Southeast Asia has long been a site of social, economic, and religious exchanges, at a crossroads between the Indian Ocean world and East Asia. Today, the nations of the region are growing in importance, as their economies and geopolitical significance draws the attention of world leaders, including former President Barack Obama, who spent a year of his childhood in Indonesia, the region's largest country. This course offers an introduction to the region. We explore major themes in the study of Southeast Asian societies through a series of guest lectures by University of Michigan faculty members. Each guest lecture introduces students to a different disciplinary approach for the study of the region, including public policy, political science, anthropology, archaeology, history, museum studies, and architecture and urban planning. Countries covered by visiting lecturers include Cambodia, Thailand, Myanmar, Vietnam, Indonesia, and the Philippines. Is Southeast Asia a region by virtue of organic historical integration and a shared cultural context or as a result of arbitrary geopolitical fiat? How do different disciplinary approaches help us to best understand aspects of this complex region? How does turning to Southeast Asia help us to approach general questions about culture, the economy, and politics? What kinds of collaborations are possible between scholars in different fields? What are the limits to such collaborations? These are just some of the questions we will explore over the course of the term. Overall, this course will situate students within an interdisciplinary approach to Southeast Asia, as well as allowing them to develop and think about their own interests in the region.