Running head: RESEARCH PROPOSAL

Research Proposal:
Identity and the Chinese-Indonesian Experience in South Philadelphia
By Donna M. Backues
Eastern University
November 16, 2015
Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the course:
URN 575: Applied Research and Program Evaluation

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Abstract

Between 1998 and the first decade of the Millennium, thousands of Chinese-Indonesians
immigrated to the United States seeking asylum from discrimination and violence that had been
occurring since the Dutch colonial period and reached a peak at the end of President Suhartos
32-year reign (Purdey 2006; Cunningham, 2008; Urban, 2013). During this period, the first
wave of Chinese-Indonesians to the US gained asylum and eventual citizenship relatively
quickly until the events of 9/11 made naturalization difficult (Urban, 2013, Sze 2010). In
Indonesia the Chinese were perceived as the other and their Chinese-ness was considered by
the government as a hindrance to national unity even though many of their families had been in
the country for several generations (Mackie, 1991; 2006; 2008). In the US, they are perceived
by the established Chinese community in Philadelphia (coming from Mainland China, Hong
Kong or Taiwan) as lower class and not being Chinese enough since they cannot speak any of
the Chinese languages, they do not act Chinese, and therefore they are often treated as outsiders
(2008; 2010; 2013). The focus of my research is on the strange liminal identity of Indonesian
Chinese in South Philadelphia and how they perceive themselves after coming to the USA and
after achieving American citizenship.
Keywords: multiple identities, the New Order, Suharto, prebumi (native), peranakan
(mixed Chinese and indigenous Indonesian ancestry), tionghoa (pure-blood Chinese ancestry)

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Identity and the Chinese-Indonesian Experience in South Philadelphia

Introduction
The archipelago of the Republic of Indonesia is made up over 13,000 thousand of islands
with over 350 ethnic groups and over 700 languages (World Bank, 1998). Indonesias motto,
Bhinneka Tunggal Ika (many pieces becoming one), is very similar to the United States motto
E Pluribus Unum (Unity in Diversity). However, for the Chinese ethnic population in
Indonesia, their experience of inclusion in this stated oneness or unity has not been the same as
for indigenous ethnic groups. Since Indonesia won Independence from Dutch rule, diverse
indigenous ethnic groups scattered throughout the islands have been celebrated in the media, in
museums and in government rhetoric making this diversity a source of national pride. The ethnic
Chinese in Indonesia, however, have experienced a long history of discrimination and
humiliation as the Indonesian government introduced laws meant to erase the uniqueness of
the Chinese culture; yet, at the same time, they are kept separate from the imagined oneness of
the nation (Mackie 1988; Purdey 2006; Cunningham, 2008; Urban, 2013).
While there is a plethora of scholarly articles dealing with the history of the Chinese in
Indonesia going as far back as the 12th century until now, there is very little written research
regarding the Chinese Indonesian experience in the United States and much less in Philadelphia
(Urban, 2013, p. 7). It is important to understand the problems of identity faced by the Chinese
minorities in Indonesia before attempting to understand the unique challenges they experience in
the United States with or without official documentation.
The proposal is structured as follows:

Literature Review
Research Questions/Objectives
Methodology
Research Design

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Contribution
References
Literature Review

The Chinese-Indonesian Experience in Indonesia

The article written in 1988 by Jamie Mackie, is important because it compares the ethnic
Chinese experience in Indonesia with the Chinese-Thai experience. This thorough comparison
underlines the uniqueness of the Indonesian Chinese history and puts forth possible reasons for
the separateness of the Chinese community in Indonesia to this day. The Chinese in Thailand
(who have almost completely assimilated into the Thai culture) have not had the dark history of
that lived by the Indonesian Chinese population and yet both countries were populated by the
same wave of immigration from China happening at the turn of the century. Mackie addresses
certain factors unique to Indonesias history that he believes influenced the confusing state of the
Chinese-Indonesian identity as forever foreign (Mackie, 1991; 1988; Urban, 2013).
There are approximately 3.5 million Chinese-Indonesians who are mixed (Chinese &
indigenous) called the peranakans and the pure blood Chinese called tionghoa. The Chinese
have been in the Indonesian archipelago since before 1200 AD. They were merchants and
traders who went back and forth between mainland China and Indonesia for hundreds of years
(Mackie, 1991). In the latter part of the 19th century, many Chinese businessmen were involved
in the opium trade which was the beginning of a symbiotic relationship with the Chinese as
middle-men in-between the Dutch and the Javanese officials (Mackie, 1991, p.p. 85-86). Dutch
plantation owners on Java and Sumatra began recruiting mainland Chinese to work as coolies in
their tobacco plantations. Eventually there were 100,000 coolies counted working in Indonesia
in 1900 and this flow of workers continued until the Great Depression (Taylor, 2003, p. 31). By
the 1930s ethnic Chinese were involved mostly in areas of commerce providing goods to the

