ANTH 401/601D: Peoples and Cultures of Southeast Asia
Number of Credits 3
Instructor Michelle Roberts PhD
Catalog Description
Analysis of representative cultures of Southeast Asia, their origins and development.
(Formerly ANTH 467, 667; implemented Fall 2004.)
Required Textbooks/Materials
The following texts are required material in this course:
Winzeler, Robert L. The Peoples of Southeast Asia Today. Alta Mira Press, 2011. ISBN
9780759118638.
Duncan, Christopher (Ed). Civilizing the Margins: Southeast Asian Government Policies for
the Development of Minorities. Cornell University Press, 2004. ISBN 080148930X.
Note: Other required and assigned readings will be available online via WebCampus.
Student Learning Outcomes
Upon completion of this course, students will be able to
• demonstrate an understanding of the unique physical characteristics of Southeast
Asia and the role they play and have played in the lives of the peoples in this part of
the world;
• display knowledge of the basic geographical features and political divisions of
Southeast Asia;
• develop an understanding of forms of society which exist in Southeast Asia and the
ways these societies interact;
• understand the basic cultural features which distinguish Southeast Asia as its own
region of inquiry; and
• demonstrate an understanding of the application of contemporary anthropological
concepts to a critical in-depth understanding of a modern situation faced by a
Southeast Asian society.
First Week of Materials/Assignments
The following schedule is subject to change:
January 3:
Introduction to the Course and Geography: Climate (equatorial and
monsoon), Topography, Soils and Forests, Mainland and Insular Regions,
Present-Day Countries and Adjacent Regions
Read: Winzeler, chapters 1 and 2; Bellwood, chapter 1: Environmental
Background (WebCampus); Bellwood, chapter 2: Homo erectus in
Sundaland (extra credit)
View: The Hobbit; Glories of Angkor
January 4:
Prehistory and Basic Ethnology: Settlement Patterns, Major Language
Groups, Migration Pathways and Major Subsistence Practices.
Start: Pre-colonial history
Read: Hendrickson, “A Transport Geographic Perspective on Travel and
Communication in Angkorian Southeast Asia”; Bellwood, “The Origin and
Dispersals of Agricultural Communities in Southeast Asia” (WebCampus;
suggested)
In-class discussion and write up of Hendrickson reading
View: Mother Tongue: Austronesian Languages (film clip in class; no quiz);
Journeys into Islamic Southeast Asia; Far East-Expeditions to Empires:
Albert Kahn’s Archive of the Planet (only watch the segments pertaining to
Vietnam and Cambodia)
January 5:
Pre-Colonial History: Traditional States, Civilizations, World Religions and
Trade; Indic and Sinitic Zones of Influence (SEA 1–1500 CE)
Colonial History (SEA 1500 CE–WW2).
Post-Colonial history (SEA WW2–present).
Start: Traditional Subsistence Patterns and Types of Peoples: HunterGatherers
Read: Winzeler, chapters 3–5; Ziong, “Yellowing the Rice Fields”
(WebCampus)
In-class discussion and write up on Xiong reading
View: Laos: So You Think the War is Over; Batak: Ancient Spirits, Modern
World
Course Description
This course is intended to be a survey of the peoples and cultures of Southeast Asia, both as
they were traditionally and as they are now. The region includes the modern countries of
Myanmar (Burma), Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia, the
Philippines, Singapore, Brunei, and Timor. Throughout the course we will examine the
forms of social and cultural pluralism that is characteristic of past and present Southeast
Asian societies.
The first part of the course will provide an introduction and an overview of the geography,
prehistory, history, languages, domesticated plants and animals and migration patterns of
the region. The second part will consider the ethnology and ethnography of Southeast Asia.
The third part of the course will concern modern development and problems.
Grade Breakdown
The tentative point distribution for the course is:
Attendance and Participation
Current Event Article
Discussion Summaries and Participation (eighteen readings worth 5 points each)
Reaction Paper/Lead Discussion (two worth 30 points each)
Film Quizzes
Midterm Exam
Final Exam
Total
The percentage distribution for the course is:
A
AB+
B
B-
94–100%
90–93%
87–89%
84–86%
80–83%
C+
C
CD+
D
D-
77–79%
74–76%
70–73%
67–69%
64–66%
60–63%
F
below 59%
11
14
90
60
160
110
90
535