Southeast Asia is a region of great geographic and cultural diversity, a meeting point for civilisational influences from India and China including the religions of Islam, Buddhism and Hinduism. It is also the laboratory for much anthropological inquiry, attracting the attention of prominent anthropologists and social scientists, like Geertz and Anderson. This unit will examine Southeast Asia in historical and contemporary context, and give grounded ethnographic illustration to such issues as nationalism, cities, migration, political violence, environment and agriculture.

Ethnographers from a range of disciplines have been studying Chinese society for decades. In this unit, we will read a selection of recent ethnographic works, focusing on those published within the last fifteen years. This unit will include specific case studies of major contemporary issues in China, to understand how ethnographers use different methods and theories to construct arguments.

In Asia there has developed both the nationalist art of a series of modernising states and a counter-establishment art which has frequently been formally modern. Students will learn how to analyse art works and institutions in terms of critical notions of modernity which arise in these Asian contexts but which do not require projection from outside. Focus will chiefly be on China, Hong Kong, Taiwan and India since the 1850s. Other examples will be drawn from Japan, Thailand and Indonesia.

This unit explores the art, architecture and material culture of dynastic China (ca. 3000 BCE-1900), contextualizing works within the region's diverse social, political and cultural histories. The unit foregrounds focused interpretation of individual works through visual and material analysis.

A broad-ranging, chronologically-arranged introduction to Chinese civilisation from prehistory to recent times. Readings will include representative philosophical, literary and religious works in English translation. Social science perspectives will be introduced through lectures/tutorial readings on social history, kinship structure, modern change, etc. This unit of study will provide a foundation for more advanced work in Chinese studies.

This introductory unit explores the histories and cultures of Asia across time, up to the modern era. The curriculum aims to provide both the essential knowledge and intellectual skills necessary for more advanced study of Asia, and to lay the groundwork for comparative investigation of trans-Asian phenomena. Topics and themes may include: religion, ritual, and philosophical thought; sacred kings and capitals; hierarchy and social order; family, kinship and gender systems; art, architecture, and archaeology.

This unit looks at Asia's past, present and future in a global perspective. It makes use of the new approaches of world history and big history, and moves along large spatial and temporal scales. This unit prepares students to make sense of specific Asia-related subjects offered in more advanced units of study. In doing so, we will also examine some of the challenges Asia is facing today and think about Asia's place in our increasingly globalised world.

Southeast Asia is a dynamic region, home to a great diversity of people and languages. Focusing on insular Southeast Asia, this unit examines the relation between language use and social change in the region. It explores issues related to language policy, youth culture, globalisation, and education.

This unit offers students the opportunity to explore China's major traditions of philosophy and practice through English translations of key texts as well as authoritative secondary studies. The main foci of the unit include the following major areas: diversity and polemics in early Chinese thought, developments in Daoism, Buddhist thought and influence, and Neo-Confucian (Daoxue) thought.

The history of the People's Republic of China comprises two periods. In the Maoist era (1949-1978), the Communist-led government attempted to build a centrally planned, socialist society in which politics dominated people's daily lives. In the post-Mao era (since 1978), by contrast, the socialist institutions have largely been dismantled in pursuit of a market-based alternative. This unit of study explores key social, political, cultural and economic features of both periods and analyses the problems and paradoxes of transition.

This unit will approach the core ideas of Buddhism on suffering, impermanence, non-self and interdependence in a systematic fashion and explore the implications for the Buddhist understanding of ontology (theory of being) and epistemology (theory of knowledge). The connection between philosophical ideas and the Buddhist path will be explored in relation to ethics, meditation and the cultivation of insight and wisdom. The connections between Buddhist philosophy and modern and postmodern Western philosophy will also be explored.

This unit explores assumptions underpinning Indian thought and culture with specific reference to Indian religious traditions. In particular traditional notions of the individual, authenticity, and the concept of dharma will be addressed through an exploration of social and political structures, gender and the family, and forms of artistic, literary and religious expression. A key focus will be on the continuity of tradition and its interaction with modernity and the implications this has for understanding today's India.

This unit explores the diversity and continued dynamism of Buddhism in modern Asia. The focus of the unit is social, cultural and political with an emphasis on the way Buddhism is influencing Asian societies and is, in turn, influenced by them. Buddhism's encounter with modernity and its role in the nation state, in lay and environmental movements and its influence on social and political discourses and practices will be examined.

