Outline

Overview

This unit of study introduces Southeast Asia. It emphasises the importance of geographical, political, economic, social and cultural context to our understanding of complex real-world problems. Having gained insight into these aspects of contemporary Southeast Asia, students learn to apply an interdisciplinary approach to the analysis of challenges faced by the region such as economic and social inequality, environmental management, food security and urbanisation.

Unit details and rules

Academic unit
Credit points	6
Prerequisites ?	12 Junior credit points
Corequisites ?	None
Prohibitions ?	None
Assumed knowledge ?	None
Available to study abroad and exchange students	Yes

Teaching staff

Coordinator	Adrian Vickers, adrian.vickers@sydney.edu.au

Type	Description	Weight	Due	Length
Assignment	Essay research essay	30%	-	2500 words
Outcomes assessed:
Assignment	Briefing paper report-form paper	25%	Week 07	1000 words
Outcomes assessed:
Assignment	Annotated Bibliography Detailed commentary on sources	20%	Week 10	500 words
Outcomes assessed:
Assignment	Weekly quiz and reflection On-line quiz and reflective commentary	25%	Weekly	2000 words total
Outcomes assessed:

Assessment summary

Weekly quiz and Reflection: These quizzes test for knowledge and understanding of the materials covered in the weekly module, including the video lecture, radio interviews and readings. Please note there is a 2 hour time limit on the quiz. Reflections should be around 200 words in length.
Briefing paper: Students will work on and submit a briefing paper designed for use by a senior Australian bureaucrat who will be meeting with senior foreign government officials to discuss the progress of one of a number of specified development assistance projects in a Southeast Asian country.
Annotated bibliography: Students will be required to submit for marking an annotated bibliography on three readings related to one of the essay questions.
Essay: Students will submit an academic essay that focuses on one of the case study topics as it relates to a Southeast Asian country or countries.

Detailed information for each assessment can be found on Canvas.

Assessment criteria

The University awards common result grades, set out in the Coursework Policy 2014 (Schedule 1).

As a general guide, a High distinction indicates work of an exceptional standard, a Distinction a very high standard, a credit a good standard, and a pass an acceptable standard.

Result name	Mark range	Description
High distinction	85 - 100	Awarded when you demonstrate the learning outcomes for the unit at an exceptional standard, as defined by grade descriptors or exemplars outlined by your faculty or school.
Distinction	75 - 84	Awarded when you demonstrate the learning outcomes for the unit at a very high standard, as defined by grade descriptors or exemplars outlined by your faculty or school.
Credit	65 - 74	Awarded when you demonstrate the learning outcomes for the unit at a good standard, as defined by grade descriptors or exemplars outlined by your faculty or school.
Pass	50 - 64	Awarded when you demonstrate the learning outcomes for the unit at an acceptable standard, as defined by grade descriptors or exemplars outlined by your faculty or school.
Fail	0 - 49	When you don’t meet the learning outcomes of the unit to a satisfactory standard.

For more information see guide to grades.

Late submission

In accordance with University policy, these penalties apply when written work is submitted after 11:59pm on the due date:

Deduction of 5% of the maximum mark for each calendar day after the due date.
After ten calendar days late, a mark of zero will be awarded.

Academic integrity

The Current Student website provides information on academic integrity and the resources available to all students. The University expects students and staff to act ethically and honestly and will treat all allegations of academic integrity breaches seriously.

We use similarity detection software to detect potential instances of plagiarism or other forms of academic integrity breach. If such matches indicate evidence of plagiarism or other forms of academic integrity breaches, your teacher is required to report your work for further investigation.

Use of generative artificial intelligence (AI) and automated writing tools

You may only use generative AI and automated writing tools in assessment tasks if you are permitted to by your unit coordinator. If you do use these tools, you must acknowledge this in your work, either in a footnote or an acknowledgement section. The assessment instructions or unit outline will give guidance of the types of tools that are permitted and how the tools should be used.

Your final submitted work must be your own, original work. You must acknowledge any use of generative AI tools that have been used in the assessment, and any material that forms part of your submission must be appropriately referenced. For guidance on how to acknowledge the use of AI, please refer to the AI in Education Canvas site.

The unapproved use of these tools or unacknowledged use will be considered a breach of the Academic Integrity Policy and penalties may apply.

Studiosity is permitted unless otherwise indicated by the unit coordinator. The use of this service must be acknowledged in your submission as detailed on the Learning Hub’s Canvas page.

Outside assessment tasks, generative AI tools may be used to support your learning. The AI in Education Canvas site contains a number of productive ways that students are using AI to improve their learning.

Learning support

Simple extensions

If you encounter a problem submitting your work on time, you may be able to apply for an extension of five calendar days through a simple extension.  The application process will be different depending on the type of assessment and extensions cannot be granted for some assessment types like exams.

