Asian Studies
Contents
On these web pages you will find information about Asian Studies at UNE, the units we teach, the undergraduate and postgraduate courses which include Asian Studies, our staff and research interests, and the career opportunities Asian Studies provides. Use the links on the right "contents" to navigate your way through our web page.
The University of New England is one of the most experienced providers of Asian Studies in Australia, and has been engaged in the teaching of, and research on, Asia since the 1970s.
Over 60% of the world's population lives in Asia. Of the ten countries with the largest populations in the world, six are in Asia (China, India, Indonesia, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Japan). India is the world's largest democracy, and Indonesia the 3rd largest. China, India and Malaysia are amongst the fastest-growing economies in the world. Japan and China are the 2nd and 4th largest economies in the world, with China predicted to overtake Germany as the 3rd largest by 2010. Asia has been described as an 'economic powerhouse', and is certainly important to Australia's prosperity now and in the future. It is also important in terms of our security and our international relationships. Asia's role in Australia's trade, culture and security is growing, and Australia will interact increasingly with the countries of Asia as a result of globalisation and our geographic location.
Asian Studies at UNE will introduce you to the societies, cultures, economies, polities and histories of Asia. A range of units are available allowing you to explore the diverse cultures of the region, important religious and philosophic traditions, major historical changes and economic developments. Our focus is on the social forces at work shaping contemporary East, Southeast and South Asia. It is a unique area of study in that it crosses disciplines, drawing upon politics, economics, sociology, cultural studies, history, philosophy, international relations, geography and linguistics. It is also flexible, providing a stimulating overview of the dynamic Asian region and Australia-Asia relations, with opportunities for in depth study of particular areas of interest.
Asian Studies can be combined with other majors such as Indonesian, Japanese or Chinese, Political and International Studies, History or Economics. For further information about these follow the 'Similar Subject Areas' links on the right of this page.
Why Study Asian Studies at UNE?
Students have found Asian Studies at UNE a stimulating and rewarding experience. Our small class sizes, and use of the latest online teaching tools, means that both on-campus and off-campus students can work closely with academic staff in ways that simply do not exist at most Australian universities. Many of our graduates have continued on to Honours and postgraduate degrees with us, while others have gained employment in both the government and private sectors.
We equip students with a sound knowledge of Asian cultures, societies, economies and polities, combined with general skills in research, analysis and communication – knowledge and skills which they need to succeed in the contemporary world. Our expert and enthusiastic academic staff employ innovative and student-centred learning approaches, whether on-campus, by distance education or online.
Our graduates are in high demand by a wide range of employers. This reflects the growing desire for an increased understanding of the societies of the Asian region, and their international roles, increased links between Australia and Asia, and the increased employment opportunities available for Asia-literate graduates.
In short, Asian Studies at UNE is not only politically and economically relevant, it also gives our students excellent opportunities to participate in Australia's growing links with the Asian region.
Staff
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Telephone |
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Professor Howard Brasted |
hbrasted@une.edu.au |
+61 2 6773 2081 |
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Prof Amarjit Kaur |
akaur@une.edu.au |
+61 2 6773 2874 |
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Prof Cliff Goddard |
cgoddard@une.edu.au |
+61 2 6773 3309 |
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Prof Peter Forrest |
pforrest@une.edu.au |
+61 2 6773 2765 |
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A/Prof Hugh de Ferranti |
hdeferra@une.edu.au |
+61 2 6773 3518 |
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A/Prof Habib Zafarullah |
hzafarul@une.edu.au |
+61 2 6773 2250 |
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Dr Andrew Brown |
+61 2 6773 2557 |
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Dr Paul Healy |
+61 2 6773 3514 |
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Dr Graham Young |
+61 2 6773 2554 |
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Dr Mun-Keat Choong |
mchoong@une.edu.au |
+61 2 6773 2087 |
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Ms Isabel Tasker |
itasker@une.edu.au |
+61 2 6773 3504 |
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Mr Stephen Miller |
smiller6@une.edu.au |
+61 2 6773 3932 |
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Dr Barbara Rugendyke |
brugendy@une.edu.au |
+61 2 6773 2923 |
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Dr Alfons van der Kraan |
avanderk@une.edu.au |
+61 2 6773 2524 |
Research
Staff involved in Asian Studies are experienced researchers with good records of scholarly publication, successful research grants and consultancies. Academic staff have played a leading role in the research and writing of South Asian history in Australia, including responsibility for the scholarly journal South Asia from 1984 to 2001, and management of the South Asian Studies Association from 1984 to 2004. Staff have served on the editorial boards of internationally recognised journals, and are active members of various professional associations. Value adding to the research strengths in the field of Asian Studies generally is the UNE Asia Centre, an inter-Faculty research centre established in 1992. As a vehicle for bringing together Asian experts within the university, the Asia Centre has successfully sponsored a range of projects that have attracted significant amounts of funding from, for example, AusAid, the World Bank, the Wellcome Trust, DEST, the Crawford Fund and ACIAR. Total grants involving the UNE Asia Centre between 1994 and 2007 amount to approximately two million dollars.
