History 172: Southeast Asian Culture and History Timothy S. George, University of Rhode Island, Spring 20XX Lectures: MW 9:00-9:50, Chafee 273 Website: Sakai; see p. 2 Recitations: R01: F9, Washburn 112 R02: F10, Wales 223 R03: F11, Chafee 244 R04: F1, Washburn 316 Prof. George: 874-4091 (office), 789-6639 (home; to 9:00 p.m.), tgeorge@uri.edu Office hours: M 1:00-2:30, W 10:00-11:30, and by appointment; Washburn 217D Course Description A broad overview of the culture and history of Southeast Asia. Emphasis on society, culture, and religion, especially as they relate to and influence contemporary developments. Objectives Students will gain a general understanding of Southeast Asian culture and history. They will find news of current events in Southeast Asia and understand them in cultural and historical context. They will find books on Southeast Asia on subjects that interest them, read these books critically, and compare and review them in clear and thoughtful prose. Familiarity with the ways in which universal human problems have been addressed by Southeast Asian civilizations will enrich students lives and broaden their perspectives on themselves and their world. Requirements Class Participation: Attend every class on time and prepared. Bring and actively discuss recitation readings in the context of the themes of the course. Take in-class quizzes. Post selfintroduction to course website forum by 8:00 PM Jan. 25. Post paragraph-length comments on a theme in the next day s recitation readings, explaining how the documents illuminate important issues in Southeast Asian history, to website forum by 8:00 PM Thursdays. Submit suggestions (2 multiple choice questions, with correct answers indicated, and 2 essay questions) for mid-term exam, due Feb. 29, and final exam, due Apr. 25. 20% of course grade. News Reading Reports: Two reports, 1 double-spaced page, due Feb. 15 and Mar. 21. For each, read an article on Southeast Asia from the New York Times, Washington Post, or Wall Street Journal. At the top, give your article information in bibliography format (model on p. 3). Write one short paragraph summarizing the article, and a longer one explaining specifically how your study of Southeast Asian history helps you understand it. Staple an 8½ x 11 inch photocopy or printout of the article to your report. For the first report, find and photocopy an article in a printed or microfilm version of the newspaper. For the second, find an article from one of these newspapers online. Model on p. 3. 10% of course grade. Comparative Book Review: 7-9 double-spaced pages, due Apr. 23. Book choices due Feb. 27 (worth 5% of grade). Post peer group names and books by 8:00 PM Mar. 9 (5% of grade). Submit draft introduction to peers and Prof. George Mar. 26 (5% of grade). Complete draft of book review due to peers Apr. 6. E-mail comments on peers complete drafts to peers and Prof. George Apr. 13 (5% of grade). See detailed instructions on pp. 3-4. 25% of course grade. Mid-Term Exam: Mar. 7. May include multiple choice, matching, map, short answer, and essay questions. Study guide to be distributed in advance. 15% of course grade. Final Exam: May 7, 8:00-10:00 AM, Chafee 273. Comprehensive, but more emphasis on second half of course. May include multiple choice, matching, map, short answer, and essay questions. Study guide to be distributed in advance. 30% of course grade.
