Beyond Racial Boundaries: The Liminal Intellectuality and Authenticity of Jacobus Rudolph Razoux Kühr (1911–1918)
Keywords:
Colonial Press, Critical Discourse Analysis, Indo-European Intellectuals, Jacobus Rudolph Razoux Kühr, Social Cognition
Abstract
This article examines the authenticity and intellectual capacity of Jacobus Rudolph Razoux Kühr (1882–1958) within the sociopolitical context of the Dutch East Indies from 1911 to 1918. It analyses his writings across four newspapers: Sin Po, Pertimbangan, De Indiër, and Perniagaan. Grounded in the premise that the colonial press functioned as a platform for ideological contestation rather than a neutral conduit, the study conceptualizes authenticity as Razoux Kühr’s reflexive awareness of his positionality as an Indo-European intellectual situated between colonial authority and Indonesian society. Furthermore, intellectuality is defined as his capacity to articulate rational critiques of colonial power relations through journalistic discourse. Methodologically, the research integrates historical methods with Van Dijk’s Critical Discourse Analysis to explore the interaction between micro-level textual strategies, social cognition, and macro-level colonial structures. The findings demonstrate that Razoux Kühr consistently advocated a liberal ideological stance that was adaptable to various editorial and sociopolitical contexts, including pluralistic engagement with Chinese nationalism, public moral critiques of colonial legitimacy, and intra-press polemics. This article contributes to Indonesian colonial historiography by illustrating how discourse analysis of the press can reveal the dynamic development of intellectual agency within the liminal social position of Indo-European actors in late-colonial society.
Downloads
Download data is not yet available.
References
Ankersmit, F. (2018). Refleksi Tentang Sejarah: Pendapat-Pendapat Modern Tentang Filsafat Sejarah. Gramedia.
Anonim. (1911, October 31). Pers-Kroniek. De Nederlander, 1.
Bell, D. (2014). What Is Liberalism? Political Theory, 42(6), 682–715. https://doi.org/10.1177/0090591714535103
Fachrurozi, M. H. (2019). Politik Etis dan Bangkitnya Kesadaran Baru Pers Bumiputra. Bihari: Jurnal Pendidikan Sejarah dan Ilmu Sejarah, 2(1), 13–25.
Fakih, F. (2023). Nasionalisme Jawa di era modern: Pemikiran politik Tjipto Mangoenkoesoemo dan Noto Soeroto.
Fortgens, J. (1930). Ternate’sche Teksten. Bijdragen tot de Taal-, Land- en Volkenkunde van Nederlandsch-Indië, 86(2), 216–301.
Freud, S. (2004). Civilization and Its Discontents. Penguin.
Gaus, G., D’Agostino, F., & Muldoon, R. (Eds.). (2025). The Routledge companion to social and political philosophy (Second edition). Routledge.
Geyer, R. F. (1976). Individual Alienation and Information Processing: A Systems Theoretical Conceptualization. In R. F. Geyer & D. R. Schweitzer (Eds.), Theories of Alienation (pp. 189–223). Springer US. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4684-8813-5_9
Gottschalk, L. (2006). Mengerti Sejarah. Penerbit Universitas Indonesia (UI-Press).
Gramsci, A. (2013). Prison Notebook: Catatan-Catatan dari Penjara. Pustaka Pelajar.
Heidegger, M. (1962). Being and Time (J. Macquarrie & E. Robinson, Trans.; 1st ed.). Blackwell Publisher.
Hoare, Q., & Smith, G. N. (Eds.). (1992). Selection From The Prison Notebooks of Antonia Gramsci. International Publisher.
Holtrop, P. N. (2000). The Governor a Missionary? Dutch Colonial Rule and Christianization during Idenburg’s Term of Office as Governor of Indonesiaw (1909-16). Studies in Church History. Subsidia, 13, 142–156. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0143045900002830
H.S. (Henk Sneevliet). (1918, January 20). DE INDIËR., DE HAP SING KONGSIE EN INSULINDE. Het Vrije Woord, 6.
Ismaun, Winarti, M., & Darmawan, W. (2016). Pengantar Ilmu Sejarah. Asosiasi Pendidik dan Peniliti Sejarah (APPS).
Jayusman, I., & Fachrurozi, M. H. (2021). Eksistensi Kaum Tionghoa dalam Dunia Pers di Hindia Belanda Tahun 1869–1942. Bihari: Jurnal Pendidikan Sejarah dan Ilmu Sejarah, 4(1), 51–59.