The areas of research excellence and productivity cover a wide range including Asian history and economic history, the contemporary Asia-Pacific, Asian religions, child and female labour in Asia, and Asian politics.
The specific areas of research interest and expertise of Asian Studies staff are:
Prof Howard Brasted
India and Pakistan, Islam in the modern world
Dr Mun-Keat Choong
early Buddhism in India, contemporary Buddhism in Asian societies and the West, comparative studies of the Pali and Chinese versions of the early Buddhist canon
Dr Andrew Brown
neo-liberal globalisation and social and political change in Southeast Asia, especially in Thailand; class formation and labour politics, democratisation
Dr Paul Healy
Chinese politics and society, Chinese Marxism and Mao Zedong's thought, class
Dr Barbara Rugendyke
non-government development assistance organisations and the impacts of their projects and programs, community development planning processes in remote indigenous Australian communities, the social and environmental impacts of nature-based tourism development in northern Vietnam, and the advocacy work of non-governmental development assistance organisations
Ms Isabel Tasker
effective uses of interactive multimedia for language learning
Mr Stephen Miller
Indonesian communism and culture, Indonesian exile literature, and the history of the Indonesian Left in general
A/Prof Hugh de Ferranti
the history, performance practice, notation systems, social and interpretive contexts for biwa narrative, Japanese popular music, Japanese traditional musical instruments
Dr Graham Young
the Chinese Communist Party, political thought and political reform in China, human rights
Prof Cliff Goddard
lexical and grammatical semantics, language description and typology, and cross-cultural pragmatics, cultural semantics of and pragmatic conventions of Malay (Bahasa Melayu)
Prof Peter Forrest
philosophy of physics, epistemology, the philosophy of religion, and other issues in metaphysics and epistemology
A/Prof Habib Zafarullah
Third world democratic governance, comparative bureaucracy, public policy and development management
Dr Alfons van der Kraa
Dutch East India Company (VOC), Indonesian economic history, Dutch colonialism in Southeast Asia
Prof Amarjit Kaur
globalisation processes and economic and social change (with particular reference to Southeast Asia/Asia), changing labour relations in Asia, border controls and migration in the Asia-Pacific region, trafficking in persons, refugee crises in Southeast Asia, human rights in Asia, work, the environment and illness
Information on postgraduate research is provided in the courses section below.
Further information on the research of individual staff is available on their staff web pages.
Courses
Asian Studies units are available in a wide variety of undergraduate degrees at UNE in Arts, International Studies, Commerce, Economics, Criminology, Urban and Regional Planning, Languages and so on. Most undergraduate students taking Asian Studies do so in the Bachelor of Arts, combined Bachelor of Arts degrees, the Bachelor of International Studies and the Bachelor of Languages.
400-level Asian Studies units may be included in a number of postgraduate coursework awards in Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences.
Students wishing to extend their undergraduate degree in Asian Studies, or wishing to undertake postgraduate research in Asian Studies in the future, would normally complete an Honours program.
Students wishing to undertake advanced research in Asian Studies may do so in postgraduate research degrees.
