ARTS2212: Southeast Asia

Subject Area: Asian Studies
This course can also be studied in the following specialisation: 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.