ANY3230

Culture and conflict in Indonesia

Brett Hough

8 points
* 2 hours per week
* First semester
* Clayton

Objectives Students in this subject can expect to develop an awareness of the unity and diversity of Indonesia; an understanding of the significant social, political, historical and economic forces that have shaped (and continue to shape) contemporary Indonesia; the conceptual tools for understanding these processes; a sense of their own personal and cultural reflexivity as they use material written from different theoretical perspectives; the critical and expressive resources to make use of the material to write independent essays on the topics provided or chosen for assessment.

Synopsis Indonesia is a plural society made up of many groups distinguishable on ethnic, religious, linguistic and other cultural grounds. It is also a modern mass society undergoing rapid industrialisation, urbanisation and agricultural transformation. This subject will analyse the processes of class formation and conflict within the context of the political economy of structural change in Indonesia. It will examine the cultural mediation of conflict, the cultural reproduction of group identity, and the dynamics of social movements engendered by modernisation - mass movements which draw on the symbols of Islam, ethnicity, nationalism, and various political ideologies.

Assessment Seminar participation: 10%
* Essay (2000 words): 30%
* Major project (4000 words): 60%

Recommended texts

Anderson B Imagined communities 2nd edn, Verso, 1991
Bourchier D and Legge J (eds) Democracy in Indonesia 1950s and 1990s Monash University CSEAS, 1994
Bresnan J Managing Indonesia: The modern political economy Columbia University P, 1993
Budiman A (ed.) State and civil society in Indonesia Monash University CSEAS, 1992
Hill H (ed) Indonesia's new order Allen and Unwin, 1994
Kahin A and Anderson B (eds) Interpreting Indonesian politics Cornell Southeast Asia Program, 1982
Liddle R W Leadership and culture in Indonesian politics ASAA Allen and Unwin, 1996
Ramage D Politics in Indonesia Routledge, 1995
Robison, R Indonesia: The rise of capital Allen and Unwin, 1986
Schwarz A A nation in waiting: Indonesia in the 1990s Allen and Unwin, 1994
Tanter R and Young K (eds) The politics of middle class Indonesia Monash University CSEAS, 1990
Vatikiotis M Indonesian politics under Suharto 2nd edn, Routledge, 1995