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Dutch and the prebumi (indigenous population) as small-scale vendors and shop keepers
(Mackie, 1991, 86-87).
Hoons historical analysis of the ethnic Chinese in Indonesia is focused on factors that
contributed to the Chinese populations continuing identity crisis or multiple identities within
Indonesia. Due to economic competition, hostility toward the Chinese population on the part of
the Dutch colonizers began during the early 1900s up until Indonesian Independence in 1945
(Mackie, 1991, p. 86; Carstens, 2006, Hoon, 2011). The apartheid policies of the colonial
government separated foreigners into three groups: Europeans (on top), Chinese (in the middle)
and Indigenous peoples (on the bottom) (Hoon, 2011, p. 3). At times it was useful to the Dutch to
incite violence among the prebumi, blame it on the Chinese, and then swoop in as the heroic
Dutch rulers to bringing stability. Other times the Dutch were protectors of the Chinese
communities and would shield them from occasional attacks by indigenous populations (1991).
This practice of scapegoating and protection by the Dutch rulers created animosity
toward the politically vulnerable ethnic Chinese on the part of the indigenous populations who
saw the Chinese as being on the side of the Dutch (Mackie, 1988). This Sino-phobic sentiment
carried over into the years following Independence causing the Chinese to be frequent targets of
violence even during the Japanese 3-year occupation during WWII (Mackie, 1991, p. 90; 2006,
Urban 2013). Due to the Chinese being made to feel in-between the Dutch and the prebumi
psychologically, economically, culturally and politically, they moved to create a stronger
Chinese identity among both the mixed Peranakan groups and the Tionghoa (pure-blood
Chinese). This desire was realized by the creation of Chinese organizations and Chinese
language schools. Unfortunately these attempts by the Chinese-Indonesians resulted in creating
more suspicion and fear among the rest of the prebumi population (Hoon, 2011).

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Suryadinata explains in great detail how policies under the New Order government of
Suharto played a huge role in further amplifying the Chinese identity problem beginning in the
early 1970s until the late 1990s. Suharto attempted to force assimilation by creating economic,
educational, cultural and national policies specifically for the Chinese (Suryadinata, 1976,
Urban, 2013, p. 3, Hoon, 2011, p.15). They were ordered to rid themselves of their Chinese-ness
in order to become one with the prebumi. This was not asked of the many other indigenous
cultures as they were seen to be truly Indonesian (natural citizens) and their diverse cultural
expressions were celebrated. The Chinese were forced to change their names to indigenous
Indonesian names. Their language schools were shut down as well as Chinese organizations,
Chinese Press, Chinese language books and any use of Chinese languages. Chinese symbols or
symbolic public events were forbidden including Chinese New Year celebrations (1976, 2011,
2013). One can only imagine how this affected the psyche of the ethnic Chinese. The Chinese
were also given different identity cards that distinguished them from the native population. It
was very difficult for a Chinese to get travel documents, they had to submit far more papers than
the prebumi and they had to pay exorbitant bribes making it impossible for some to obtain a
passport (Brown, April 2006).
Both Mackie and Suryadinata have a focus on the unusual 32 year relationship that
Suharto had with a few very wealthy Chinese businessmen. The presidents goal to develop
the nation was very dependent on the finance and the commercial expertise of the Chinese.
Suharto needed the Chinese not only financially but also to use as scapegoats for the nations
problems this way aggression would be focused on the Chinese and not the corrupt Indigenous
power holders. Suryadinatas analysis of Suhartos New Order policies was strong; however,
there are certain historical events that are not accurate especially regarding the 1965 massacre.

