Structuring a Secondary Southeast Asia course

A dialog on the H-Asia list, August 1998

I'm a secondary school teacher moving to Chiang Mai, Thailand in a couple of weeks to begin a new job at an international school. Meanwhile, I'm preparing a course on the history of Southeast Asia for Thai 11th graders. Since I'm in New York City now, I've been in touch with Professor Carol Gluck at Columbia University with questions about curriculum development, and she suggested that I consult H-Asia.

Specifically, I'm wondering:

What's the best way to structure a course on the history of Southeast Asia? Chronologically, and if so, how to periodize? Thematically, and if so, what themes are important?

What primary sources are available (in English translation) for the study of Southeast Asian history? Are there collections of such materials? Is it accessible to high school students?

I'd greatly appreciate any guidance or suggestions you can offer.

Thank You, Michelle Tabor
<mtabor@erols.com>

I'm not really an academic, so I can't give you insight on the structuring of your courses, but on resources I can help a bit. My own area of expertise (so-called) is Vietnam, having served in the area as a Foreign Service Officer (US Dept of State). So if you have specific questions on Vietnam, or the ethnic and religious minorities of the region (Montagnards, Hmong, Cao Dai, etc.) I'd be glad to try and react or refer.

On teaching the area and materials available to high school, you need to read a specialized (quarterly) journal (available from the Assoc. of Asian Studies, Ann Arbor, Michigan) entitled, _Education About Asia_. It is eclusively focused on improving classroom teaching at all levels.

The editor is Lucien Ellington, Editor, Univ. of Tennessee at Chattanooga, 105A Hunter Hall, Chattanooga, TN 37403; Ph: 423/755-5375, Fax: 423/755-5381. Cathy Dreger is Lucien's Editorial Asst. The e-mail I have for her is: Cathy-Dreger@utc.edu I would suggest that you contact Cathy a/o Lucien on this matter, as they may well have good source materials and academic contacts for you to confer with.

You should know that the Spring 1999 issue is scheduled to be on teaching Asia in World History. y I hope the above gives you some direction. If not, please feel free to write anew and I will try and be of added help, if possible. Good luck and thanks for being interested enough to inform on SE Asia.

Best,

S/ Chuck

Charles F. Printz, Deputy Director
& Southeast Asian Affairs Specialist,
Alternate Representative to the United Nations
Human Rights Advocates International, Inc.
1341 North Avenue/Suite:7-C
Elizabeth, NJ 07208-2622/USA

Hello Michelle:

I just joined this forum so I only received your inquiry through a reply from Charles Printz. I teach SEA at the University of Akron. This is an introductory class for juniors covered in 15 sessions of about 1 hour and 15 mins. each.

I don't know if this will apply to high school level but I guess you will have a better take on that and you can adapt.

With SEA, it is interesting that chronology and themes kind of coincide. Here is what I mean:

I begin with an overview of the geography, climate, the ancestry of the people.

Then, here is my basic outline:

1. Religions of SEA i.e. Hinduism & Buddhism ( since the first centuries AD), Islam (since 13th-15th C), Confucianism (limited to Vietnam and to some extent, Singapore))

2. Ancient Kingdoms (from about first century AD up to the 16th C. or so) - Indianization and Islamization processes

3. Traditions and Village Life (up to 16th C.)

4. Colonialism (16th - 20th C.)

5. Nationalism (including a discussion of the Cold War and the Vietnam War. (20th C.up tp WWII)

7. Modernization and Nation Building (since WWII)

I hope you understand what I mean. Of course, you may approach SEA rather differently. However, I certainly do not go through the course on a country by country basis. Rather, I have students select examples of the above areas from at least two different countries.

There are also several themes that will emerge: role of geography, role of religion, the impact of external influences, individual vs. collective, modern vs. traditional etc.

As far as primary sources go, there is a delightful collection of writings about SEA including excertpts from Fa-hsien, Marco Polo etc. that describe the way foreigners and natives view SEA. The selections are brief and easy to follow:

Harry J. Benda and John Larkin, The World of Southeast Asia: Selected Historical Readings. Harper & Row Publishers NY 1967.

That's all for now.

Try the ASDP SYLLABUS AND BIBLIOGRAPHY COLLECTION ONLINE (URL is http://lama.kcc.hawaii.edu/asdp/) by Asian Studies Development Program (ASDP), which is a joint national program of the East-West Center and the University of Hawaii, in collaboration with the Library of Kapiolani Community College. It is a full-text database of Asian studies instructional materials containing course syllabi, bibliographies, and other documents collected by ASDP through five years of faculty development institutes and workshops. The database was created and is maintained by Kapiolani Community College librarians.

Check the subject index for Asian Studies, bibliographies and history and subdivisions under Southeast Asia. I have listed several links here for your conveniences. You can also check Southeast Asian studies centers' web pages such as this one collected by the Arizona State University at http://www.asu.edu/clas/asian/sea/cseas.html for more information.

Asian Studies: Introduction to Asian Studies: South and Southeast Asian studies http://lama.kcc.hawaii.edu/asdp/asianst/seasian/asan202.htm

Bibliographies general
Southeast Asia
Recommended readings
http://lama.kcc.hawaii.edu/asdp/biblio/general/seasian/seasbibl.html
Daily List of Readings for Institute on Southeast Asian Cultures
http://lama.kcc.hawaii.edu/asdp/biblio/general/seasian/seaappb.htm
Vietnam
Vietnam Bibliography

History
Southeast Asia
Survey of Southeast Asia
http://lama.kcc.hawaii.edu/asdp/history/seasian/his345.htm
History of Southeast Asia to the Early Nineteenth Century
http://lama.kcc.hawaii.edu/asdp/history/seasian/hist305.htm
History of Southeast Asia: 18th Century to the Present
http://lama.kcc.hawaii.edu/asdp/history/seasian/hist306.htm
History of Southeast Asia to the Mid-Eighteenth Century
http://lama.kcc.hawaii.edu/asdp/history/seasian/histsea.htm

Sociology
Southeast Asia
Recommended Readings: Southeast Asian Studies
http://lama.kcc.hawaii.edu/asdp/biblio/soc/seasian/seasrec.html

Vickie Doll
Chinese Studies Librarian
East Asian Library
University of Kansas
vdoll@ukans.edu