Postgraduate - UnitAMG4382 - Contemporary issues in Asia

This unit entry is for students who completed this unit in 2015 only. For students planning to study the unit, please refer to the unit indexes in the the current edition of the Handbook. If you have any queries contact the managing faculty for your course or area of study.

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12 points, SCA Band 1, 0.250 EFTSL

Refer to the specific census and withdrawal dates for the semester(s) in which this unit is offered.

Level	Postgraduate
Faculty	Faculty of Arts
Organisational Unit	School of Arts and Social Sciences, Malaysia
Offered	Malaysia Second semester 2015 (Day)
Coordinator(s)	Associate Professor Helen Nesadurai

Synopsis

This unit explores the major transformations in Asia, a vast geographical area with boundaries that are fluid and often contested. Given the enormous diversity and scope of Asia, the unit adopts a thematic approach to discuss key political, economic, social and cultural transitions and transformations within selected regions such as Southeast Asia. While a closer study of contemporary issues in any particular region provides a measure of coherence to the unit, students are encouraged to consider the broader relevance of the political, economic and social shifts studied in the unit to other parts of Asia.

Outcomes

On successful completion of this unit, students will be able to:

Identify issues of contemporary importance to particular communities in Asia as the region continues to experience the effects of previous and on-going transformations in politics, the economy, law, society, and culture;
Analyse the complex forces driving these contemporary transitions and transformations through case studies covering domestic political reform, regional institution building, international relations, migration, urbanisation, the rise of civil society and social movements, as well as cultural shifts;
Compare the reactions and responses to these transitions/transformations of different actors, for instance, governments, communities and groups directly affected by these shifts, other social groups including NGOs, firms and international organizations;
Apply multi-disciplinary approaches to the study of Asia; and
Produce reports, policy briefs, position papers, essays and other works that reflect skills in interpreting texts, writing critically and persuasively, and crafting and defending sound arguments.

Assessment

Within semester assessment: 100%

Workload requirements

Minimum total expected workload to achieve the learning outcomes for this unit is 288 hours per semester typically comprising a mixture of scheduled learning activities and independent study. A unit requires on average three/four hours of scheduled activities per week. Scheduled activities may include a combination of teacher directed learning, peer directed learning and online engagement.

Chief examiner(s)

Associate Professor Helen Nesadurai

This unit applies to the following area(s) of study

Communications and media studies

Prohibitions

APG4382