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This was probably due to the fact that the government had played a strong role in revising history
and there was very little written about the subject in the 1970s. The symbiotic relationship
between wealthy Chinese Tycoons and Suhartos government to some extent created protection
for the Chinese but also amplified the problem of the Chinese being seen as separate from the
real Indonesians causing continued acts of violence and discrimination toward the Chinese
(Purdey, 2006).
Purdey writes about the acts of violence toward Chinese Indonesians from the 1960s to
the May riots of 1998 when Suharto was forced to step down. Particular attention is paid to the
1998 riots and how this violence affected the Chinese community in a way that all the other acts
of violence did not. The Asian Economic Crisis caused a great deal of instability and discontent
toward the government. Demonstrations began in Jakarta led by university students gathered
from all parts of Indonesia demanding that Suharto resign. Eventually riots broke out all over
Jakarta and in several major cities. In all the riots, violence was directed toward the Chinese
shops and Chinese homes even though the reason for the rioting had little to do with the Chinese.
Houses and stores were looted and burned and hundreds of Chinese women were raped (2006;
Hoon, 2011, p. 4; Urban, 2013. P. 4).
In the few years following the May riots and the establishment of Reformasi (government
reforms), new laws were put into place some of which allowed Chinese Indonesians to be given
the same kind of identity cards as the indigenous population, the permission to celebrate their
culture publicly, and to be treated equally. However, in spite of these reforms, there were more
outbreaks of violence in smaller cities and villages causing thousands of Chinese immigrants to
move overseas as asylum seekers (Urban, 2013; Hoon, 2011; Cunningham, 2008, p. 90; Purdey,
2006).

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The Chinese Indonesians in Philadelphia

As mentioned in the introduction, there is very little scholarly work available
regarding the Chinese-Indonesian population in the United States much less in Philadelphia
(Cunningham, 2008, p. 2). Urban summarizes, although briefly, the historical background of the
Chinese experience in Indonesia and the factors that led to the cultures eternally foreign
identity status in Indonesia as well as in America. Unfortunately, the United States government
does not understand the identity problem of the Chinese-Indonesian. After 9/11, Indonesians
found it suddenly difficult to enter the country as well as become lawful residents. In the minds
of US immigration officials, Indonesia is the largest Muslim country in the world, never mind
the fact that most of the Indonesians entering the US are Christian Chinese (p. 9).
In Philadelphia, the Chinese-Indonesian population relates only partially to the larger
Mandarin & Cantonese speaking Chinese. Most Chinese-Indonesians feel they are treated as
lower class Chinese or not Chinese at all. It is interesting to note the phenomenon of the
Chinese-Indonesian feeling more Indonesian in American than they did when living in their
home country. Szes book about the Chinese in Philadelphia quotes Iwan, an asylum seeker
from Indonesia, We look Chinese, people say we are Chinese, but Chinese people themselves
are wary of us because we dont speak Mandarin, and our names are different (Sze, 2010, p.
15). In the USA as well, the Chinese-Indonesia is an eternal foreigner (Urban, 2013).
Multiple Identities
According to Ross, people do not have singular identities but instead have multiple
identities and they will choose an identity or a combination of identities depending on the
situation and social setting. Sometimes these identities are contradictory or unresolved
(Ross, 2007, p. 286). The idea of identity is explored as something fluid, not fixed, and are

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constructed in social contexts (p. 288). The author cites Benedict Andersons ideas about
nation-state communities as being imagined communities and that this imagined state can be
fostered among the different communities through the use of symbolic events, imagery, history,
and such creating a willing assimilation and participation in national events (p. 288). Ross
explores how these identities relate to citizenship and citizens rights. While the article is written
with the idea of educating Europeans about citizenship in a multicultural world, it seems
applicable to the challenge of Chinese-Indonesians taking on an American identity as well as
other sub-identities as immigrants in South Philadelphia.

Research Objectives and Questions

In this increasingly diverse world, it would be important to understand the identity issues
faced by immigrants who have endured discrimination and marginalization in their home
countries. Knowing the history and the personal stories of loss and hope puts a face on the
foreigner with the hope of bringing about more compassionate and more informed national
policies. In light of both Indonesias national motto Bhinneka Tunggal Ika (many pieces
becoming one), and Americas national motto, Unity in Diversity, I want to ask the following
questions:

How do Chinese-Indonesian immigrants in South Philadelphia see themselves especially

when compared to how they viewed themselves in Indonesia?

Keeping in mind this imagined unity, how do Chinese-Indonesians believe they are seen
by others?

For those Chinese-Indonesians who have been in the United States for many years, do
they feel differently about themselves than when they first arrived?

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How does it feel to return to Indonesia as a Chinese-Indonesian?

