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SUMMER 2012 ACADEMIC COURSE LISTINGS
The summer intensive semester of the Thai and Southeast Asian Studies Program can be taken as a three week (3 credits) or six week (6 credits) experience. While we encourage all students to undertake the full program of 6 weeks, we also understand that due to individual situations some students may not be able to participate in the longer program. As a result the program has been designed as two ‘stand-alone’ independent 3-week modules.
Please note that each credit hour corresponds to 15 hours of instruction. A 3.0 credit course involves 45 hours of instruction.
Please note that each credit hour corresponds to 15 hours of instruction. A 3.0 credit course involves 45 hours of instruction.
- SUMMER COURSES ARE TAUGHT IN AN INTENSIVE 3-WEEK FORMAT (i.e., 3 hours of class per day, Monday-Friday)
MODULE 1 CLASSES ( Monday, 11 June to Friday, 29 June)
Cultural Foundations of Thai Society (3 credits)
Academic Discipline: Social Science & Environmental Studies
This course introduces students to Thailand through a general survey of topics on Thai culture and society. The course combines classroom lecture and discussion with a variety of field experiences in Chiang Mai and Northern Thailand. It will focus on the changes and continuity of cultural practices and the major institutions of the country. Themes to be analyzed include history, politics, customs, and identity. This course will also spend significant time examining ecological, social, and economic transitions now underway in Mainland Southeast Asia with emphasis on Northern Thailand. Class presentations and field studies will examine how semi-wild landscapes and traditional cultures are being affected by infrastructure development and increasing reliance on the market as a source of livelihood.
Considering that 'development' will continue to be an integral component of the human enterprise in the foreseeable future, we will explore strategies to reduce the ecological and social costs of this activity in Thailand and Southeast Asia.
Students should be prepared for challenging individual and group activities outside the classroom. The course includes field trips and a short-term village home stay which provides an enriching insight into many different walks of life in Thailand.
Buddhism in Southeast Asia (3 credits)
Academic Discipline: Religious Studies/Social Sciences
Buddhism has been a significant force in the culture and life ways of Southeast Asian peoples. This course will examine Theravada Buddhism both as a doctrine and practice originating in India and as a socio-cultural reality that shapes the lives of Southeast Asian people and has in turn been molded by their culture and history. The basic doctrines, key institutions and core value orientations of Theravada Buddhism as they function in Thai and Southeast Asian societies will be analyzed. The approach will draw on a variety of social science concepts and theoretical perspectives. While focused on the Thai experience the role of Theravada and Mahayana Buddhism in Myanmar, Cambodia and Vietnam will also be examined.
Academic Discipline: Social Science & Environmental Studies
This course introduces students to Thailand through a general survey of topics on Thai culture and society. The course combines classroom lecture and discussion with a variety of field experiences in Chiang Mai and Northern Thailand. It will focus on the changes and continuity of cultural practices and the major institutions of the country. Themes to be analyzed include history, politics, customs, and identity. This course will also spend significant time examining ecological, social, and economic transitions now underway in Mainland Southeast Asia with emphasis on Northern Thailand. Class presentations and field studies will examine how semi-wild landscapes and traditional cultures are being affected by infrastructure development and increasing reliance on the market as a source of livelihood.
Considering that 'development' will continue to be an integral component of the human enterprise in the foreseeable future, we will explore strategies to reduce the ecological and social costs of this activity in Thailand and Southeast Asia.
Students should be prepared for challenging individual and group activities outside the classroom. The course includes field trips and a short-term village home stay which provides an enriching insight into many different walks of life in Thailand.
Buddhism in Southeast Asia (3 credits)
Academic Discipline: Religious Studies/Social Sciences
Buddhism has been a significant force in the culture and life ways of Southeast Asian peoples. This course will examine Theravada Buddhism both as a doctrine and practice originating in India and as a socio-cultural reality that shapes the lives of Southeast Asian people and has in turn been molded by their culture and history. The basic doctrines, key institutions and core value orientations of Theravada Buddhism as they function in Thai and Southeast Asian societies will be analyzed. The approach will draw on a variety of social science concepts and theoretical perspectives. While focused on the Thai experience the role of Theravada and Mahayana Buddhism in Myanmar, Cambodia and Vietnam will also be examined.