J.R.R.K. (1914, July 3). Pikirannja Redactie. Sin Po, 2. Perpustakaan Nasional (430/PN/M).
K.H.T. (1916, April 3). Perkataan boeat berpisa. Sin Po.
Kosasih, A. (2013). Pers Tionghoa dan Dinamika Pergerakan Nasional di Indonesia, 1900 – 1942. SUSURGALUR: Jurnal Kajian Sejarah & Pendidikan Sejarah, 1(1), 41–60.
Kuo, C. (Ed.). (2017). Religion and Nationalism in Chinese Societies. Amsterdam University Press. https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctt1zkjzkd
LaCapra, D. (2001). Writing history, writing trauma. Johns Hopkins Univ. Press.
Laceulle, H. (2018). Authenticity. In Aging and Self-Realization: Cultural Narratives about Later Life (pp. 189–218). Transcipt Verlag. http://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctv8d5tp1.10
Lubis, N. H. (2020). Metode Sejarah. Satya Historika.
Nafisah, J. J., & Suwirta, A. (2021). Perlawanan Kwee Kek Beng dalam Rubrik Hindia and Holland dan Djamblang Kotjok pada Surat Kabar Sin Po 1923–1960. Jurnal Factum: Jurnal Sejarah dan Pendidikan Sejarah, 10(2), 199–206. https://doi.org/10.17509/factum.v10i2.38973
Niwandhono, P. (2011). Yang Ter(di)lupakan: Kaum Indo dan Benih Nasionalisme Indonesia. Djaman Baroe.
Nugroho, K. Z., Ramadhan, F. S., Daradjati, K. P., & Susanti, D. (2025). Trajectory of Indo Political Movements and Indis Nationalism in the Dutch East Indies. Analisis Sejarah: Mencari Jalan Sejarah, 15(2), 119–126. https://doi.org/10.25077/jas.v15i2.141
Rahzen, T. (2007). Seabad Pers Kebangsaan, 1907–2007. I: Boekoe.
Razoux Kühr, J. R. (1911). Dutch Justice in Java: Are the Dutch worthy of His Beautiful Island with Its 35.000.000 Inhabitants? S.N. Library of Leiden University (KITLV).
Razoux Kühr, J. R. (1915, October 1). Sin Po masoek dalem oesia taon ka 6. Sin Po.
Razoux Kühr, J. R. (1916a, March 4). Perkata’an boeat berpisa. Sin Po.
Razoux Kühr, J. R. (1916b, May 6). Pendoeloean. Pertimbangan, 1.
Razoux Kühr, J. R. (1916c, June 5). Douwes Dekker. Pertimbangan.
Razoux Kühr, J. R. (1916d, June 5). Setan Merah. Pertimbangan.
Razoux Kühr, J. R. (1917, January 1). Ter Inleiding. De Indiër, 1–2.
Razoux Kühr, J. R. (1918a, January 1). [Judul Tidak Terbaca]. Perniagaan, 1.
Razoux Kühr, J. R. (1918b, March 8). Perniaga’an contra Sin Po. Perniagaan.
Redacteur. (1935, October 1). Sin Po Jubileum-Nummer 1910–1935. Sin Po, 25.
Regeeringsalmanak voor Nederlandsch-Indië 1907. (1907). [Kalender en Personalia].
Renier, G. J. (1997). Metode dan Manfaat Ilmu Sejarah. Pustaka Pelajar.
Said, E. W. (2012). Representations of the Intellectual. Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group.
Sjamsuddin, H. (2016). Metodologi Sejarah. Ombak.
Taylor, S. (2012). Transformation Through Suffering: A Study of Individuals Who Have Experienced Positive Psychological Transformation Following Periods of Intense Turmoil. Journal of Humanistic Psychology, 52(1), 30–52. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022167811404944
Termorshuizen, G. (2012). Jack Razoux Kühr (1882-1958). Fragmenten uit het Leven van een Rebelse Natuur. Indische Letteren, Tijdschrift van de Werkgroep Indisch-Nederlandse Letterkunde, 27(4), 187–209.
Thieme, C. A. (1906, April 26). Kolonien: Civiel Departement. Arnhemsche Courant. Delpher.nl (Koninklijke Bibliotheek). https://resolver.kb.nl/resolve?urn=MMKB08:000096102:mpeg21:a0026
Thieme, C. A. (1911, May 9). Een Schandaalbrochure. Arnhemsche Courant, 3.