Required Texts ( : at URI Bookstore and RI Book Co.; *: other readings on website) Osborne, Milton E. Southeast Asia: An Introductory History (10 th ed.). Allen & Unwin, 2010. Duong Thu Huong. Paradise of the Blind. Harper Perennial, 2002 [1988]. Kartini, Raden Adjeng. Letters of a Javanese Princess. Trans. Agnes Louise Symmers. Available free as an Amazon Kindle ebook; $0.99 from Apple ibooks. * Other readings: available as PDFs on the course website; marked on schedule with *asterisks. You must bring them to Friday discussions, prepared to discuss them after having read them and commented on them on the website. You may either print the PDFs or use electronic versions on your computer in class, but if you use electronic versions you must download them in advance and turn off your computer s wireless access while in class. Read critically, asking how readings, lectures, films, and discussions relate to each other. Take notes on key ideas merely underlining or highlighting is not effective. Policies and Notes Grade scale: A, 93-100; A-, 90-92; B+, 87-89; B, 83-86; B-, 80-82; C+, 77-79; C, 73-76; C-, 70-72; D+, 67-69; D, 63-66; F, 62 or below. Please communicate with the instructor privately and promptly, at the beginning of the course, if you have any special needs for class, assignments, or examinations. Computers may be used in class only to take notes and consult reading assignments, and only if wireless access is disabled. Cell phone use and text messaging are prohibited. On-time attendance is mandatory and part of your participation grade. Except in documented medical or family emergencies, University-approved activities, and religious observances, there will be no excused absences or deadline extensions. Documentation must be submitted in writing in advance (if planned), or as soon as possible afterward (if due to an emergency). Written assignments will not be accepted if they do not meet format and length requirements specified, if they are hand-written, if the pages are not stapled together, or if they are e-mailed. Print on both sides of the paper, and put your recitation number on all assignments. Late assignments will be penalized one grade per class day. An A paper due Monday but turned in Wednesday will therefore receive a grade of B. Website postings may not be submitted late. Cheating (getting or giving help during exams) and plagiarism (using someone else s words or ideas without giving proper credit) are serious offenses and will be dealt with according to the University Manual and the Student Handbook. Penalties can include failure on the exam or assignment, failure in the course, and suspension or expulsion from the university. For guidelines on using quotations, documenting sources, and avoiding plagiarism, refer to Mary Lynn Rampolla, A Pocket Guide to Writing in History (available in library reference section; history majors should consider purchasing this book). You are encouraged to use the Writing Center on the 4 th floor of Roosevelt Hall for help with writing: www.uri.edu/artsci/writing/center. The Writing Center is part of the Academic Enhancement Center, which can provide help with study skills (reading, note taking, time management, etc.). Course Website On the HIS172 website,accessible via sakai.uri.edu, are this syllabus, lecture outlines, handouts, readings, a forum for announcements and discussions, exam study guides, and more. Sakai help is available from: 1) links at sakai.uri.edu, and 2) Office of Information Services Help Desk: URI Library LL19, 874-4357, helpdesk@uri.edu, www.uri.edu/helpdesk. HIS172: Southeast Asian Culture and and History Timothy S. George, URI, Spring 20XX 2
News Reading Reports should begin like this: Joan Student HIS172 R03 Prof. George February 15, 2012 Bonner, Raymond. A Scramble in Bangkok for a $10 Million Reward. New York Times, September 15, 2003, sec. A. [For second report, using an online article, also give URL and access date see Rampolla.] This is the beginning of your body text (two paragraphs, one page, double-spaced). Comparative book reviews should begin like this: Two Sides of Modern Life in Southeast Asia: A Comparative Book Review Thorbek, Susanne. Voices from the City: Women of Bangkok. London: Zed Books, 1987. Gargan, Edward. A. A River s Tale: A Year on the Mekong. New York: Knopf, 2002. Jack Student HIS172 R04 Prof. George April 23, 2012 This is the beginning of your body text (7-9 pages, double-spaced; print on both sides of paper). Comparative Book Review 7-9 double-spaced, stapled pages, due Apr. 23; a critical, comparative