GYM4710

Southeast Asia

Dr Gale Dixon

12 points
* 3 hours per week
* Second semester
* Clayton
* Prerequisites: none

Objectives Students completing this subject will have extended and deepened their knowledge about the Southeast Asian region. They will have drawn upon the range of subdisciplines within geography (such as biogeography, climatology, economic geography, geomorphology, historical geography), to develop a comprehensive view of major enduring qualities of the region and to focus upon some of the current preoccupations. With supervision, students will have pursued their own particular interest in the region by developing and researching their own topic, utilising the first class resources of the Southeast Asian collection in the Monash library. Students will have considered and analysed different approaches to understanding the region by reading and reviewing two geography texts.
Synopsis This subject examines the unique character of the region from Burma to the Philippines and from northern Vietnam to southern Indonesia. Of particular concern are the influences of South Asian, Chinese and European cultural infusions upon the indigenous peoples, and the ways in which blending of cultures helps explain the rich variety of the region. Emphasis is also given to differences in social and economic development in the recent past. So that this subject may complement the work students do in other courses, considerable latitude in essay topics and tutorial readings is allowed.

Assessment Written (5500 words): 70%
* Examination (2 hours): 20%
* Tutorial attendance and participation: 10%

Recommended texts

Bellwood P Prehistory of the Indo-Malaysian Archipelago Academic Press, 1985
Clad J Behind the Myth: Business, money and power in Southeast Asia Unwin Hyman, 1989
Far Eastern Economic Review Asia 1998 yearbook Hong Kong, 1998
Fein J S and Stephens P L (eds) Monsoons Wiley, 1987
Forbes D Asian metropolis: Urbanisation in Southeast Asia OUP, 1996
Fryer D W Emerging Southeast Asia: A study in growth and stagnation 2nd edn, Philip, 1979
Lipton M and Longhurst R New seeds and poor people Unwin Hyman, 1989
Reid A Southeast Asia in the age of commerce, 1450 - 1680, Volumes I and II, 1993 Yale U P, 1988
Rigg J Southeast Asia: A region in transition Unwin Hyman, 1991
Whitmore T C (ed.) Biogeographical evolution of the Malay archipelago Clarendon, 1986