Tosh, J. (2015). The Pursuit of History (0 ed.). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315728131
Van Dijk, T. A. (1980). Macrostructures: An Interdiciplinary Studi of Global Structures in Discourse, Interaction, and Cognition. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Van Dijk, T. A. (2006). Discourse, Context and Cognition. Discourse Studies, 8(1), 159–177. https://doi.org/10.1177/1461445606059565
Van Dijk, T. A. (2008). Discourse and Context: A Sociocognitive Approach. Cambridge University Press.
Van Dijk, T. A. (2009). Society and Discourse: How Social Context Influence Text and Talk. Cambridge University Press.
Van Paasschen, F. J. (1906, May 8). Benoemingen en Besluiten: Civiel Departement. De Avondpost. Delpher.nl (Koninklijke Bibliotheek). https://resolver.kb.nl/resolve?urn=MMKB27:017830126:mpeg21:a00090
Van Schaik, W. F. M. (1907, May 25). Van Hier En Daar. De Preanger-Bode. Delpher.nl (Koninklijke Bibliotheek). https://resolver.kb.nl/resolve?urn=MMKB08:000127371:mpeg21:a0005
Vierhout, M. (1910, July 23). Opsporing Verzocht. De Locomotief. Delpher.nl (Universitaire Bibliotheken Leiden). https://resolver.kb.nl/resolve?urn=MMKB23:001654061:mpeg21:a00015
Wahid, A. (2025). ‘Oedjan belasting, the raining of taxes’: Coloniality and the Dutch economic exploitation of the Chinese. In S. BOONSTRA, B. A. B. JONES, K. MCGREGOR, K. M. P. SETIAWAN, & A. WAHID (Eds.), Rethinking Histories of Indonesia (1st ed., pp. 45–70). ANU Press. JSTOR. http://www.jstor.org/stable/jj.32913240.9
Wijayanto, W. (2024). Ksatrian Instituut: Merdeka Belajar Pada Masanya. Revorma: Jurnal Pendidikan Dan Pemikiran, 4(2), 108–119. https://doi.org/10.62825/revorma.v4i2.121
Winarno, Muchtarom, & Rusnaini. (2020). GAGASAN KEWARGANEGARAAN INDONESIA DALAM PERSPEKTIF SEJARAH. Journal Humanika, 27(2), 184–199.
Wybrands, K. (1907a, May 24). Wegens Ziekte. Het Nieuws van den Dag voor Nederlandsch-Indië. Delpher.nl (Koninklijke Bibliotheek). https://resolver.kb.nl/resolve?urn=ddd:010134699:mpeg21:p002
Wybrands, K. (1907b, June 10). Besluiten en Benoemingen: Civil Departemen. Het Nieuws van den Dag voor Nederlandsch-Indië. Delpher.nl (Koninklijke Bibliotheek). https://resolver.kb.nl/resolve?urn=ddd:010134713:mpeg21:a0037
Yamamoto, N. (2019). Cencorship In Colonial Indonesia,1901–1942. Brill.
Yaqiin, A. M. A., & Nasution. (2024). ANALISIS MUATAN KONTEN SURAT KABAR SIN PO (1920–1942). AVATARA: E-Journal Pendidikan Sejarah, 15(2), 1–17.
Anonim. (1911, October 31). Pers-Kroniek. De Nederlander, 1.
Bell, D. (2014). What Is Liberalism? Political Theory, 42(6), 682–715. https://doi.org/10.1177/0090591714535103
Fachrurozi, M. H. (2019). Politik Etis dan Bangkitnya Kesadaran Baru Pers Bumiputra. Bihari: Jurnal Pendidikan Sejarah dan Ilmu Sejarah, 2(1), 13–25.
Fakih, F. (2023). Nasionalisme Jawa di era modern: Pemikiran politik Tjipto Mangoenkoesoemo dan Noto Soeroto.
Fortgens, J. (1930). Ternate’sche Teksten. Bijdragen tot de Taal-, Land- en Volkenkunde van Nederlandsch-Indië, 86(2), 216–301.
Freud, S. (2004). Civilization and Its Discontents. Penguin.
Gaus, G., D’Agostino, F., & Muldoon, R. (Eds.). (2025). The Routledge companion to social and political philosophy (Second edition). Routledge.
Geyer, R. F. (1976). Individual Alienation and Information Processing: A Systems Theoretical Conceptualization. In R. F. Geyer & D. R. Schweitzer (Eds.), Theories of Alienation (pp. 189–223). Springer US. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4684-8813-5_9
Gottschalk, L. (2006). Mengerti Sejarah. Penerbit Universitas Indonesia (UI-Press).