Research Methodology
Philosophical Paradigm
I will be conducting this research from a Social Constructivist and Critical Social Theory
paradigm. In Social Constructivism reality is socially constructed through dialogue and
negotiation. Meaning making happens between and among individuals (Maggi Savin-Baden,
2013, p. 38). According to Critical Theory there are power structures that impose themselves on
others as well as political, historical and socio-economic forces that influence the lives of
people (p. 60). Both are concerned with open dialogue and co-construction of reality.
Positionality Statement
My position will be as an empathetic proponent of social justice and immigrant rights.
Im a white, middle-aged woman from an upper-middle class American background with one
graduate degree and currently studying toward another graduate degree. I am married with two
children and I currently live in South Philadelphia. For 23 years of my life I lived in England
and in Southeast Asia. I know what it feels like to be a child in a foreign country and I know
how it feels to be a privileged foreigner as an adult in a global south country. I also know what it
feels like to be deported from another country and still have very strong feelings about what that
event entailed. I live among the immigrant population that has both documented and
undocumented individuals and I have been a member of an immigrant church for seven years. I
work part-time as an Indonesian outreach worker at an organization called SEAMAAC which
serves the Southeast Asian Community in South Philadelphia; so, as a researcher, I would not be
approaching the research objectively.

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Having lived in Indonesia for so long, being fluent in the Indonesian language and being
very familiar with the political and social challenges of the Chinese-Indonesian minority, my
position could cause some potential biases. However, my familiarity with this community, which
is concentrated in my own South Philly neighborhood, gives me a unique opportunity to gather a
great deal of information and data for my research. As an artist and a teaching artist who has
worked for many years with marginalized communities. I could bring a great deal of experience
and creativity to the research approach.
Research approach
The approach I will use will be a mixed-method approach using narrative research and
phenomenology. Using the phenomenological approach, I would seek to explore and understand
human experience from the perspective of the individual participants (Maggi Savin-Baden, 2013,
p. 213). I believe this approach could possibly answer the question of whether or not ChineseIndonesian immigrants who, after coming to the US, experience significant changes in their
personal & social identities. Adding the narrative approach would aid in gaining more in-depth
data (thick description) as well as deeper meaning and reflection. I feel that this approach
appeals to my aesthetic sense and makes the research process more interesting. The narrative
approach is an appealing and accessible approach to research and it captures something of the
sense of life as it is lived (Gale, 2006)
Research Design
Data collection procedures
For the phenomenological approach, I would like the focus of the data collection to be
un-structured or informal interviews of 15-20 individuals with an asserted attempt to prevent my
personal biases from interfering with the interview process. I will use purposeful, typical-case

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sampling choosing South Philadelphia Chinese-Indonesian immigrants, both leaders from the
community as well as average members of the community ranging from ages 25-70. I will not
choose younger immigrants from this population due to the fact that they would probably not
remember life back in Indonesia they would have been too young.
I will use also use an unstructured interview/story-telling approach for the narrative
research; however, I would only choose 5 participants for these more in-depth stories. I would
ask open-ended questions that would prompt the participant to share freely. I would also ask
these participants to supply photographs and documents that could help inform their stories.
For both methods I will use an audio recorder and for the five story-telling participants I
would choose to video-tape them as they speak. I would find someone who will help shoot the
video footage and edit the videos including photographs collected from each of the participants
(2013).
For the art-based portion of the study, I would like to do a project that would enable the 5
participants (as a collective group) to visually express their experience in a large cloth batik
mural that would incorporate traditional Chinese motifs as well as indigenous motifs that have
historically been an integral part of the batik art form in Indonesia (a type of visual history of the
Chinese in Indonesia). Of course, part of this experience would be my teaching the batik method
in a small classroom setting at the Indonesian cultural center in South Philadelphia.
Along with the approaches already stated I would keep an organized file of active
reflection noting feelings and biases.
Participants
I would choose Chinese-Indonesian immigrants who reside in South Philadelphia
between the ages of 25-70, both male and female. I would interview not only immigrants who

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have already gained citizenship, but also those who are in process as well as those who are still
undocumented.
Time and Place
For the informal interviews I will set aside at least 45 minutes to an hour. For the five
longer narratives I will need at least 90 minutes each. I will want to interview each participant in
their natural setting within South Philadelphia. The interview could take place in their home, at a
quiet coffee shop or wherever they feel most comfortable. I will make sure that I have each
participants permission to use their stories to demonstrate my research findings. I imagine that
this research study will take at least two semesters or a full year due to the nature and length of
time of the informal interviews. Analyzing the data and presenting the findings in a creative and
appealing way will also be time consuming (2013).
The art-based approach will happen at the end of the information gathering stage. 5 8
participants will meet at the Indonesian cultural center for at least 2 months meeting once a week
for two hours at a time. They will have a combination of batik technique lessons and time spent
on developing each participants personal vision for expressing their experience. I would like to
find a place where the batik can be displayed along with the story-telling videos. Perhaps Asian
Arts Initiatives or the Mural Arts Program in Philadelphia would be willing to collaborate.