This unit introduces themes in South Asian religions from the Indus Valley Civilisation onward. Attention is paid to the social and cultural contexts in which Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism emerged. Goddess traditions are discussed, as are concepts such as tantra, yoga and meditation, karma and rebirth and dharma. Texts such as Bhagavat Gita are also introduced. A focus will be on the implications of Classical India for an understanding of contemporary Asian cultures, particularly those of South and Southeast Asia.

While India and China emerge as present-day superpowers, their historical inter-relations are not well known. This unit provides an overview of cultural interactions between Indian and Chinese civilisations, especially as these have shaped Tibetan cultural identity. A key focus is upon how pre-modern cultural interactions with India and China provide ideological contexts within which Tibetan religious and cultural traditions and political institutions developed. This is undertaken in order to understand interactions between all three cultures on the current global stage.

This unit explores the historical validity of key motifs of Japanese traditions. Through the liberal exploration of primary historical sources including texts, pictorial sources and material artifacts, students will learn of such diverse topics as early religion, imperial authority, the lives of the court and military elites (samurai), Zen monastic practice, medieval aesthetics, geisha, and the tea ceremony. By separating stereotype and cliche from history, we will attempt to construct a more sober yet ultimately more viable narrative of early Japanese history and culture.

This unit of study will begin with examination of social aspects of the Meiji reforms, evaluating interpretations of their aims and effects. The focus will then turn to the emergence of new social forces in the twentieth century, including industrial workers, an urban middle class and a women's movement. We will also explore changes in daily life and attitudes to work and leisure as urbanisation and industrialisation progressed and assess the effects of the Second World War and the Occupation.

The usual but contradictory descriptions of Japanese society (hierarchical but egalitarian, adaptable but conservative and traditional, consensual but authoritarian, etc.) show that "power" - manifest or hidden in decision making, consensus building, conflict resolution or avoidance - is the enigma of Japan. We will focus on power relationships in politics, administration, enterprises, families, schools, etc, survey the various explanations proposed to solve the enigma and, more generally, learn about the origins, forms and treatments of power and conflict relations.

This unit of study aims to introduce Korea's historical experience from antiquity to the early phase of the Choson dynasty (1392-1910). Topics include sources and historiography of early Korea; foundation myths and legends of the Three Korean Kingdoms; process of state formation and subsequent political developments; religious ideology, focusing on Buddhism; and cultural and social traditions of Korea from the 4th to the 15th century. These topics will enable students to understand and appreciate the uniqueness of Korean identity.

This unit aims to introduce some of the major issues in the history of Korea in the late 19th century and the last century. Topics include contradictions of the late Choson dynasty society; opening of Korea to the West and Japan and the attendant wave of reforms and rebellions; Japan's colonial rule; Korea's fight for freedom; liberation and division of Korea in 1945 and the subsequent process of nation-building in the two Koreas.

This unit examines the history of Indonesia, the world's fourth most populous country, emphasizing the interaction between Islam, nationalism and democracy. The unit traces these forces impact on the formation of modern Indonesia from the late nineteenth century, highlighting the experience and legacy of colonialism, the independence struggle, and the rise and fall of military rule. Particular attention is given to changing notions of national identity, debates about the place of Islam in the polity and authoritarianism and democratisation.

This unit examines country-specific and transnational social movements in Southeast Asia, including those focused on labour, women, the environment and identity. During the semester we will explore how these movements emerged, what they have sought to achieve, and how successful they have been in promoting social change in the Southeast Asian region. The unit adopts a multi-disciplinary approach based on contemporary case study material from Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, the Philippines and Singapore.

Social change in Southeast Asia involves shifts in relations of production and consumption. This unit examines these shifts first through tracing the colonial origins of present-day relations of production, and then through assessing the changes in social life since the 1950s. Important features of these changes include the decline of agriculture, the growth of new kinds of industry such as clothing production and tourism, and new patterns of consumption generated by the rise of middle-class lifestyles in the region.

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. Students will have a field-work option for this unit on application.

This unit introduces students to the media industry and policies in selected countries in East Asia, namely Japan, Hong Kong, South Korea and Taiwan. In addressing the topics, the main features of media in the region are discussed and compared. The unit will be multi-disciplinary, covering various aspects of mass media in the region. These include the social and cultural role of the media, political and economic justification of state control, and implications of the emergence of new communication technologies.