Gramsci, A. (2013). Prison Notebook: Catatan-Catatan dari Penjara. Pustaka Pelajar.
Heidegger, M. (1962). Being and Time (J. Macquarrie & E. Robinson, Trans.; 1st ed.). Blackwell Publisher.
Hoare, Q., & Smith, G. N. (Eds.). (1992). Selection From The Prison Notebooks of Antonia Gramsci. International Publisher.
Holtrop, P. N. (2000). The Governor a Missionary? Dutch Colonial Rule and Christianization during Idenburg’s Term of Office as Governor of Indonesiaw (1909-16). Studies in Church History. Subsidia, 13, 142–156. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0143045900002830
H.S. (Henk Sneevliet). (1918, January 20). DE INDIËR., DE HAP SING KONGSIE EN INSULINDE. Het Vrije Woord, 6.
Ismaun, Winarti, M., & Darmawan, W. (2016). Pengantar Ilmu Sejarah. Asosiasi Pendidik dan Peniliti Sejarah (APPS).
Jayusman, I., & Fachrurozi, M. H. (2021). Eksistensi Kaum Tionghoa dalam Dunia Pers di Hindia Belanda Tahun 1869–1942. Bihari: Jurnal Pendidikan Sejarah dan Ilmu Sejarah, 4(1), 51–59.
J.R.R.K. (1914, July 3). Pikirannja Redactie. Sin Po, 2. Perpustakaan Nasional (430/PN/M).
K.H.T. (1916, April 3). Perkataan boeat berpisa. Sin Po.
Kosasih, A. (2013). Pers Tionghoa dan Dinamika Pergerakan Nasional di Indonesia, 1900 – 1942. SUSURGALUR: Jurnal Kajian Sejarah & Pendidikan Sejarah, 1(1), 41–60.
Kuo, C. (Ed.). (2017). Religion and Nationalism in Chinese Societies. Amsterdam University Press. https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctt1zkjzkd
LaCapra, D. (2001). Writing history, writing trauma. Johns Hopkins Univ. Press.
Laceulle, H. (2018). Authenticity. In Aging and Self-Realization: Cultural Narratives about Later Life (pp. 189–218). Transcipt Verlag. http://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctv8d5tp1.10
Lubis, N. H. (2020). Metode Sejarah. Satya Historika.
Nafisah, J. J., & Suwirta, A. (2021). Perlawanan Kwee Kek Beng dalam Rubrik Hindia and Holland dan Djamblang Kotjok pada Surat Kabar Sin Po 1923–1960. Jurnal Factum: Jurnal Sejarah dan Pendidikan Sejarah, 10(2), 199–206. https://doi.org/10.17509/factum.v10i2.38973
Niwandhono, P. (2011). Yang Ter(di)lupakan: Kaum Indo dan Benih Nasionalisme Indonesia. Djaman Baroe.
Nugroho, K. Z., Ramadhan, F. S., Daradjati, K. P., & Susanti, D. (2025). Trajectory of Indo Political Movements and Indis Nationalism in the Dutch East Indies. Analisis Sejarah: Mencari Jalan Sejarah, 15(2), 119–126. https://doi.org/10.25077/jas.v15i2.141
Rahzen, T. (2007). Seabad Pers Kebangsaan, 1907–2007. I: Boekoe.
Razoux Kühr, J. R. (1911). Dutch Justice in Java: Are the Dutch worthy of His Beautiful Island with Its 35.000.000 Inhabitants? S.N. Library of Leiden University (KITLV).
Razoux Kühr, J. R. (1915, October 1). Sin Po masoek dalem oesia taon ka 6. Sin Po.
Razoux Kühr, J. R. (1916a, March 4). Perkata’an boeat berpisa. Sin Po.
Razoux Kühr, J. R. (1916b, May 6). Pendoeloean. Pertimbangan, 1.
Razoux Kühr, J. R. (1916c, June 5). Douwes Dekker. Pertimbangan.
Razoux Kühr, J. R. (1916d, June 5). Setan Merah. Pertimbangan.
Razoux Kühr, J. R. (1917, January 1). Ter Inleiding. De Indiër, 1–2.
Razoux Kühr, J. R. (1918a, January 1). [Judul Tidak Terbaca]. Perniagaan, 1.
Razoux Kühr, J. R. (1918b, March 8). Perniaga’an contra Sin Po. Perniagaan.
Redacteur. (1935, October 1). Sin Po Jubileum-Nummer 1910–1935. Sin Po, 25.
