This course deals with central issues in contemporary scholarship on Indonesia, emphasising the dynamics of social relations in specific historical contexts, questioning a number of dominant concepts, and current issues in the light of recent theoretical insights. The unifying focus of the course is on the 'constructedness' of social realities, with specific references to Indonesia. This allows students to study not only about the facts and figures ('‘what') of a given phenomena, but 'how' these facts and figures have come into being, whether these facts are given or open to debates,' why' some facts are more debatable sometimes than others; and 'how' they may change over time.

Students will consider the theoretical bases of such views, and their critiques. Selected key concepts in contemporary social and cultural analyses as used in analyses of aspects of social life in Indonesia will be examined. No prior knowledge of Indonesia is required.

By the end of the semester, students are expected to be:
* familiar with the prominent aspects of the country's history and contemporary challenges;
* able to write well informed essays on current issues in Indonesia, as well as to engage in wider academic discussion on Indonesia; and
* able to identify potential areas of significance for future research.

In addition, this educational exercise aims to enhance students' generic skills in the following areas: acquiring advanced concepts and analytical tools in social and cultural studies; applying reflexively selected classical paradigms on contexts and histories other than one's own; and expressing in an advnaced scholarly fashion the complexity of social relations in specific historical settings.

(1) class participation  (ongoing) 10% (weekly: A minimum attendance of 8 tutorial sessions is required for successful completion of the subject)
(2) oral presentation for class discussion on assigned reading materials 10% (during the semester)
(3) one short essay 750 words 20% (one week after class seminar for individual students)
(4) one short essay 750 words 20% (mid-semester)
(5) one long essay 3,500 words 40% (examination period)

The course requires three contact hours each week and from four to five hours a week outside the contact hours.

Entry to masters coursework program, or permission of convenor. Incompatible with ASIA2517.

It is recommended that students have a basic knowledge of Asia and the Pacific.

The core texts will be made available to enrolled students at Wattle. Recommended

Burr, Vivien (1995) An Introduction to Social Constructionism, London & New York: Routledge.
Chalmers, Ian (2006) Indonesia; an Introduction to Contemporary Traditions, Oxford University Press.

Students need access to a computer with a word processing software (word document, pdf and internet browser) and internet connection.