This unit places the modern and contemporary history of Japan within its East Asian context. We will examine a number of key events and subjects pertaining to the relations between Japan, China and Korea. Doing so, we will touch sensitive and controversial topics, become aware of differing views of history prevalent in these countries, and understand why the historical question constitutes a major political issue in East Asia.

Foreign perceptions of Japan cluster around two stereotypes: feminized images of elegance and submissiveness, epitomized by geisha, and hypermasculine images of violence, exemplified by samurai. A long tradition of gender subversion, cross-dressing, and androgyny in Japanese culture speaks for a more nuanced vision of masculinity and femininity. Throughout the unit, we will examine the formation and subversion of gender roles as they emerge in a variety of classical and contemporary Japanese fiction and nonfiction genres.

This unit introduces you to the history of Japanese film production with a focus on theory, criticism, and reception. Films will be discussed according to themes and genres and read in their socio-political contexts. It provides an initiated understanding of one of the most important film traditions in an international perspective.

This unit of study introduces students to popular culture in Mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan and the Chinese Diaspora. From film to television, from music to theatre, from print media to the Internet and from popular literature to visual arts, this unit explores popular Chinese culture as it is generated in Chinese societies and lived by Chinese people. It will cover a range of critical and theoretical perspectives to analyse these phenomena.

On the brink of disaster in 1989, China has since become a political and economic power in the world. This unit of study examines the impact of globalisation on China with respect to the multilateral movements of ideas, capital and people. It will explore recent political, economic and social change in China, focusing on responses to China's expanded engagement with the outside world. Due attention will be paid to China's changing relations with its Asian neighbours and with Western countries.

This unit gives students the opportunity to undertake broad background reading in theory and methodology relevant to Asian Studies. The unit trains students to discuss published work exemplifying a range of approaches to humanistic and/or social scientific research. It thus provides models on which students can draw in creating their own research proposal.

Honours is an intensive year-long program of advanced study based around research. Honours is undertaken after successful completion of a Bachelor degree and where the overall mark is a minimum credit average (70%). Entry into Honours is selective and work at this level is challenging. Honours is available in most subjects areas taught in the Faculty, and which are listed under Tables A and B in the Handbook. Students will complete a thesis and coursework seminars throughout the year. For further information contact the Honours Coordinator in the department or consult the Handbook entry for the relevant subject area.

Refer to ASNS4011

Refer to ASNS4011

Refer to ASNS4011

This unit examines the relationship between communication and social change in contemporary China, inclusive of mainland China, Hong Kong, and regional sites. Students will learn about selected major events and trends in Chinese societies. They will also learn about the use of communications, including new media, in selected major events. Theories that examine the consequences of communication on community development and democratic participation will be introduced.

This unit introduces the institutions, theories and methods for students to understand the news media in present-day China, inclusive of mainland China, Hong Kong, and regional sites. The media system, regulations, and the major news outlets in Chinese societies are introduced. Global theories of news production provide the conceptual tool, and elementary content analysis methods provide the research tool for analyzing and comparing news reports produced in English by the Chinese and other news media.

Lu Xun was one of the most influential Chinese writers in the early decades of the twentieth century. The works of Lu Xun and his contemporaries marked the emergence of a modern Chinese literature that reflected its proponents' anxiety for sociocultural change and national salvation, absorbed external influences, and was intended to reach a wide readership. This unit of study highlights works by Lu Xun and other major authors in the context of the intellectual history of the time.

Recent research on gender and related issues in Chinese cultural context has profoundly influenced conventional ideas about the roles of both women and men in the Chinese world. This unit of study will illustrate the value of gender-sensitive scholarship analyzing gender roles as portrayed literary texts. Students will learn fresh approaches to the study of Chinese society and culture by examining representations of gender and sexuality in Chinese literature. The class will focus primarily on modern Chinese literature but key pre-modern texts and ideas will also be introduced.

How did the early Chinese come to develop one of the world's great historiographical traditions? In their narratives of both exemplary and counter-exemplary behavior, what sort of personal qualities were thought to influence the course of history? How was social change perceived? Was there an understanding of "impersonal" forces of history, such as economics? These and other questions will be explored as we read in the rich sources left by premodern China's own historians. As some readings will be primary texts in the original, a good grounding in classical Chinese is assumed for this unit.

