Abstract

This study examines the incorporation of Laksmi Pamuntjak’s The Question of Red into Indonesian English Language Teaching (ELT) classrooms as a means of reclaiming silenced histories, specifically the 1965 genocide. Through a critical literacy framework informed by Janks, Freire, and Giroux, the research investigates how literary narratives can disrupt state-sanctioned accounts and foster students’ historical cognizance. Data were gathered through classroom observations, textual analyses, and semi-structured interviews with undergraduate English majors. Findings reveal that students engaged deeply with depictions of political imprisonment and survivor testimony. They critically interrogated the gaps and biases in official histories, demonstrating both sensitivity and skepticism. Many also expressed a heightened awareness of the imperial archive, and they exercised agency by producing counter-texts that reimagined historical events from marginalized perspectives. This participatory rewriting process not only strengthened linguistic competence but also fostered epistemic agency, since it enabled students to position themselves as active interpreters of history. The study highlights the transformative potential of fiction in ELT, showing how it can bridge linguistic, cultural, and historical learning while situating language education as a space of political and ethical engagement. By embedding contested histories in affective and humanized narratives, ELT contributes to wider projects of historical recovery, reconciliation, and decolonial knowledge-making. Overall, these findings advocate for a shift in Indonesian ELT curricula toward literature-driven approaches that prioritize critical engagement with local histories and cultural memory, thereby preparing learners to navigate linguistic, identity, and socio-political complexities in pursuit of a more just world.