Gender and Politics in Southeast Asia

This subject is not offered in 2008.

For the purposes of considering request for Reasonable Adjustments under the Disability Standards for Education (Cwth 2005), and Student Support and Engagement Policy, academic requirements for this subject are articulated in the Subject Overview, Learning Outcomes, Assessment and Generic Skills sections of this entry.

It is University policy to take all reasonable steps to minimise the impact of disability upon academic study, and reasonable adjustments will be made to enhance a student's participation in the University's programs. Students who feel their disability may impact on meeting the requirements of this subject are encouraged to discuss this matter with a Faculty Student Adviser and Student Equity and Disability Support: http://services.unimelb.edu.au/disability

This subject examines the multiple ways of theorising gender and its relation to other axes of social differentiation such as class, religion, nationality, sexuality, rank, place and ethnicity in Southeast Asia. The subject introduces students to historically specific and ethnographic ways in which theorising about sexual politics can interrogate political institutions (eg. the military, educational systems, health care, public services and development projects) and practices (eg. democracy, authoritarianism and grass roots activism). The subject will explore articulations of women's voices, while at the same time critically examine the construction of masculinity, femininity, and other forms of sexuality in Southeast Asian societies. On completion of the subject students should have a better understanding of nuanced, non-universalising ideas about power, patriarchy, the family, critiques of development, and women's activism in the following countries of Southeast Asia: East Timor, the Philippines, Indonesia, Burma, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam and Malaysia.

This subject is not available as a breadth subject.

• be able to research through the competent use of the library and other information sources, and be able to define areas of inquiry and methods of research in the preparation of essays;

• be able to conceptualise theoretical problems, form judgements and arguments and communicate critically, creatively and theoretically through essay writing, tutorial discussion and presentations;

• be able to communicate knowledge ideologically and economically through essay writing and tutorial discussion;

• be able to manage and organise workloads for recommended reading, the completion of essays and assignments and examination revision;

• be able to participate in team work through small group discussions.