MODULE 2 CLASSES (Monday, 2 July to Friday, 20 July)
Human Rights in Southeast Asia (3 credits)
Academic Discipline: Political Science
This three week intensive course will examine why human rights abuses are possible on such an enormous scale and with such terrible intensity in Southeast Asia and, in particular, Myanmar (Burma; notorious for its military government), either through direct mistreatment or criminal neglect of the population. Given the rise of Asian powers like China and India in what has been dubbed the "New Asian Hemisphere," Southeast Asia, located between two giants, is the perfect place to study the intersection of all that has gone amok in Asian politics. This course will bring us up to date through the systemic and systematic abuses of human rights in Burma, especially since the pro-democracy uprising of 1988 and culminating in the 2007 Saffron Revolution and the run-up to the 2010 election in Burma, otherwise known as Myanmar.
The focus is on Burma, but we will contextualize this case study within the broader region of Southeast Asia and analyze other countries' experiences toward transition and a free market economy. We will compare Burma's human rights situation with that in other countries, including Iraq, Pakistan, China, the USSR Hitler's Germany and North Korea. We will also look at human rights in other parts of Southeast Asia as well as examine the internationalization of the Burma crisis and the role of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN).
What has happened in Burma? Did the top-down controlled command economy destroy the country? What is the administrative structure of this notorious military dictatorship, one of the world's most notorious rogue states? How is Burma changing in the wake of political reforms implemented in 2011 and 2012? No prior knowledge of Burma or Southeast Asia is required for this course. A passionate commitment to human rights and an open mind, however, is a must.
The Economics of the Sex Industry in Southeast Asia (3 credits)
Academic Discipline: Economics/Social Science
This course will examine the 'oldest' industry in the world from an economics perspective, within the Southeast Asia region. Specifically, the course will investigate cultural and religious factors of this region and how these factors may influence the demand side and supply side of the market. Other topics covered in the course include the market structure, government regulation and the resulting policy implications. Special topics unique to the regions such as child prostitution, human trafficking for the purpose of prostitution, and sex work and sex tourism will also be discussed.
Sustainable Agriculture in Southeast Asia (3 credits)
Academic Discipline: Agricultural Studies
This 3-week course will provide students with an opportunity to gain a comprehensive,experiential-based understanding of the theory and practice of sustainable agriculture in a Southeast Asian context. Through a combination of in-class lectures and discussion, field trips,and hands-on work experiences students will learn to holistically evaluate the concepts ofsustainability (environmental stewardship, economic profitability, social responsibility) as they are applied in a range of agricultural systems. By deconstructing agricultural systems into their individual components students will develop a foundational, science-based knowledge of topicssuch as soil fertility management, transplant production and plant establishment, irrigation,pest management, tool and equipment use, livestock management, and marketing. This classwill also provide an overview of sustainable agricultural practices as they are used in Thailand.This portion of the course will utilize field trips (two to three full-day trips per week) in the Northern Thailand area to a range of agricultural sites that are utilizing sustainable practices. Examples of production systems that will be visited will include: organic fruit and vegetablefarms, rice and field crop production, agroforestry sites, livestock farms, aquaponics including shrimp production, herb production and botanical gardens. In addition to the field trips, guestspeakers will present information on the development, current trends, and future growth potentialof community-based food systems from production, marketing, socio-economic, and political perspectives.
Gender and Development in Vietnam (3 credits)
Academic Discipline: Social Sciences
Note: THIS COURSE WILL BE TAUGHT IN HO CHI MINH CITY, VIETNAM AT HOA SEN UNIVERSITY.
This course examines the changing roles, opportunities and expectations of Vietnamese women and men as Vietnam undergoes social changes associated with development and economic growth, and the resulting impact these changes have on gender relations. Comparison with neighboring countries in the Southeast Asia region as well as other developed and developing countries worldwide will be discussed extensively. This is an interdisciplinary social science course, drawing materials from the fields of sociology, anthropology, international relations, economics, and history.
Part 1 is an overview of terminology and concepts commonly used in Gender studies, Development studies, and Sociology. Part 2 discusses theories of gender studies and analyzes some selected issues most notably seen in Vietnam and Southeast Asia. Part 3 discusses theories of development and how economic, historical and political forces affect women’s lives in comparative contexts, as well as the interconnection between gender, development and social change. Lastly, recent worldwide achievements in terms of gender equality and equity will be discussed.
