Type of Credit: Partially Required
Credit(s)
Number of Students
Welcome to Maritime Southeast Asian History! This course will introduce you to Southeast Asia from the beginnings of the first known societies in the region about two thousand years ago to the establishment of independent states in the late twentieth century. In this course Southeast Asia will be treated as a region with fuzzy geographic boundaries, but will roughly correspond to the territories of the nation states that now belong to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. The course’s primary theme will be the political and economic evolutions of the societies that developed within Southeast Asia’s various subregions (the north coast of Java, the Melaka Strait, the Chao Phraya river valley, &c.), and their interactions with each other. The course’s secondary theme will be the influences that other societies beyond the region had on Southeast Asia’s history.
能力項目說明
In this course you will become familiar with a ‘big picture’ story of Southeast Asian history. You will learn about the region’s most powerful political dynasties, the cultures that shaped them, and the technologies that allowed them to develop in the region’s diverse geographic environments. You will learn about the introduction of new ideologies that developed elsewhere in the world, including Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam, Marxism, and liberalism, and how these ideas were adopted and adapted by Southeast Asian peoples. You will also be introduced to some of the major debates that modern historians have had over Southeast Asia’s history, and you will have the opportunity to analyse and evaluate the arguments of these historians. Finally, through discussions, presentations, and a final research paper, you will have the opportunity to formulate and articulate your own understandings of the region’s rich and complex histories.
| 教學週次Course Week | 彈性補充教學週次Flexible Supplemental Instruction Week | 彈性補充教學類別Flexible Supplemental Instruction Type |
|---|---|---|
During the semester you will write two examinations, a midterm and a final (each worth 20%). You will also write a research paper of ten to fifteen pages in English or Chinese on a topic of your choice related to South Asia (worth 25%). And during one of the final two meetings of the course, you will give a ten minute presentation on your paper topic (10%).
Aside from the examination and presentation days, each meeting will consist of a lecture and then a discussion section. For each discussion section you will need to read a short selection of primary or secondary sources (which I will make available on Moodle every week) and then answer two or three questions with about one to three sentences in English or Chinese (attendance, participation, and the weekly discussion question answers will be worth 20% together).
Tentative Course Schedule
2/22: Introduction & Southeast Asian Pre-History
2/29: Buddhism, Hinduism, & the Earliest Kingdoms, AD 1 – 600
3/7: Srivijaya, 600 – 1000
3/14: The Khmer & Sukhothai Kingdoms, 800 – 1400
3/21: Majaphit, 1300 – 1500
3/28: The Entry of Islam, 1200 – 1600
4/4: NO CLASS; 清明節
4/11: Kingdom of Ayutthaya, 1350 – 1750
4/18: Midterm Examination
4/25: The VOC & the Spice Trade, 1600 – 1800
5/2: The Dutch East Indies & Opium, 1800 – 1900
5/9: The British Crown, Company, & Colonies, 1800 – 1945
5/16: Post-War Independence, 1945 – Present
5/23: Final Presentations
5/30: Final Presentations
6/6: Final Examination
參與及回應紙: Participation, attendance, and discussion question answers: 20%
期中考試 Midterm exam: 20%
期末考試 Final exam: 20%
報告 Presentation: 15%
期末論文 Final paper: 25%
Examination Make-up Policy
If you need to miss an exam because of a planned activity, you must let me know in advance so an alternative time can be arranged for a make-up exam. Similarly, if you miss an exam because of an emergency, you should contact me as soon as possible to discuss arranging a time for a make-up exam.
There is no required text book for the course, but ‘further reading’ suggestions will be offered after each week’s presentations for topics that you find particularly interesting. I will also be happy to recommend and help you find general surveys of early, early modern, or modern Southeast Asian history.
The course’s weekly reading will be available on Moodle.