HIST19035  Modern History of Southeast Asia

This course will present a general overview of the major themes in modern Southeast Asian history. It presents the history and politics of these countries by first looking at the religious, cultural and philosophical underpinnings of political culture, traditional concepts of kingship and power, and the characteristics of pre-colonial states. The rest of the course will investigate: the classical states of Southeast Asia (Angkor, Pagan, Madjapahit, Sri Vijaya), the western intrusion and the colonial transformation, the development of nationalism, the Japanese Occupation, and finally, contemporary Southeast Asian politics.