Academic Discipline: Political Science
This three week intensive course will examine why human rights abuses are possible on such an enormous scale and with such terrible intensity in Southeast Asia and, in particular, Myanmar (Burma; notorious for its military government), either through direct mistreatment or criminal neglect of the population. Given the rise of Asian powers like China and India in what has been dubbed the "New Asian Hemisphere," Southeast Asia, located between two giants, is the perfect place to study the intersection of all that has gone amok in Asian politics. This course will bring us up to date through the systemic and systematic abuses of human rights in Burma, especially since the pro-democracy uprising of 1988 and culminating in the 2007 Saffron Revolution and the run-up to the 2010 election in Burma, otherwise known as Myanmar.
The focus is on Burma, but we will contextualize this case study within the broader region of Southeast Asia and analyze other countries' experiences toward transition and a free market economy. We will compare Burma's human rights situation with that in other countries, including Iraq, Pakistan, China, the USSR Hitler's Germany and North Korea. We will also look at human rights in other parts of Southeast Asia as well as examine the internationalization of the Burma crisis and the role of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN).
What has happened in Burma? Did the top-down controlled command economy destroy the country? What is the administrative structure of this notorious military dictatorship, one of the world's most notorious rogue states? How is Burma changing in the wake of political reforms implemented in 2011 and 2012? No prior knowledge of Burma or Southeast Asia is required for this course. A passionate commitment to human rights and an open mind, however, is a must.
The Economics of the Sex Industry in Southeast Asia (3 credits)
Academic Discipline: Economics/Social Science
This course will examine the 'oldest' industry in the world from an economics perspective, within the Southeast Asia region. Specifically, the course will investigate cultural and religious factors of this region and how these factors may influence the demand side and supply side of the market. Other topics covered in the course include the market structure, government regulation and the resulting policy implications. Special topics unique to the regions such as child prostitution, human trafficking for the purpose of prostitution, and sex work and sex tourism will also be discussed.
Sustainable Agriculture in Southeast Asia (3 credits)
Academic Discipline: Agricultural Studies
This 3-week course will provide students with an opportunity to gain a comprehensive,experiential-based understanding of the theory and practice of sustainable agriculture in a Southeast Asian context. Through a combination of in-class lectures and discussion, field trips,and hands-on work experiences students will learn to holistically evaluate the concepts ofsustainability (environmental stewardship, economic profitability, social responsibility) as they are applied in a range of agricultural systems. By deconstructing agricultural systems into their individual components students will develop a foundational, science-based knowledge of topicssuch as soil fertility management, transplant production and plant establishment, irrigation,pest management, tool and equipment use, livestock management, and marketing. This classwill also provide an overview of sustainable agricultural practices as they are used in Thailand.This portion of the course will utilize field trips (two to three full-day trips per week) in the Northern Thailand area to a range of agricultural sites that are utilizing sustainable practices. Examples of production systems that will be visited will include: organic fruit and vegetablefarms, rice and field crop production, agroforestry sites, livestock farms, aquaponics including shrimp production, herb production and botanical gardens. In addition to the field trips, guestspeakers will present information on the development, current trends, and future growth potentialof community-based food systems from production, marketing, socio-economic, and political perspectives.
Gender and Development in Vietnam (3 credits)
Academic Discipline: Social Sciences
Note: THIS COURSE WILL BE TAUGHT IN HO CHI MINH CITY, VIETNAM AT HOA SEN UNIVERSITY.
This course examines the changing roles, opportunities and expectations of Vietnamese women and men as Vietnam undergoes social changes associated with development and economic growth, and the resulting impact these changes have on gender relations. Comparison with neighboring countries in the Southeast Asia region as well as other developed and developing countries worldwide will be discussed extensively. This is an interdisciplinary social science course, drawing materials from the fields of sociology, anthropology, international relations, economics, and history.
Part 1 is an overview of terminology and concepts commonly used in Gender studies, Development studies, and Sociology. Part 2 discusses theories of gender studies and analyzes some selected issues most notably seen in Vietnam and Southeast Asia. Part 3 discusses theories of development and how economic, historical and political forces affect women’s lives in comparative contexts, as well as the interconnection between gender, development and social change. Lastly, recent worldwide achievements in terms of gender equality and equity will be discussed.