Special consideration

If exceptional circumstances mean you can’t complete an assessment, you need consideration for a longer period of time, or if you have essential commitments which impact your performance in an assessment, you may be eligible for special consideration or special arrangements.

Special consideration applications will not be affected by a simple extension application.

Using AI responsibly

Co-created with students, AI in Education includes lots of helpful examples of how students use generative AI tools to support their learning. It explains how generative AI works, the different tools available and how to use them responsibly and productively.

Weekly schedule

WK	Topic	Learning activity
Week 01	Introduction	Lecture and tutorial (2 hr)
Week 02	Geography	Lecture and tutorial (2 hr)
Week 03	Culture and religion	Lecture and tutorial (2 hr)
Week 04	History	Lecture and tutorial (2 hr)
Week 05	Political science	Lecture and tutorial (2 hr)
Week 06	Political economy	Lecture and tutorial (2 hr)
Week 07	Guided country study	Lecture and tutorial (2 hr)
Week 08	Urbanisation	Lecture and tutorial (2 hr)
Week 09	Food security	Lecture and tutorial (2 hr)
Week 10	Labour migration	Lecture and tutorial (2 hr)
Week 11	Disability policy	Lecture and tutorial (2 hr)
Week 12	Environmental management	Lecture and tutorial (2 hr)
Week 13	Review week	Lecture and tutorial (2 hr)

Attendance and class requirements

Attendance: This is a fully on-line unit, so there are no face-to-face classes, but the coordinator and tutor will arrange consultation sessions for those who need them.
Lecture recording: Lecture material is available on-line.
Preparation: Students should commit to spend approximately three hours’ preparation time (reading, studying, homework, essays, etc.) for every hour of scheduled instruction.

Study commitment

Typically, there is a minimum expectation of 1.5-2 hours of student effort per week per credit point for units of study offered over a full semester. For a 6 credit point unit, this equates to roughly 120-150 hours of student effort in total.

Required readings

Detailed Schedule of Readings

Week 1: Introduction

Acharya, Amitav. 2012. “Imagining Southeast Asia.” In The Making of Southeast Asia: International Relations of a Region, 51–104. Singapore: Institute of Southeast Asian Studies.

Week 2: Geography

van Schendel, Willem. 2002. “Geographies of Knowing, Geographies of Ignorance: Jumping Scale in Southeast Asia.” Environment and Planning D: Society and Space no. 20 (6):647–668.

Week 3: Culture and Religion

Sunardi, C. (2009). Pushing at the boundaries of the body: Cultural politics and cross-gender dance in East Java, Bijdragen tot de taal-, land- en volkenkunde / Journal of the Humanities and Social Sciences of Southeast Asia, 165(4): 459-492.

Week 4: History

Winichakul, Thongchai. 2003. "Writing at the Interstices: Southeast Asian Historians and Postnational Histories in Southeast Asia." In New terrains in Southeast Asian history, edited by Abu Talib Ahmad and Liok Ee Tan, pp. 329. Athens: Ohio University Press. 3

Week 5: Political Science

Arugay, A., Sinpeng, A.(2018. Varieties of Authoritarianism and the Limits of Democratization in Southeast Asia. In Alice D. Ba, Mark Beeson (Eds.), Contemporary Southeast Asia: The Politics of Change, Contestation, and Adaptation, (pp. 91-110). London: Palgrave.

Week 6: Political Economy

Juanita Elias and Lena Rethel. 2016. “Introduction.” The Everyday Political Economy of Southeast Asia. Edited by Juanita Elias and Lena Rethel. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp.268– https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/everyday-political-economy-of-southeast-asia/southeast-asia-and-everyday-political-economy/6BB4BF1058AB891760ED0533035FC3FB

Week 8: Urbanism

Ballegooijen, Jan Van, and Roberto Rocco. 2013. “The Ideologies of Informality: Informal Urbanisation in the Architectural and Planning Discourses.” Third World Quarterly no. 34 (10):1794–1810.

Goh, Daniel P. S., and Tim Bunnell. 2013. “Recentering Southeast Asian Cities.” International Journal of Urban and Regional Research no. 37 (3):825–833.

Week 9: Food Security

Neilson, J. and Wright, J. 2017. “The state and the food security discourses of Indonesia: feeding the Bangsa”, Geographical Research 55(3): 131-143.

Davidson, J. 2018. “Then and Now: Campaigns to Achieve Rice Self-Sufficiency in Indonesia”. Bijdragen Tot de Taal-, Land- en Volkenkunde, 174(2/3): 188-215.

Week 10: Labour Migration

Djafar, Fariastuti, and Mohd Khairul Hisyam Hassan. 2013. “Does Trade with Labour Sending Countries Reduce Demand for Migrant Workers: A Lesson from Malaysia.” Asian Economic and Financial Review no. 3 (10):1325–1336.

Ford, Michele. 2012. “Contested Borders, Contested Boundaries: The Politics of Labour Migration in Southeast Asia.” In Routledge Handbook of Southeast Asian Politics, edited by Richard Robison, 305–314. London: Routledge.

