This course focuses on the Asian diasporic communities in Northeast Asia, Southeast Asia and the Pacific. It will provide an overview of the processes of initial migration and settlement and examine the main features of the social, economic and political development of these communities in their new settings, the nature of their continuing links with their ancestral homelands, and cultural developments within these communities reflecting both the nature of the relationship with the ‘homeland’ and the diasporic experience itself. An attempt will be made to incorporate the Asian diasporic communities in Australia into a broader discussion of the Asian diasporic experience. Students will be introduced to various significant contemporary theoretical debates about the notion of "diaspora" in an Asian context. Students will also study and analyse literary, film and artistic works which represent the complex intersections of identity in diasporic communities.

On successful completion of this course students should be able to:

•understand the history of diasporic communities in Asia and the Pacific

• understand and apply broad concepts and theories of Diaspora

• critically examine debates on Diaspora in Asia

• assess and use a range of materials including archival documents, scholarly works and literary and visual works as sources of social and historical knowledge

-         Class participation - 10%

-         2500 word essay  - 40% 

-         4500 word research paper - 50%

-         2 hour introductory session

-         3 intensive two-day workshops

-         5-6 hours per week of reading and preparation.

Meet entry requirement for a Masters coursework program or consent of delegate.  Incompatible with ASIA4016.

Those taking the course would be assumed to have certain basic academic skills, such as reading and writing at a high level, the ability to devise and conduct independent research projects, and also to have some familiarity with Asian histories, societies and cultures.

Readings and other materials will be uploaded on Wattle. Below are some of essential readings and references for the course.

-         Brij V Lal et al (eds), The Encyclopedia of the Indian Diaspora (Singapore: Editions Dider Millet, 2006).

-         Lynn Pan (ed), The Encyclopedia of the Chinese Overseas (Singapore: Achipelago Press, 1998)

-         William Safran, ‘Diasporas in Modern Societies: Myths of Homeland and Return,’ Diaspora: A Journal of Transnational Studies, 1:1 (1991), 83-99

-         Steven Vertovec and Robin Cohn (eds), Migration, diasporas and Transnationalism (London: Edward Elgar Publishing, 1999).

-         Sonia Ryang and John Lie eds, Diaspora Without Homeland: Being Korean in Japan (University of California Press, 2009)

-         Jana Evans Braziel and Anita Mannur eds., Theorizing Diaspora: A Reader (Blackwell, 2003)

-         Nobuko Adachi, Japanese Diasporas: Unsung Pasts, Conflicting Presents and Uncertain Futures (Routledge, 2006)

-         Daniel Chirot and Anthony Reid, Essential outsiders : Chinese and Jews in the modern transformation of Southeast Asia and Central Europe (University of Washington Press, 1997).

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