Islam in Southeast Asia

Subject 673-375 (2009)

Note: This is an archived Handbook entry from 2009. Search for this in the current handbook

Credit Points: 12.50
Level: 3 (Undergraduate)
Dates & Locations:

This subject has the following teaching availabilities in 2009:

Semester 2, - Taught on campus.
Pre-teaching Period Start not applicable
Teaching Period not applicable
Assessment Period End not applicable
Last date to Self-Enrol not applicable
Census Date not applicable
Last date to Withdraw without fail not applicable


Timetable can be viewed here. For information about these dates, click here.
Time Commitment: Contact Hours: 2 x 45 min lectures (online) and 1 hour tutorial per week
Total Time Commitment: 2.5 contact hours/week , 6 additional hours/week. Total of 8.5 hours per week.
Prerequisites: None
Corequisites: None
Recommended Background Knowledge: None
Non Allowed Subjects: None
Core Participation Requirements:

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

Coordinator

Mr Shahram Akbarzadeh

Contact

A/Prof Shahram Akbarzadeh

shahrama@unimelb.edu.au

Subject Overview: Islam is a significant feature of Southeast Asia's past and present. Employing methodologies and insights drawn primarily from history, political science, and anthropology, this subject/unit explores Islam's place in and contribution to contemporary Southeast Asian societies and politics, as well as its history in the region. Major themes to be explored include: the debates about Islam's spread to Southeast Asia and its interaction with the region's established socio-religious features; the colonial experience; Islam's often contested place in the national life of Southeast Asian nations; its past and ongoing links with the rest of the Muslim world; and contemporary issues associated with the "War on Terror" and conflicts in Muslim societies.
Objectives:
  • Understand the role of Islam as a political factor in many Asian countries and contexts.
  • Understand the growing significance of Islam as a political factor in global politics and contemporary international relations.
  • Understand the diversity of political forces and perspectives based on Islam
  • Appreciate and understand the contrast between the multidimensional reality of politics conducted within an Islamic framework and the often simplistic manner in which this reality is portrayed.
  • Understand the major philosophical and practical problems confronted by Muslim political thinkers and practitioners.
  • Critically assess the popular historiographical paradigm in which Islam and the West are considered to be in perpetual conflict.
Assessment: Assessment totalling 4000 words (100%)
Prescribed Texts:
  • Voices of Islam in Southeast Asia: A contemporary sourcebook (Greg Fealy and Virginia Hooker (eds.)) Institute of Southeast Studies, Singapore, 2006
Recommended Texts:
  • Greg Fealy and Virginia Hooker (eds.), Voices of Islam in Southeast Asia: A contemporary sourcebook, Institute of South east Studies, Singapore, 2006.
  • Azyumardi Azra, The Origins of Islamic Reformism in Southeast Asia, Allen and Unwin, Crows Nest, Sydney, 2004.
  • Michael Francis Laffan, Islamic Nationhood and Colonial Indonesia: the umma below the winds, RoutledgeCurzon, London, 2003.
  • Arskal Salim and Azyumardi Azra (eds.), Shari'a and Politics in Modern Indonesia, Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, Singapore, 2003.
  • Zachary Abuza, Militant Islam in Southeast Asia: Crucible of terror, Lynne Rienner publishers, Boulder, Colorado, 2003.
  • M.B. Hooker, Indonesian Islam: Social change through contemporary Fatawa, Allen and Unwin, Crows Nest, Sydney, 2003.
  • K.S. Nathan and Mohammad Hashim Kamali (eds.), Islam in Southeast Asia: Political, social and strategic challenges for the 21st century, Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, Singapore, 2005.
  • Nakamuro Mitsuo, et al (eds.), Islam and Civil Society in Southeast Asia, Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, Singapore, 2001.
  • Virginia Hooker, et al (eds.) Malaysia: Islam Society and Politics, Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, Singapore, 2003.
  • Clifford Geertz, The Religion of Java, The University of Chicago Press, Chicago, 1960
Breadth Options:

This subject potentially can be taken as a breadth subject component for the following courses:

You should visit learn more about breadth subjects and read the breadth requirements for your degree, and should discuss your choice with your student adviser, before deciding on your subjects.

Fees Information: Subject EFTSL, Level, Discipline & Census Date
Generic Skills:
  • acquire written communication skills through essay writing and seminar discussion;
  • show attention to detail through essay preparation and writing
  • acquire time management and planning skills through managing and organising workloads for recommended reading, essay and assignment completion;
  • acquire public speaking skills through tutorial and seminar discussion and class presentations;
  • acquire research skills through competent use of the library, and other information sources and the definition of areas of inquiry and methods of research;
  • acquire critical thinking and analysis skills through recommended reading, essay writing and tutorial discussion, and by determining strength of an argument;
  • be able to think in theoretical terms through lectures, tutorial discussions, essay writing and engagement in the methodologies of the humanities and social sciences.
Notes: This subject will be taught online by the University of Western Sydney (UWS). It is offered to students of UWS, University of Melbourne and Griffith University. Local tutorial support will be available at all three universities. Available as a breadth subject
Related Majors/Minors/Specialisations: Islamic Studies
Islamic Studies Major

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