Week 11: Disability

Boellstorff, Tom. 2019. “Om Toleran Om: Four Indonesian Reflections on Digital Heterosexism.” Media, Culture & Society, (November). doi:10.1177/0163443719884066.

Dede Oetomo/Inside Indonesia https://www.insideindonesia.org/reformasi-s-broken-promises

Week 12: Environmental Management

McCarthy, J. F., & Cramb, R. A. 2009. “Policy narratives, landholder engagement, and oil palm expansion on the Malaysian and Indonesian frontiers”. Geographical Journal, 175(2), 112-123.

Neilson, J. 2017.”Indonesia: a political-economic history of environment and resources.” Routledge Handbook of the Environment in Southeast Asia, ed. P. Hirsch, pp. 374-389. Routledge.

Learning outcomes

Learning outcomes are what students know, understand and are able to do on completion of a unit of study. They are aligned with the University's graduate qualities and are assessed as part of the curriculum.

Outcomes
Graduate qualities

At the completion of this unit, you should be able to:

LO1. demonstrate familiarity with key aspects of the cultures, history, geography and the political and economic systems of Southeast Asia.
LO2. recognise how a range of disciplines may be used to analyse complex, real-world, problems in a Southeast Asian context.
LO3. apply interdisciplinary methods to analyse Southeast Asian issues.
LO4. demonstrate ability to synthesise a range of different forms of information.
LO5. present evidenced-based arguments on Southeast Asian topics in a persuasive manner.
LO6. construct arguments that demonstrate differences between academic and policy writing genres.

Graduate qualities

The graduate qualities are the qualities and skills that all University of Sydney graduates must demonstrate on successful completion of an award course. As a future Sydney graduate, the set of qualities have been designed to equip you for the contemporary world.

GQ1	Depth of disciplinary expertise Deep disciplinary expertise is the ability to integrate and rigorously apply knowledge, understanding and skills of a recognised discipline defined by scholarly activity, as well as familiarity with evolving practice of the discipline.
GQ2	Critical thinking and problem solving Critical thinking and problem solving are the questioning of ideas, evidence and assumptions in order to propose and evaluate hypotheses or alternative arguments before formulating a conclusion or a solution to an identified problem.
GQ3	Oral and written communication Effective communication, in both oral and written form, is the clear exchange of meaning in a manner that is appropriate to audience and context.
GQ4	Information and digital literacy Information and digital literacy is the ability to locate, interpret, evaluate, manage, adapt, integrate, create and convey information using appropriate resources, tools and strategies.
GQ5	Inventiveness Generating novel ideas and solutions.
GQ6	Cultural competence Cultural Competence is the ability to actively, ethically, respectfully, and successfully engage across and between cultures. In the Australian context, this includes and celebrates Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures, knowledge systems, and a mature understanding of contemporary issues.
GQ7	Interdisciplinary effectiveness Interdisciplinary effectiveness is the integration and synthesis of multiple viewpoints and practices, working effectively across disciplinary boundaries.
GQ8	Integrated professional, ethical, and personal identity An integrated professional, ethical and personal identity is understanding the interaction between one’s personal and professional selves in an ethical context.
GQ9	Influence Engaging others in a process, idea or vision.

Outcome map

Learning outcomes	Graduate qualities
Learning outcomes

Responding to student feedback

This section outlines changes made to this unit following staff and student reviews.

This unit has been revised on the basis of student feedback and peer evaluation, in particular lectures and readings have been up-dated.

Disclaimer

The University reserves the right to amend units of study or no longer offer certain units, including where there are low enrolment numbers.

To help you understand common terms that we use at the University, we offer an online glossary.

Current students

Overview

Overview

Unit details and rules

Teaching staff

Assessment

Assessment

Assessment summary

Assessment criteria

Late submission

Academic integrity

Learning support

Learning support

Simple extensions

Special consideration

Using AI responsibly

Weekly schedule

Weekly schedule

Attendance and class requirements

Study commitment

Required readings

Learning outcomes

Learning outcomes

Graduate qualities

Outcome map

Responding to student feedback

Responding to student feedback

Disclaimer

On this page

Useful links

Media

Student links

About us

Connect

Current students

ASNS2665: Understanding Southeast Asia

Semester 2, 2021 [Online] - Camperdown/Darlington, Sydney

Overview

Overview

Unit details and rules

Teaching staff

Assessment

Assessment

Assessment summary

Assessment criteria

Late submission

Academic integrity

Learning support

Learning support

Simple extensions

Special consideration

Using AI responsibly

Weekly schedule

Weekly schedule

Attendance and class requirements

Study commitment

Required readings

Learning outcomes

Learning outcomes

Graduate qualities

Outcome map

Responding to student feedback

Responding to student feedback

Disclaimer

On this page

Useful links

Media

Student links

About us

Connect