The Department of History at the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee is proud to highlight PhD student Frischa Aswarini, for her participation in Sekolah Pemikiran Perempuan (SPP) – The School of Women’s Thought, an international initiative dedicated to amplifying women’s voices and knowledge.
The semester-long program, which runs from February 7 through June 6, 2026, brings together scholars, activists, and artists from around the world through weekly online seminars. The program centers feminist and decolonial perspectives, with sessions led by Indonesian academics teaching in universities across the United States, Canada, Europe, Australia, and Asia, as well as activists and artists based in Indonesia and throughout the global diaspora.
SPP focuses on challenging knowledge systems that have historically marginalized or excluded women’s contributions. Using a decolonial approach, the initiative encourages participants to explore feminist scholarship while highlighting the intellectual traditions and perspectives of Indonesian women.
The seminar series is divided into two modules. The first explores topics such as women of color feminism, intersectional feminism, transnational feminism, and decolonial feminist theory. The second module focuses specifically on Indonesian women’s thought, bringing attention to intellectual traditions and perspectives that are often underrepresented in global academic discourse.
In addition to attending the seminars, Frischa is collaborating with a small group of participants to create a final project highlighting the work and ideas of an Indonesian woman thinker. These projects may take the form of written work, audio, video, or visual storytelling and will be published on the organization’s website as part of its broader effort to expand access to learning materials about women’s thought in the Indonesian language.
Frischa’s participation in the program connects closely to her doctoral research at UWM. Her work focuses on the environmental history of Indonesia, and she is particularly interested in exploring how Indonesian women’s perspectives and activism intersect with environmental issues and social change.
“I’m excited to learn more about Indonesian women’s thoughts and works, especially those connected to environmental issues,” Frischa said. “This opportunity feels especially meaningful as I continue my research on the environmental history of Indonesia.”
Following the completion of the seminar program, SPP plans to host a festival in Indonesia this summer that will showcase the work and ideas of Indonesian women through panel discussions, keynote talks, artistic performances, and collaborative events.
The Department of History congratulates Frischa on this achievement and looks forward to seeing how her participation in the program contributes to her research and to broader conversations about feminist thought and global knowledge production.