Regeeringsalmanak voor Nederlandsch-Indië 1907. (1907). [Kalender en Personalia].
Renier, G. J. (1997). Metode dan Manfaat Ilmu Sejarah. Pustaka Pelajar.
Said, E. W. (2012). Representations of the Intellectual. Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group.
Sjamsuddin, H. (2016). Metodologi Sejarah. Ombak.
Taylor, S. (2012). Transformation Through Suffering: A Study of Individuals Who Have Experienced Positive Psychological Transformation Following Periods of Intense Turmoil. Journal of Humanistic Psychology, 52(1), 30–52. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022167811404944
Termorshuizen, G. (2012). Jack Razoux Kühr (1882-1958). Fragmenten uit het Leven van een Rebelse Natuur. Indische Letteren, Tijdschrift van de Werkgroep Indisch-Nederlandse Letterkunde, 27(4), 187–209.
Thieme, C. A. (1906, April 26). Kolonien: Civiel Departement. Arnhemsche Courant. Delpher.nl (Koninklijke Bibliotheek). https://resolver.kb.nl/resolve?urn=MMKB08:000096102:mpeg21:a0026
Thieme, C. A. (1911, May 9). Een Schandaalbrochure. Arnhemsche Courant, 3.
Tosh, J. (2015). The Pursuit of History (0 ed.). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315728131
Van Dijk, T. A. (1980). Macrostructures: An Interdiciplinary Studi of Global Structures in Discourse, Interaction, and Cognition. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Van Dijk, T. A. (2006). Discourse, Context and Cognition. Discourse Studies, 8(1), 159–177. https://doi.org/10.1177/1461445606059565
Van Dijk, T. A. (2008). Discourse and Context: A Sociocognitive Approach. Cambridge University Press.
Van Dijk, T. A. (2009). Society and Discourse: How Social Context Influence Text and Talk. Cambridge University Press.
Van Paasschen, F. J. (1906, May 8). Benoemingen en Besluiten: Civiel Departement. De Avondpost. Delpher.nl (Koninklijke Bibliotheek). https://resolver.kb.nl/resolve?urn=MMKB27:017830126:mpeg21:a00090
Van Schaik, W. F. M. (1907, May 25). Van Hier En Daar. De Preanger-Bode. Delpher.nl (Koninklijke Bibliotheek). https://resolver.kb.nl/resolve?urn=MMKB08:000127371:mpeg21:a0005
Vierhout, M. (1910, July 23). Opsporing Verzocht. De Locomotief. Delpher.nl (Universitaire Bibliotheken Leiden). https://resolver.kb.nl/resolve?urn=MMKB23:001654061:mpeg21:a00015
Wahid, A. (2025). ‘Oedjan belasting, the raining of taxes’: Coloniality and the Dutch economic exploitation of the Chinese. In S. BOONSTRA, B. A. B. JONES, K. MCGREGOR, K. M. P. SETIAWAN, & A. WAHID (Eds.), Rethinking Histories of Indonesia (1st ed., pp. 45–70). ANU Press. JSTOR. http://www.jstor.org/stable/jj.32913240.9
Wijayanto, W. (2024). Ksatrian Instituut: Merdeka Belajar Pada Masanya. Revorma: Jurnal Pendidikan Dan Pemikiran, 4(2), 108–119. https://doi.org/10.62825/revorma.v4i2.121
Winarno, Muchtarom, & Rusnaini. (2020). GAGASAN KEWARGANEGARAAN INDONESIA DALAM PERSPEKTIF SEJARAH. Journal Humanika, 27(2), 184–199.
Wybrands, K. (1907a, May 24). Wegens Ziekte. Het Nieuws van den Dag voor Nederlandsch-Indië. Delpher.nl (Koninklijke Bibliotheek). https://resolver.kb.nl/resolve?urn=ddd:010134699:mpeg21:p002
Wybrands, K. (1907b, June 10). Besluiten en Benoemingen: Civil Departemen. Het Nieuws van den Dag voor Nederlandsch-Indië. Delpher.nl (Koninklijke Bibliotheek). https://resolver.kb.nl/resolve?urn=ddd:010134713:mpeg21:a0037
Yamamoto, N. (2019). Cencorship In Colonial Indonesia,1901–1942. Brill.
Yaqiin, A. M. A., & Nasution. (2024). ANALISIS MUATAN KONTEN SURAT KABAR SIN PO (1920–1942). AVATARA: E-Journal Pendidikan Sejarah, 15(2), 1–17.