Budget
Cost of filming and editing - $800
Cost of batik materials (wax, cloth, dyes) - $300
Rental of Space - $500 (in kind)
Rental of Exhibition Space - $500 (in kind)

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Ethical Issues
I would use pseudonyms for the names of the participants unless I am given permission
to use actual names. I will be very clear to the participants as to how the results will be
presented before conducting interviews.
Contribution
There has been very little scholarly research done regarding the Chinese-Indonesian
population in the United States. There has been no research conducted among the ChineseIndonesians in South Philadelphia. South Philadelphia is home to the largest Chinese-Indonesian
population in the United States. Most of these residents live within walking distance of each
other and have retained much of their own culture. I am fortunate to live among them and speak
the Indonesian language (many of these people dont speak English). I am very enthusiastic
about this research project and I want to take advantage of this opportunity to learn from those
older Chinese-Indonesians who experienced the transition from life in Indonesian to life in South
Philadelphia. I believe there is much to be learned that would be useful not only for Americans
but also for Indonesians still living in their home country.
It is my hope that giving Chinese-Indonesian immigrants the opportunity to tell their own
story will engender more empathy from the non-immigrant population as well as the indigenous
Indonesian immigrant population in South Philadelphia. I am especially interested in this study
due to the fact that for 18 years my family lived in Indonesia and struggled with the stresses of
obtaining visas and the pain of deportation (done illegally at the hands of corrupt officials). I
also know intimately of the struggles of many of the Chinese-Indonesians who have immigrated
to South Philadelphia due to persecution and economic hardship. When we hear real stories, we

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are reminded that immigrants are people wanting a better life just like most of our American
ancestors.

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References

Anderson, B. (2013). Impunity and Reenactment: Reflections on the 1965 Massacre in Indonesia
and its Legacy. The Asia-Pacific Journal, Vol. 11, Issue 15, No. 4. Retrieved 2015, from
http://japanfocus.org/-Benedict-Anderson/3929/article.html
Banks, J. A. (2008). Diversity, group identity, and citizenship education in a global age.
Educational Researcher, 37(3), 129-139. Retrieved from
http://www.jstor.org/stable/30137954
Brown, C. (2006). Playing the game: Ethnicity and politics in Indonesian badminton. Indonesia,
(81), 71-93. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/40376383
Carstens, S. A. (2006). Indonesia, (82), 121-124. Retrieved from
http://www.jstor.org/stable/40376397
Cunningham, C. E. (2008). Unity and diversity among Indonesian migrants to the United States.
(pp. 90-108) Rutgers University Press. Retrieved from
http://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt5hj06v.9
Gale, P. S. (2006). Narrative Approaches to Education Research. Retrieved from RESINED:
http://www.edu.plymouth.ac.uk/resined/narrative/narrativehome.htm
Hoon, C.-Y. (2011). Chinese Identity in Post-Suharto indonesia: Culture, Politics and Media.
Brighton and Eastborne: Sussex Academic Press.
Mackie, J. A. C. (1988). Introduction changing economic roles and ethnic identities of the
Southeast Asian Chinese: A comparison of Indonesia and Thailand. (pp. 217-260) Hong
Kong University Press. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt2jc3fv.25
Mackie, J. (1991). Towkays and tycoons: The Chinese in Indonesian economic life in the 1920s
and 1980s. Indonesia, 83-96. doi:10.2307/3351256

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Maggi Savin-Baden, C. H. (2013). Qualitative Research: The Essential Guide to Theory and Practice.
Routledge.

Oppenhiemer, J. (Director). (2013). The Act of Killing [Motion Picture].