book review, not a research paper. If your introduction and conclusion are about the books, you are on track. Choose two scholarly monographs (no fiction, survey texts, or multi-author compilations) on any aspects of the history or culture of Southeast Asia on similar, but not necessarily identical, topics that interest you to review together. The following can help you find books: suggestions for further reading in your textbooks and in other books on Southeast Asia bibliographies in the Cambridge History of Southeast Asia Association for Asian Studies, Bibliography of Asian Studies (URI has the published volumes covering works published through 1991, but does not subscribe to the online version.) Tregonning, K. G., Southeast Asia: A Critical Bibliography librarians and/or your instructor Submit your choice of books (on paper, not by e-mail) by Feb. 27. This is worth 5% of the grade for the paper. Discuss your plans and the appropriateness of your books with Prof. George, and order any books you may need to get via interlibrary loan, well before this date. By Mar. 9, form a peer group of three or four students and meet to tell each other about the books you are reading. (There are no regular recitation meetings Mar. 9.) Choose one person in your group to post a message to the course website forum, by Mar. 9, listing the people in the group and the authors and titles of each person s books. (5% of paper grade.) HIS172: Southeast Asian Culture and and History Timothy S. George, URI, Spring 20XX 3
By Mar. 26, give each person in your peer group, and Prof. George, your draft introduction. Follow the format model on p. 3. This one-paragraph introduction should briefly tell the reader what the books are about, give at least a hint of what you think of them, and explain how your review will be organized. (5% of paper grade.) By Apr. 6, give each person in your group a complete first draft of your comparative book review. (You are not required to show Prof. George this draft.) By Apr. 13, e-mail each person in your group extensive specific comments and suggestions on these aspects of their draft: 1) summary of books (includes information about authors, arguments, and sources); 2) evaluation of books (most important); 3) comparison of books; and 4) writing and format (they must follow Rampolla). (If anyone in your group has not given you a complete first draft by this date, e-mail them about this, and send a copy to Prof. George.) Also by Apr. 13, send Prof. George (tgeorge@uri.edu) a single e-mail message into which you copy and paste the comments you sent to each of your peers. (5% of paper grade.) Begin planning early allow extra time to get books via interlibrary loan, to get help from the Writing Center, to read thoughtfully, to write carefully, and to rethink, rewrite, and polish. Give your paper an original, meaningful title not simply A Review of X and Y. Use footnotes or endnotes as appropriate. Number your pages (except for the first), and print on both sides. No bibliography is necessary unless you refer to or use other sources. A good source for help with format is Mary Lynn Rampolla, A Pocket Guide to Writing in History. There must be no plagiarism. Penalties for plagiarism can include grades of F for the assignment and for the course, and suspension or expulsion from URI. If you use anyone else s words or original ideas, do so carefully and only when appropriate, and give proper credit in a footnote or endnote. Consult Rampolla for guidelines and format. Your paper must do three things. You may do each in a separate section of the paper, or you may find ways to blend these together, but you must do all three of these: 1) Give a summary or description (short), and 2) an evaluation (longer, and most important) of each book. Who is the author (specialty, other publications, etc.) and why did she or he write this book? What questions are raised, and how well are they answered? What is the thesis and how well is it supported? In other words, what is the author s main point, and is she or he persuasive? (This is the most important part of your evaluation.) Make it clear whether you agree or disagree with the main arguments of the books. What questions ought to be addressed but are not? What sources are used, and how? How do these books compare with others on the topic? Did the books add to or change your understanding? 