Course

Southeast Asia - ARTS2212

Faculty: Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences

School: School of Humanities

Course Outline: School of Humanities Course Outlines

Campus: Kensington Campus

Career: Undergraduate

Units of Credit: 6

EFTSL: 0.12500 (more info)

Indicative Contact Hours per Week: 3

Enrolment Requirements:

Prerequisite: 30 units of credit at Level 1

Equivalent: HIST2300

CSS Contribution Charge: 1 (more info)

Tuition Fee: See Tuition Fee Schedule

Further Information: See Class Timetable

Available for General Education: Yes (more info)

View course information for previous years.

Description

Subject Area: Asian Studies
This course can also be studied in the following specialisation: Chinese Studies; History

The course focuses on modern Southeast Asia since the end of the colonial period until the present day. Instead of the traditional interpretation which sees a trend towards authoritarianism, we shall read contemporary Southeast Asia as a conflict between two competing discourses--dictatorship versus democracy- and explore how the unresolved tension between these two systems explain the shifts between authoritarianism regimes and democratic movements in several Southeast Asian countries. It surveys the rise of military regimes, the pro-democracy movements, communist insurgencies and rebellion and the civil wars that threatened to break up the new nations. The regimes of Marcos, Sukarno, Suharto, Mahathir, Lee Kuan Yew, Goh Chok Tong, the Khmer Rouge, and New Win will provide some case studies from which to analyse Southeast Asian political dynamics, such as corruption, nepotism, kinship politics, regime violence, torture, social movements, and the gendering of power. It also looks at the Southeast Asian versions of elections and the media. The countries of the Philippines, Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Burma, and Cambodia will receive special emphasis. In addition, the course includes contemporary issues such as refugees, diasporas or migration (temporary and permanent), and transnational activism.

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