The unit of study can be taken only with prior permission from the unit of study coordinator. It constitutes a Field School run over a two to three week period in July, prior to the commencement of the second semester. In 2016, the Field School will be held in Indonesia. In other years it may be held in mainland Southeast Asia. The Field School focuses on three main themes; rural social, environmental and economic change; regional economic integration and its local effects; regional environmental change and natural resources governance. The Field School is run in close association with local universities, whose staff and students participate in some components of the course. Places are limited, and students interested in the 2016 Field School should indicate expression of interest to Dr Jeff Neilson by 26th September 2015.

The unit of study can be taken only with prior permission from the unit of study coordinator. It constitutes a Field School run over a two to three week period in July, prior to the commencement of the second semester. In 2016, the Field School will be held in Indonesia. In other years it may be held in mainland Southeast Asia. The Field School focuses on three main themes; rural social, environmental and economic change; regional economic integration and its local effects; regional environmental change and natural resources governance. The Field School is run in close association with local universities, whose staff and students participate in some components of the course. Places are limited, and students interested in the 2016 Field School should indicate expression of interest to Dr Jeff Neilson by 26th September 2015.

Until the 1997 East Asian economic/financial crisis, Southeast Asia was acclaimed as one of the most dynamic and rapidly growing regional economies in the Asia-Pacific sphere. Not surprisingly, the region has attracted enormous interest from social scientists and the wider business community in Australia. However, there is limited consensus about the causes for the region's economic performance and socio-political trajectory during the 'boom' and 'post-boom' years. This unit aims to place the region's economic experiences and socio-political changes within a broader historical and comparative context. Such an approach allows us to better appreciate the economic continuities, understand the major socio-political dilemmas and changing patterns of development.

Introduction to government and politics of modern China. Brief examination of traditional background and modern revolution from 19th century to 1949. Primary focus on ideology, leadership, institutions and political processes of the People's Republic. Covers politics of social groups, major issue areas, the Cultural Revolution and the politics of reform.

This unit will shed light on the springs of change in politics and economics and their intersections in East Asia, which includes South Korea, Japan, Taiwan, China, Hong Kong, and Singapore. The unit examines the political and economic transformation in the region. Among the major issues considered are: Are East Asia's political institutions distinctive? How does economic change affect political power and the state? Will democratisation and globalisation undermine the distinctive traditions of the region?

The nineteenth century was a time of critical transition in China's history. The Qing dynasty was declining, like every dynasty before it, but this decline was different. The most famous rebel claimed to be Christ's younger brother; the most successful article of foreign trade was opium (imported); China's most dangerous foreign foes were island nations - first Britain, later Japan. We explore how the dynasty responded to the crises and how foreign intrusions affected China's cities, intellectual life and ordinary people.

In the 1920s, China was likened to a sleeping lion - one whose roar would shake the world when it awoke. This prediction has already proved true more than once. Why was China ever said to be "asleep"? How did a whole nation awaken, to what, and with what results? This unit of study traces the forces of nationalism and revolution through China's tumultuous twentieth century. We focus upon making sense, in Chinese terms, of events that outsiders have found baffling.

The relationship between China and neighbouring peoples such as the Mongols and Tibetans is one of the great themes in Chinese history. This unit explores Chinese ideas about the "barbarian", the relationship between nomadic and sedentary societies, and the influence of trade and migration on culture and religion in China. The unit will look at non-Chinese dynasties such as the Mongol Yuan and the Manchu Qing, and examine the place of the "ethnic minorities" in China's modern transformations.

This unit is designed for native speakers, near native speakers and advanced learners of Indonesian. It is one of six advanced units offered on a rotating basis, which can be taken in any order. Drawing on English and Indonesian language academic publications and other Indonesian-language resources, students will engage in research, writing and scholarly discussion in Indonesian on economic and governance challenges Indonesia faces, in particular corruption and other forms of criminality, and their implications for ordinary Indonesians.

This unit is designed for native speakers, near native speakers and advanced learners of Indonesian. It is one of six advanced units offered on a rotating basis, which can be taken in any order. Drawing on English and Indonesian language academic publications and other Indonesian-language resources, students will engage in research, writing and scholarly discussion in Indonesian on the disruption of Indonesians' traditional relationships with their natural and social environment by urbanisation, globalisation and rapid technological transformation.

