COURSE GUIDE

Course: CULTURE AND SOCIETY IN SOUTHEAST Semester: Second School Year: 2024 - 2025
ASIA Semester
Schedule: Instructor: Meg Victor II G. Camora
Course Description
This course examines the socio-cultural characteristics of Southeast Asian communities and the role that culture
plays in defining contemporary society.

Course Outline
TOPICS REFERENCES
Orientation on the VMGO, Course Policies and Overview Student Handbook
of the Course
Chapter 1: Geography of Southeast Asia
A. Climate  Bellwood, Peter. 1992
B. Topography  Bowdler, S. 1993
C. Soils and forests  Weightman, Barbara. 2011
D. Mainland and Insular regions  asiasociety.org
E. Present-day Countries and adjacent regions  en.wikipedia.org
Chapter 2: Making a Living and Organizing Society
A. Prehistory  Bellwood, Peter. 1992
B. The peoples of Southeast Asia: “Races” and  Bowdler, S. 1993
Ethnicities  Weightman, Barbara. 2011
1. Subsistence strategies  asiasociety.org
2. Swidden  en.wikipedia.org
3. traditional wet rice cultivation
4. mechanized farming
C. Varieties of Polities
1. Bands, “Autonomous” Villages, Chiefdoms,
states
2. The pre-nineteenth century “theater” state
3. Bureaucracies versus oligarchies
4. Democratic states versus authoritarian states
Chapter 3: Indigenous Communalities  Bellwood, Peter. 1992
A. Indigenous People in Southeast Asia
B. A common Language tree  Prasithratsinth, Amara. 1993.
1. The Austronesians, the Austro-Asiatics and
the Tai: Originally one family?
 Fox, James. 2005
2. Language and culture  Keyes, Charles. 2005
3. Origins and diffusion
C. Kinship and Gender  Mulder, Niels. 1996
1. Was the bilateral kinship system the norm
before the coming of the Great Traditions?  Maxwell, Robyn. 1990
2. The relatively high position of women
 Wilson, Christine. 2000
3. Paradise is to lie at mother’s feet”
 www.daytranslations.com

 asiasociety.org

 www.un.org

 www.asienreisender.de

Chapter 4: Traditional Culture in Southeast Asia  De Casparis, Johannes Gijsbertus and

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 A. Building and Dress Customs J.W. Marrett. 1992
1. Waterawys and Houses on Stilts
2. Similarities in Dress  Andaya, Leonardo Y.
3. The Recurring Importance of Seas and
Rivers  www.aseantourism.travel
4. Fields and Gardens
B. Spirit Beliefs  www.inseasia.com
C. Food Practices
D. Dance  www.britannica.com

Chapter 5: The Entry of the Four “Great” Traditions  De Casparis, Johannes Gijsbertus and J.W.
A. The Chinese: Vietnam, Chinese enclaves in SEA
Marrett. 1992
1. The pillars of Chinese tradition and the Sinic  Andaya, Leonardo Y.
ecumene
2. The colonization of North Vietnam  www.aseantourism.travel
3. Chinese trade and migration in Southeast Asia
4. The Chinese and the Manila Galleon trade  www.inseasia.com
B. The Indian: Cambodia, Thailand, Java, Laos,
 www.britannica.com
Myanmar
1. The pillars of Indian tradition, and the Indic
ecumene
2. The formation of states in Southeast Asia in
response to Indian examples
3. Indian trade and migration in Southeast Asia
The Indians and the Manila Galleon trade
C. The Islamic Tradition: Mindanao, Malaysia, Brunei,
Indonesia
D. The Western Tradition: Philippines and Singapore
Chapter 6: Encounters Between Multiple Traditions in  Anderson, Benedict. 1983.
a Particular Country
 Geertz, Clifford. 1960
A. Re-interpreting Identity: The “Nation as Imagined
Community”  Van Klinken, Gerry. 2003.
B. The Indonesian Case: Animism, Hindu-Buddhism
and Islam in Central Java  Zialcita, Fernando N. 1995
C. The Vietnamese Case: Chinese Hegemony and
Local Responses
 Ileto, Reynaldo Clemeña. 1981
D. The Philippine Case: Spanish Colonialism and  Pattana Kitiarsa. 2005
Local Responses
E. The Thai Case: Several, Distinct Religious  www.culturalsurvival.org
Traditions in Interplay
 en.wikipedia.org

