FASS - Southeast Asian Studies

Minor in Southeast Asian Studies

The expanse of the Southeast Asian region provides for a rich and significant area of study for the similarities and dissimilarities in and between Mainland and Island Southeast Asia.

The Southeast Asian Studies Minor allows students to tap into this opportunity and embark on an interdisciplinary approach to a basic understanding of the peoples and civilizations of Southeast Asian countries, and their respective nations and states: Brunei Darussalam, Burma, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, The Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Timor l'Este, and Vietnam.

Students choose a set of Southeast Asia-related modules from existing major disciplines, apart from their own declared major. The modules offer a rich menu of courses potentially covering diverse aspects of Southeast Asian studies, ranging from early history to contemporary social, economic and political dimensions of the region and of the lives of peoples of Southeast Asia, including:

Ethnicity, race and diversity

Globalization and Southeast Asia

Societies, cultures and belief systems of Southeast Asia

Development and economic issues in Southeast Asia

Histories of Southeast Asia

Language, literature and the Arts

International relations within and beyond Southeast Asia

Political systems, modern governments and ASEAN

Social systems and stratification

Environment and ecology

The Southeast Asian Studies Minor therefore offers students a framework within which to carry out the application of interdisciplinary study involving social scientific application at undergraduate level including anthropology, history, geography, linguistics, political science, or sociology.

Given its interdisciplinary nature, Southeast Asian Studies would complement various other subjects, and would enrich and prepare students for postgraduate studies or indeed careers in government service, journalism, teaching, research, international affairs and relations, and development.