This unit is designed for native speakers, near native speakers and advanced learners of Indonesian. It is one of six advanced units offered on a rotating basis, which can be taken in any order. Drawing on English and Indonesian language academic publications and other Indonesian-language resources, students will engage in research, writing and scholarly discussion in Indonesian on Indonesia's political history and democratic transition, beginning with the tragic events of 1965.

This unit is designed for native speakers, near native speakers and advanced learners of Indonesian. It is one of six advanced units offered on a rotating basis, which can be taken in any order. Drawing on English and Indonesian language academic publications and other Indonesian-language resources, students will engage in research, writing and scholarly discussion on Indonesia's complex and diverse cultural heritage and contemporary cultural practice.

This unit is designed for native speakers, near native speakers and advanced learners of Indonesian. It is one of six advanced units offered on a rotating basis, which can be taken in any order. Drawing on English and Indonesian language academic publications and other Indonesian-language resources, students will engage in research, writing and scholarly discussion on Indonesia's human rights record and the impact of regional autonomy on Indonesia's ability to accommodate its citizens' civil, political, social, cultural and economic rights.

This unit is designed for native speakers, near native speakers and advanced learners of Indonesian. It is one of six advanced units offered on a rotating basis, which can be taken in any order. Drawing on English and Indonesian language academic publications and other Indonesian-language resources, students will engage in research, writing and scholarly discussion on education, literature and film and their place in Indonesia's development as a nation.

This unit of study aims at fostering socio-cultural understanding and appreciation of Japanese literature by reading short stories. Students are expected to develop reading skills while enjoying the contents and contexts of the stories they read. The comprehension of Japanese literary texts enables students to gain an insight into the writers' themes and expressions and is relevant to contemporary life. English translations will be used in conjunction with Japanese material. Students are expected to develop a critical appreciation of Japanese literature with its social backgrounds.

This unit aims to explore the new Japan and its youth cultures and to guide students to understand and broaden their knowledge of changing aspects of Japanese culture and society. Topics from Japanese traditions through to contemporary popular culture will be analysed. Learning activities include reading media texts (e.g. newspaper articles), video analysis, discussion, research and video conferences. The unit also provides students with opportunities to pursue their interests and develop cultural knowledge and communication skills.

Is Japan a unique country? What are the similarities and differences between Japan, Australia and other countries? This unit of study offers students the opportunity to explore various aspects of contemporary Japanese society and culture through reading Japanese texts in the original, through group discussions, and through cross-cultural comparisons. Students will develop their own opinions on a range of social and cultural issues while improving their reading, analytical, and both oral and written communication skills.

Cinema is an essential part of cultural life in Japan, which has one of the richest film traditions in the world. This unit introduces the history of Japanese cinema through lectures on important films organised according to major themes and genres. Besides weekly screenings of films, lectures will be richly illustrated with film excerpts. Students will gain an overall insight into the role of cinema in Japanese society and gain the ability to analyse films critically.

The unit of study will focus on fantasy and science fiction as means of representing the Other in modern Japanese literature and popular culture. Building on Tzvetan Todorov's definition of the fantastic as a hesitation between the realistic and the supernatural, it will analyse the way in which Japanese fantasy tackles issues of modernity, gender and cultural difference in a variety of genres and media, including the novel and short story, manga, anime and film, from the Meiji period to the present.

It is alleged that, at the national level, power in Japan has been monopolised since 1945 by much the same clique, but also that it is never where it seems to be - that it is based on consensus, bottom-up decision-making, but is also deeply authoritarian. Through both Japanese and English sources, we will focus on the exercise of power in contemporary politics, administration, and private enterprise as well as psycho-sociology, education, political and moral thought, and economic structures.

This unit explores Korean culture through literature and popular media. It aims to familiarise students with some of the key literary works, journal essays, and films about the everyday life in Korea from the 1920s to the present. Through the surveys of literary and cinematic representations of diverse eras, students will also learn about different historical and social contexts underlying such works. Course materials include literatures and films about proletarian culture, urban life, wars, golden age melodrama, women's lives, and so on.

This unit provides broad and interdisciplinary introduction to contemporary Korean society and culture. The unit examines significant events - wars and violence, democratization, and economic reform - in contemporary Korea that have brought the major changes in the society, and explores how these events have affected Korean society and culture. Major topics to be covered include gender, multiculturalism, youth and pop culture, the Korean Wave, language change, and North Korea. In addressing the topics, the students will utilize authentic Korean language materials.