Chapter 7: In Quest of a Regional Identity through  Drumond, Catherine. 2013

ASEAN
 Tolentino, Rolando. 2013.
A. History of ASEAN Establishment
B. ASEAN Member States  asean.org
C. Community Pillars
D. Structure of ASEAN

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 E. ASEAN Regional Identity  www.asean2019.go.th

 www.nti.org

Course Requirements
Course Learning Outcomes Required Output
1. Explain why and how “Southeast Asia” was invented,
and why it is important to make it inclusive, Outcome Based Assessments
particularly within the context of the Association of - These are varied outcome-based
South East Asian Nations. assessments given in each Chapter of the
2. Identify indigenous cultural communalities that Learning Material to be complied in a given
antecede the Four Great Traditions and that are period of time.
shared across the region.
- It has two parts: the CHALLENGE YOUR
3. Differentiate each of the Great Traditions from the
others, and analyze its impact upon the original,
SELF and the TRY THIS OUT. Most of
indigenous cultural communalities shared across the these are paper works, except activity
region. asked in Chapter 7 which is creating a
4. Explain how, in a particular nation of the student’s mini-documentary showcasing the different
choice, the Great Tradition interacts with the original cultures and societies in SEA.
indigenous culture both in the past and today.
5. Recommend highlighting indigenous cultural Major Examination
communalities that continue to be shared by the - Midterm Exam covering Chapters 1 - 3
nation-states of ASEAN. - Final exam covering Chapters 4 - 7

Course Policies Grading System

1. Each chapter could be learned in a self-paced Class Standing------------ 60%

or individual format and is is the responsibility  Quizzes – 20%
of the students to maximize their time and exert  Attendance – 15%
with deter with determination in completing the  Project – 25%
course with the learning outcomes. However,
contents provided by the course, may not be Major Examinations ------------------- 40%
enough for your learning needs, so is  Midterm Exam
suggested to the topics.  Final
2. Each Chapter has the following parts:
a. Introduction – these focus on providing
context and help highlight the narrative arc
of the chapter.
b. Specific Learning Outcomes – these are
the outcome learning competencies the
students should realize at the end of the
chapter.
c. Learning Activities:
Preparatory Activities – these are
activities to be performed by the student to
prepare the students before proceeding to
the study of the content. The
output/answers of these are not required to
be submitted and not to be traded.
Content Readings – the content of the
Chapter is presented in this part; this will
also be aided with online sources for
enrichment.
Outcome-Based Assessment – this art

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 provides outcome-based assessment
activities in which the output/answers are
graded and required to be submitted on or
before the major examination.
3. An online objective test will be conducted at the
end of every chapter via Google Forms/Google
Classroom.
4. An Oral test verification for the major examinations
via messenger or phone call will also be conducted.
5. Students may contact their instructors for any
clarifications about the topic, tasks and/or output to
be done.
6. As to the major exam, midterm examination will
cover Chapter 1 - 4, and finals will cover Chapter 3 -
7.

