Rate My Professor Jane Ahlstrand

Dr. Jane Ahlstrand serves as Senior Lecturer in Indonesian Studies in the Faculty of Humanities, Arts, Social Sciences and Education at the University of New England, a position she has held since joining the institution in 2018. She earned her PhD from the University of Queensland, a BA in Asian and International Studies from Griffith University, a BA in Languages and Applied Linguistics from Griffith University, and an Honours degree in Humanities from Curtin University. Ahlstrand's research focuses on power relations, political discourse, media discourse, Indonesian studies, and gender studies, with a specialization in Critical Discourse Analysis. Her scholarly output includes the book Women, Media, and Power in Indonesia published by Routledge in 2022. Key peer-reviewed articles feature 'Rags to riches: A critical analysis of social mobility discourse, ideology and power in neoliberal Indonesia' in Discourse & Society (2024), 'Kartini, online media and the politics of the Jokowi era: A critical discourse analysis' co-authored with V. Maniam in Asian Studies Review (2024), 'Challenging the elite-public divide: Representing former Indonesian first lady, Ani Yudhoyono in online news discourse' in Wacana, Journal of the Humanities of Indonesia (2023), and 'Strategies of ideological polarisation in the online news media: A social actor analysis of Megawati Soekarnoputri' in Discourse & Society (2021). She also contributed the chapter 'Gender, media and populism: The vilification of first lady Ani Yudhoyono in the Indonesian online news media' to The Routledge Handbook of Populism in the Asia Pacific (2023).

In her teaching role, Ahlstrand coordinates and delivers units such as Indonesian Language courses, Contemporary Issues in Indonesian Culture and Society, Arts of Indonesia, and A History of Indonesian and its Role in Society. Beyond academia, she actively teaches and performs Balinese dance in Australia and overseas, fostering collaborations with the local Indonesian community through dance recitals and the development of teaching materials in Indonesian. Her dedication to Indonesian language education has earned her prestigious accolades, including the National Australia Indonesia Language Awards (NAILA) for teaching in 2015, 2017, and 2019, as well as the 2017 Brisbane Lord Mayor’s Australia Day Multicultural Art Award. Ahlstrand's work bridges linguistic pedagogy, cultural performance, and critical analysis, enriching Indonesian Studies at UNE and contributing meaningfully to broader academic discourse on gender, media, and politics in Indonesia.