South & SE Asian Studies

This course covers one of the world’s great cuisines in a course both theoretical and practical. Students will get behind the flavorful philosophy and origins of Thai cuisine as well as its basic techniques and ingredients. This course studies the culture, philosophy, and origin of Thai cuisine. Looking into the history and literature, it examines the dynamics and development of Thai cuisine over time. Topics include characteristics, cultural and regional eating patterns and practices, and common daily dishes. They will gain hand-on experience of the methods of blending and balancing the varied flavors to create a stimulating array of tastes. Classes include lecture, weekly readings, demonstration, and hands-on practice.

This course examines the history of Sino-Japanese relations from the mid-nineteenth century to the present day. It studies how political, economic, and cultural relations between the two countries have evolved through multiple stages of conflict and cooperation. It covers the following themes: economic development and modernization in East Asia; colonialism and imperialism; Japanese and Chinese nationalism; cross-cultural fertilizations within the Sinosphere; and the relation between war, memory, and national identity.

This course covers the politics of democratization in South Asia, a region with a long history of inter-state and intra-state conflict. The post-colonial separation of India into India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh has caused cross border tensions and paved the way for military intervention in the domestic politics of Pakistan and Bangladesh. The diverse interests of ethnic and religious communities are testing the legitimacy of majoritarian democracy and the limits of claims for autonomous government. This course examines the institutional structures, state-citizen relations, and identity politics in South Asia’s democratic experiments to find hope for democracy in a polarized world.

This course explores the topic of death and dying in Southeast Asia from a multidisciplinary perspective. It looks into how various communities, medical institutions, commercial enterprises and religious groups in the region cope and understand death and dying in order to further understand Southeast Asia, one of the most complex regions in the world.

This course focuses on the changes in Singapore's urban landscape. It places these changes within a framework that considers Singapore's efforts to globalize and examines how policies are formulated with the idea of sustaining an economy that has integral links sub-regionally with Southeast Asia while developing new spatial linkages that will strengthen its position in the global network. Emphasis is also given to recent discussions about how diversity and difference in the perception and use of space pose a challenge to the utilitarian and functional definition adopted by the state.

This course introduces the scientific and comparative study of religion, with emphasis on South Asian religions. For each tradition a survey of the relevant original literature is provided. Other topics include the co-existence of different religious traditions, and the social and psychological implications of religious values, beliefs, and rituals.