Islamic Studies
Contents
Introduction
The University of New England offers one of the most comprehensive postgraduate programs in Islamic Studies in Australia. Inaugurated in 1995 and currently taught through the School of Humanities - ‘Understanding Muslim Societies in Asia’ – seeks to explain the beliefs and practices of Islam, as well as the challenges it both faces and poses in the world today.
Chief among these challenges, which are sparking widespread debate, are:
• The rejection of secular, especially Western culture;
• The revival and reassertion of Islamic values;
• The espousal of an Islamic world order; and
• The manifestation of international and domestic terrorism in the name of Islam.
This course aims not only to explain these developments, but also dispel the misperceptions that historically attach to Islamic culture and continue to colour the treatment Islam receives in the press and on television. Students will be conducted through questions of religion, politics, law, economics, business ethics, gender relations, cultural expressions, education and development. In effect the whole volatile interaction of modernism and Islamic tradition will be explored.
Why Study Islamic Studies at UNE?
‘Understanding Muslim Societies in Asia’ is a flexible multi-disciplinary MA (coursework) program that:
- Is offered entirely through distance education
- Is a direct pathway to a MA [Hons] or PhD
- Has an unique Australian and regional focus
- Is HECs liable
- Can be done part-time
The course has been specifically designed as a response to the Australian government’s encouragement for Australians to become more knowledgeable about their region and the cultures that inform it. We have rapidly growing Muslim communities in all our centres of population and to our immediate north are the most populous Muslim nations in the world – Indonesia, Malaysia, India, Pakistan and Bangladesh – that have potentially as much power as Saudi Arabia to determine Islam’s future direction. What the Asia focus on Islam permits is a critical examination of the inter-relationship between the middle-eastern and regional dimensions of Islamic activity that will be played out within Australia’s orbit of contact.
Islamic Studies at UNE has been designed particularly for people who deal closely with Muslims and their communities in their daily transactions: especially school teachers, health care deliverers, business people, tourist operators, and public servants. We are confident that you will find this course to be of great practical benefit as well as stimulating and fascinating.
Courses
Undergraduate Degrees
Advanced Diploma in Arts
Bachelor of Arts
Bachelor of Arts/Bachelor of Business
Bachelor of Arts/Bachelor of Laws
Bachelor of Arts/Bachelor of Teaching
Bachelor of Arts/Bachelor of Science
Postgraduate Coursework
Graduate Certificate in Arts
Graduate Diploma in Humanities
Graduate Diploma in Social Science
Master of Arts
Honours
Postgraduate Research
Master of Arts with Honours
Doctor of Philosophy
Units
The MA [Islamic Studies] builds on the introductory HIST 343 “Islam in the Modern World” and a range of other undergraduate units that are offered as part of the Studies in Religion, International Relations and Asian Studies majors.
ISLM 461: Islam and the Creation of the Muslim World (12 credit points)
ISLM 462: Islam and the Modern World Order (12 credit points)
ISLM 463: Women in Islam (6 credit points)
ISLM 467: Islam in Indonesia and Malaysia (6 credit points)
ISLM 470: Individual Research Project (12 credit points)
This unit is available to students who have will have normally have obtained credit or better in ISLM 461 & ISLM 462. Consisting of a 12,000 word dissertation it is designed to allow candidates to pursue in more depth research which arises from their work in the MA and may qualify them to proceed direct to an MA (Hons) or PhD.
ISLM 471: Islam in Central Asia (6 credit points)
ISLM 472: Aspects of Islam (6 credit points)
Option1: Islamic Economics
Option2: The Sharia
It is planned to offer a new Unit on Islam in India, Pakistan and Bangladesh in 2009.
Careers
Australia's physical proximity of Asia and growing ties to the region, both politically and economically, make this an interesting and exciting time, especially for those with cross-cultural communication skills. Knowledge of Asian politics, economies and societies is an essential skill in a number of career paths in the public service, business and teaching. Graduates who are 'Asia-literate' have good employment prospects. Opportunities exist both in Australian and internationally in a variety of fields including:
• teaching
• administration
• diplomacy
• policing
• business and trade
• journalism
• marketing
• management
• defence
• strategic analysis
• policy development
• immigration
• tourism
• aid agencies
• non-governmental organisations
• international agencies
• community and social work.
Recent graduates have been employed in all of these areas.
Staff
Teaching Staff include:
Professor Howard Brasted, Professor Amarjit Kaur, Associate Professor Shahram Akbarzadeh [Monash], Dr Denis Wright, Associate Professor Habib Zafarullah, Dr. Leslie Mclean.
Partnerships, Networks and Industry Links
Resources
Asia for Educators
Asian Studies WWW Virtual Library
Asian Voices
East Asian Studies Internet Resources
Focus on the Global South
South Asian Women's NETwork
Stratfor
Associations
Asian Studies Association of Australia (ASAA)
Chinese Studies Association of Australia (CSAA)
Japanese Studies Association of Australia (JSAA)
New Zealand Asian Studies Society (NZASIA)
Philippines Studies Association Australasia (PSAA)
South Asian Studies Association of Australia (SASA)
The Malaysia Society of Australia
Vietnam Studies Association of Australia (VSAA)
International Organisations
Asian Development Bank
Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC)
Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific
International Labour Organisation
International Monetary Fund
Pacific Economic Cooperation Council
World Bank
Journals, Magazines and Bulletins
Asia Policy E-journal
Asian Affairs
Asian Currents E-bulletin
Asian Currents, The Asian Studies Association of Australia's e-bulletin
Asian Journal of Women's Studies
Asian Studies WWW Monitor
Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies
China Brief: A Journal of Information and Analysis
China Information
China Journal - online version
China Quarterly
Critical Asian Studies
Electronic Journal of Contemporary Japanese Studies
Harvard Asia Pacific Review
Harvard Journal of Asiatic Studies
HIMAL-South Asia
Inside Indonesia Magazine
Japan Focus
Journal of South Asia Women Studies
Journal of the Economic and Social History of the Orient (JESHO)
Little India
Manushi - A Journal about Women and Society
Modern Asian Studies
Pacific Affairs: An International Review of Asia and the Pacific
South Asia: Journal of South Asian Studies
Stanford Journal of East Asian Affairs
The Journal of Asian Studies
The Journal of Southeast Asian Studies
Asian Studies Centres
Asia Institute
Asian Law Centre
Australia Asia Pacific Institute
Centre for Advanced Studies in Australia, Asia and the Pacific (CASAAP)
Centre for Asia Pacific Social Transformation Studies
Centre for Democratic Institutions, Asia Pacific Region (CDI)
Centre for South Asian Studies
Flinders Asia Centre
Griffith Asia Institute
International Centre of Excellence in Asia-Pacific Studies (ICEAPS)
Malaysia and Singapore Society
Monash Asia Institute (MAI)
Murdoch University Asia Research Centre
National Institute for Asia and the Pacific (NIAP)
Philippines Australia Studies Centre (PASC)
Research Institute for Asia & the Pacific
UNE Asia Centre
Contacts
Please direct enquiries to Professor Howard Brasted.
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