Purdey, J. (2009). Indonesia, (87), 111-115. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/40376478
Race and identity. (2006). In A. N. ANCHETA (Ed.), (2nd ed., pp. 129-149) Rutgers University
Press. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt5hj4xs.13
Ross, A. (2007). Multiple identities and education for active citizenship. British Journal of
Educational Studies, 55(3), 286-303. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/4620570
Suryadinata, L. (1976). Indonesian policies toward the Chinese minority under the new order.
Asian Survey, 16(8), 770-787. doi:10.2307/2643578
Sze, L. (2010). Opportunity, conflict, and communities in transition: historical and contemporary
Chinese immigration to Philadelphia. (pp. 96-120) Temple University Press. Retrieved from
http://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt14bt655.9
Taylor, J. G. (2003). One Kingdom One Colony: Bringing Indonesian Histories Together. In
Indonesia: People and Histories (p. 238). Yale University Press.
Urban, G. (2013). The Eternal Newcomer: Chinese Indonesian Identity from Indonesia to the
United States. LUX: A Journal of Transdisciplinary Writing and Research from
Claremont Graduate University: Vol. 3: Iss. 1, Article 19,
http://scholarship.claremont.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1060&context=lux.
World Bank. (1998). The World Bank on the social impact of the Indonesian crisis. Population
and Development Review, 24(3), 664-666. doi:10.2307/2808180

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Appendix

Research Study Consent Form

Study Title:
Identity and the Chinese-Indonesian Experience in South Philadelphia
Researcher:
Donna Backues, Masters in Urban Studies Program,
dbackues@eastern.edu, 610-888-4513
You are being asked to take part in a research study carried out by Donna Backues, a
graduate student at Eastern University in the Department of Urban Studies. This form explains
the research study and your part in it if you decide to join the study. Review this consent form
thoroughly. Ask the researcher to explain anything you dont understand. You may also contact
the Institutional Review Board with questions at IRB@eastern.edu. If you choose join the study,
you may change your mind and withdraw at any time. This study has been reviewed for approval
for human subject participation by the Eastern University Institutional Review Board.
What does this study address?
The researcher will be seeking to explore and understand human experience from the
perspective of the individual participants. This approach could possibly answer the question of
whether or not Chinese-Indonesian immigrants who, after coming to the US, experience
significant changes in their personal & social identities. A narrative approach will aid in gaining
more in-depth data as well as deeper meaning and reflection. For the art-based portion of the
study, the researcher will do a project that would enable some participants (as a collective group)
to visually express their experience in a large cloth batik mural that would incorporate traditional
Chinese motifs as well as indigenous motifs that have historically been an integral part of the
batik art form in Indonesia (a type of visual history of the Chinese in Indonesia). Of course, part
of this experience would be the researcher (also a teaching artist) to teach the batik method at the
Indonesian Cultural Center at 17th and Dickenson streets in South Philadelphia.
What is required of participants in this study?

Permission to be photographed and/or videotaped

Participation in 45 minute interviews or 90 minute story-telling sessions
Permission to publish participant statements and images, maintaining their anonymity if
requested
Attendance in 8, two hour educational and creative batik art making sessions, once a
week for two months
Collaboration with a team of five eight individuals from the Chinese-Indonesian
community (For those participating in the art-based project only)

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Participation in open, honest, and considerate discussions

This study is made available to participants at no cost to them
Attendance in a final exhibition of the creative project
How do I benefit from this study?

Increased understanding of the experience of Chinese-Indonesians in South Philadelphia

The opportunity to facilitate a community art-based research project
The opportunity to get to know more of the Chinese-Indonesians living in my South
Philadelphia neighborhood
Opportunity to teach the batik method in my own neighborhood
What are the risks of participating in this study?

Personal discomfort being video-taped or recorded

For the people selected to participate in the art-based portion of the research, there will be
a commitment of meeting once a week for two months
How is confidentiality maintained?

Published narratives will not be associated with names or any other information that can
be used for identification if the participant so chooses.
Participant Bill of Rights

The rights below are the rights of every person who is asked to be in a study. In
participating as a human subject I have the following rights:

To be told what the study is trying to find out;

To be told what will happen to me and whether any of the procedures, drugs or devices
are different from what would be used in standard practice;
To be told about the frequent and/or important risks, side effects or discomforts of the
things that will happen to me for research purpose;
To be told if I can expect any benefit from participating, and, if so, what the benefits
might be;
To be told of the other choices I have and how they may be better or worse than being in
the study;
To be allowed to ask any questions concerning the study both before agreeing to be
involved and during the course of the study;
To be told what sort medical treatment is available if any complications arise;

This research has been reviewed and approved by the Eastern University Institutional
Review Board. If you have any questions, regarding the terms of participation in these study,
please contact the researcher or review board at irb@eastern.edu.
Thank you for your time,

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Donna Backues, dbackues@eastern.edu, 610-888-4513

Consent Statement
I have read the above statements and agree to participate in the study according to terms
outlined above.

_________________________

_________________

(Participants signature)

(Date)