any field of knowledge, including religious. It is often a suffix, added to the subject of the treatise, such as Yoga-Shastra, Nyaya-Shastra, Dharma-Shastra, Koka- or Kama-Shastra,Moksha-Shastra, Artha-Shastra, Alamkara-Shastra (rhetoric), Kavya-Shastra (poetics), Sangita-Shastra (music), Natya-Shastra (dance) and others.

Shanmugha Arts, Science, Technology & Research Academy

The Shanmugha Arts, Science, Technology & Research Academy, known as SASTRA University, is a deemed university in the town of Thirumalaisamudram, Thanjavur district, Tamil Nadu, India. Undergraduate and postgraduate engineering courses are its focus. It offers undergraduate and post graduate courses in Engineering, Science, Education, Management and Arts.

History

SASTRA University started in 1984 in the form of Shanmugha College of Engineering, affiliated to the Bharathidasan University, Trichy. In 2001 it was renamed as Shanmugha Arts, Science, Technology & Research Academy. It was the first institution to get the 'Deemed University status' in Tamil Nadu. Srinivasa Ramanujam Center at Kumbakonam is affiliated to it.

In 2011, software company Tata Consultancy Services set a world record of recruiting 1,500 students from SASTRA, the largest recruitment by any company in the world from a single campus.

Schools and departments

Schools in SASTRA University are: