Southeast Asia is one of the world's most culturally diverse regions, home to Buddhist, Muslim, Confucian, and Christian civilizations. It boasts ancient monuments of surpassing beauty, grandeur, and symbolic complexity. It was the scene of the bloodiest conflict since 1945, the Vietnam War. Today it has one of the world's fastest growing regional economies. Moreover, Southeast Asian political history reflects patterns characteristic of much of Asia, Africa, and the Mideast, and thus offers insights into Global development in general. This course offers an introduction to Southeast Asian history from the earliest civilizations, through the colonial conquest, to the contemporary political and economic scene. It assumes no prior knowledge of the region whatsoever.

Course Requirements:

Attendance at weekly lectures, participation in weekly discussion sections (20% of grade), midterm (30%) and final (50%). If you choose to do an optional research paper of 9-10 pages on any topic cleared in advance with your GSI or Prof. Leiberman, the discussion section will count 20%, midterm 20%, final 25% and paper 35%. For research sources, consult Prof. Lieberman and/or check "Further Readings" for each chapter of the Owen book.