References

1. Andaya, Leonardo Y. “Interactions with the Outside World and Adaptation in Southeast Asian Society,
1500-1800”. in The Cambridge History of Southeast Asia, Vol. 1: From Early Times to c. 1800. Edited
by Nicholas Tarling. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
2. Anderson, Benedict. 1983. Imagined Communities: Reflections on the origin and spread of
nationalism. London: Verso.
3. Bellwood, Peter. 1992. “Southeast Asia before history,” in N. Tarling (ed) The Cambridge History of
Southeast Asia. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
4. Bowdler, S. 1993. “Asian origins: Archaeology and anthropology,” in G. Evans (ed) Asia’s Cultural
Mosaic. New York and Singapore: Prentice-Hall.
5. De Casparis, Johannes Gijsbertus and J.W. Marrett. 1992. “Religion and Popular Beliefs of Southeast
Asia before c. 1500”, pp. 276-340, in The Cambridge History of Southeast Asia, Vol. 1: From Early
Times to c. 1800. Edited by Nicholas Tarling. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
6. Drumond, Catherine. 2013. “The impossibility of performing ‘Asia’”, pp. 179-193. In Fujubi Nakamura et
al., Asia through Art and Anthropology. London: Bloomsbury.
7. Fox, James. 2005. “Southeast Asian Religion: Insular Cultures”. In Encyclopedia of Religion, pp. 8647-
8652
8. Geertz, Clifford. 1960. Religion in Java. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. Winzeler, Robert L.
2011. The Peoples of Southeast Asia Today. Alta Mira Press. (online)
9. Ileto, Reynaldo Clemeña. 1981. Pasyon and Revolution: Popular Movements in the Philippines, 1846-
1910. Quezon City: Ateneo de Manila University Press
10. Keyes, Charles. 2005. “Southeast Asian Religion: Mainland Cultures”. In Encyclopedia of Religion, pp.
8638-8646. Note: Both are available at the Reserve Section as photocopies under the title: “Southeast
Asian Religion”.
11. Maxwell, Robyn. 1990. Textiles of Southeast Asia: Tradition, trade and transformation. Oxford:
University Press.
12. Mulder, Niels. 1996. Inside Southeast Asia: Religion, Everyday Life and Cultural Change. Amsterdam:
Pepin Press. “Religious Syncretism in SEA Religion”, pp. 17-25; “Living with Conflict among Javanese
and Tagalog Filipinos”, pp. 107-116; “The Common Cultural Construction of Social Life”, pp. 229-249.
13. Pattana Kitiarsa. 2005. “Beyond Syncretism: Hybridization of Popular Religion in Contemporary
Thailand”, Journal of Southeast Asian Studies, 36 (3), pp. 461-87.
14. Purcell, Victor. 1951. The Chinese in Southeast Asia. London and New York: The Oxford University
Press. “Early Chinese Contacts with Southeast Asia”, “Emigration to the Nanyang”, “Aspects of Chinese
Society in Southeast Asia”, pp. 11-53.
15. Student Handbook

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 16. Tolentino, Rolando. 2013. Niche globality: Philippine media texts to the world. In Nissim Otmazgin et al.
Popular Culture Co-Productions and Collaborations: East and Southeast Asia. Singapore and Kyoto:
National University of Singapore Press and Kyoto University Press.
17. Van Klinken, Gerry. 2003. “Ethnicity in Indonesia”. In Ethnicity in Asia, ed. by Colin McKerras. London:
Routledge, pp. 64-87.Weightman, Barbara. 2011. Dragons and Tigers: A Geography of South, East and
Southeast Asia. Pp. 26-48, 119-147.
18. Wilson, Christine. 2000. “Southeast Asia”, pp. 1151-1165. The Cambridge World History of Food, vol 2..
Edited by Kenneth Kiple and Kriemhild Conee-Ornelas. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
19. Zialcita, Fernando N. 1995. “State Formation, Colonialism and National Identity in Vietnam and the
Philippines”. Philippine Quarterly of Culture and Society, vol. 22 (2), pp. 77-117
Online Sources:
1. https://www.britannica.com/place/Southeast-Asia
2. https://asiasociety.org/education/introduction-southeast-asia
3. http://ontheworldmap.com/asia/map-of-southeast-asia.html
4. https://www.aseantourism.travel/articles/detail/southeast-asia-s-most-dazzling-gardens
5. http://www.inseasia.com/2015/01/southeast-asian-traditional-dress/
6. https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/articles/the-diverse-cuisine-of-southeast-asia
7. https://www.culturalsurvival.org/publications/cultural-survival-
8. https://asean.org/asean/about-asean/history/
9. https://www.nti.org/learn/treaties-and-regimes/association-southeast-asian-nations-asean/

https://www.asean2019.go.th/en/infographic/3-pillars-of-asean-community
Consultation Schedule: Monday-Friday/8:00 am – 5:00 pm
Lecturer's Contact Number: 0936-891-5419
Lecturer’s email address: megvictoriicamora@gmail.com

Prepared by: Approved:

MEG VICTOR II G. CAMORA MINERVA D. ACEDILLO

Lecturer Program Head

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