3) Compare the two books. What similarities and differences do you find in their subjects, arguments, evidence/sources, and conclusions? Do they support, supplement, or contradict each other? Are both worth reading? By whom? Should they be read together? Of these components of your review, 2) (evaluating the books) is by far the most important. Remember that the writing of history is a subjective process, and is never finished. Historians often disagree over interpretations, over what facts are relevant, and even over what constitutes a fact. Pay particular attention to the publication dates of your books, and find information about the authors, since all authors are to some extent products of their own times and experiences. Try to understand why they hold the opinions they do, and why you hold yours. HIS172: Southeast Asian Culture and and History Timothy S. George, URI, Spring 20XX 4
Course Schedule M Jan. 23 W Jan. 25 F Jan. 27 M Jan. 30 W Feb. 1 F Feb. 3 M Feb. 6 W Feb. 8 F Feb. 10 Course Overview What Is Southeast Asia? before class, read Osborne, pp. i-17 post self-intro to website forum by 8:00 PM Jan. 25 (counts as a quiz) post paragraph-length comments on a theme in the next day s recitation readings, explaining how the documents illuminate important issues in Southeast Asian history, to the website forum by 8:00 PM each Thursday discuss: *Jane Richardson Hanks, Reflections on the Ontology of Rice (Download the PDF from the course website, read it, and bring it to discussion in printed or electronic form. If you use the electronic version in class you must turn off your computer s wireless access. Students who do not bring the readings to recitation will be asked to leave and considered absent. To avoid last-minute problems, download (and print if you plan to do so) all PDFs for the entire semester now. Downloadable readings are indicated with *asterisks.) Early Mainland States before class, read Osborne, pp. 18-69 Early Island States *Carolyn Brown Heinz, Tribe, State, and Ethnic Group, and How the Thai Became an Ethnic Group Hinduism, Buddhism, and Islam video: Borobudur: Beyond the Reach of Time *Heinz, Buddha s First Sermon: The Four Noble Truths, The King of Angkor Goes Out M Feb. 13 The Mongol Invasions, the Coming of Islam, and the Rise of New States W Feb. 15 Village Life and Society first news reading report due (see instructions on p. 1 and model on p. 3) F Feb. 17 *Heinz, The Conversion of Kalidjaga, The Hmong of Thailand W Feb. 22 Courts and Kings F Feb. 24 Kartini, front matter and letters through Dec. 31, 1901 M Feb. 27 Early European Contact/Dutch Colonialism Osborne, 70-128 book choices for comparative book review due (see requirements on p. 3) Feb. 29 British and French Colonialism/Thailand suggested questions for midterm exam due (see instructions on p. 1) F Mar. 2 Kartini, letters from Feb. 15, 1902 to end M Mar. 5 Agricultural Involution on Java/review for midterm examination W Mar. 7 midterm examination F Mar. 9 no regular recitation meetings; peer groups meet by Mar. 9 peer groups post members names and book choices by Mar. 9 HIS172: Southeast Asian Culture and and History Timothy S. George, URI, Spring 20XX 5
M Mar. 19 Nationalism and Early Independence Movements Osborne, 129-178 W Mar. 21 World War II in Southeast Asia second news reading report due (see instructions on p. 1 and model on p. 3) F Mar. 23 *Nguyen Du, The Tale of Kieu M Mar. 26 video: The Pacific Century, Part 3: From the Barrel of a Gun draft introduction of comparative book review due to peers & Prof. George W Mar. 28 Revolution and Independence in Indonesia Osborne, 179-189 F Mar. 30 *Sukarno, The Birth of Pancasila M Apr. 2 W Apr. 4 F Apr. 6 Independence in the Philippines and Malaysia Osborne, 189-204 Postwar Thailand no regular recitation meetings; complete draft of comparative book review due to peer group members M Apr. 9 Independence in Burma Osborne, 204-212 W Apr. 11 video: Vietnam, Chapter 1: The Roots of War F Apr. 13 Duong, 5-131 comments on peers drafts due to peers and to tgeorge@uri.edu M Apr. 16 video: Vietnam, Chapter 6: America s Enemy, 1954-1967 Osborne, 213-226 W Apr. 18 video: Vietnam, Chapter 9: Cambodia and Laos F Apr. 20 Duong, 132-270 M Apr. 23 Recent Events in Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos Osborne, 227-285 comparative book review due (see instructions and model on pp. 3-4) W Apr. 25: Recent Events in the Philippines, Burma, and Thailand suggested questions for final exam due (see instructions on p. 1) F Apr. 27 *Titis Basino, Her M Apr. 30 review for final exam with some actual exam questions to be revealed! FINAL EXAMINATION: MONDAY, MAY 7, 8:00-10:00 AM, CHAFEE 273 HIS172: Southeast Asian Culture and and History Timothy S. George, URI, Spring 20XX 6