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 Science
Bachelor of Commerce (Accounting)
Bachelor of Criminology
Bachelor of Economics
Bachelor of International Studies
Bachelor of International Studies (Advanced)
Bachelor of Languages
Bachelor of Languages and International Business
Bachelor of Social Science
Bachelor of Urban and Regional Planning
Postgraduate Coursework
Graduate Certificate in Arts
Graduate Diploma in Humanities
Master of Arts
Honours Program
Honours programs available in Asian Studies include the Bachelor of Arts with Honours and the Bachelor of International Studies with Honours.
Honours in Asian Studies is designed to serve as an advanced level of study for students wishing to extend their degree or establish a pathway to postgraduate studies. The program, of one year's full-time or two year's part-time study, consists of 50 per cent course work and 50 per cent thesis. A wide choice of thesis topics is available across the many areas of Asian Studies, such as:
• Australia-Asia relations
• the history of Asia
• contemporary Asian societies and cultures
• Asian politics
• the political economy of Asia
• Asian economies
• issues of development in Asia
• labour movements in Asia
• Asian religions
For information on the Asian Studies Honours program contact Dr Paul Healy (phealy@une.edu.au) on +61 2 6773 3514.
Bachelor of Arts with Honours
Bachelor of International Studies with Honours
Postgraduate Research
The Master of Arts with Honours and Doctor of Philosophy are postgraduate research degrees in which students work under the supervision of one or more academic staff on a specific research topic. The academics chosen as supervisors will be members of the Asian Studies staff with the highest levels of competence and expertise in the field in which you intend to undertake research. Postgraduate research is stimulating, but challenging. Asian Studies staff aim is to make progress through these degrees as smooth and successful as possible, and have a proven track record in doing so.
For further information on postgraduate research in Asian Studies contact Dr Paul Healy (phealy@une.edu.au) on +61 2 6773 3514.
Master of Arts with Honours
Doctor of Philosophy
Units in Asian Studies
Asian Studies units are available at undergraduate and postgraduate coursework levels, and at Honours level.
Information on postgraduate research in Political and International Studies can be found on the Courses section of this page.
Undergraduate Units
The units offered in Asian Studies draw upon a range of disciplines including history, economics and political and international studies. Students are encouraged to develop an interdisciplinary understanding of Asia and its diversity.
HIST195 Asian Pasts
PAIS113 Power, Conflict and the Making of Modern Asia
CHIN211 Chinese Calligraphy
CHIN325 Contemporary Chinese Culture
CIJ210 Cultural Expression in Modern Asia
ECON345 Economy and Business in Modern Asia
ECON350 Southeast Asia: Economic and Social Change Since 1850
GEPL314 The Road to Riches? Development and Change in Asia
HIST343 Islam in the Modern World
RELS386 Buddhism: A History
HIST342 Gandhi and Non-Violent Action in the 20th Century
INDN315 Contemporary Indonesian Culture
JAPN325 Japanese Culture through Anime, Manga and Music
LING380 The Languages of Asia
PAIS318 Australia’s Relations with Asia
PAIS352 International Human Rights
PAIS361 Sex, Crime and Corruption in Asia
PAIS363 Family, Women and the State in Asia
PAIS380 Dragon in Chains?: Contemporary Chinese Politics
SOCY319 Globalisation, Development and Social Change
Postgraduate Coursework Units
The following Asian Studies units are available in postgraduate coursework awards.
CHIN425 Contemporary Chinese Culture
ECON556 Industrialisation and Development in Asia
RELS586 Buddhism: A History
ISLM567 Islam in Indonesia and Malaysia
ISLM571 Islam in Central Asia
JAPN425 Japanese Culture through Anime, Manga and Music
LING580 The Languages of Asia
PAIS518 Australia's Relations with Asia
PAIS552 International Human Rights
PAIS561 Sex, Crime and Corruption in Asia
PAIS563 Family, Women and the State in Asia
PAIS580 Dragon in Chains?: Contemporary Chinese Politics
SOCY519 Globalisation, Development and Social Change
Honours Units
Honours in Asian Studies consists of 50 per cent course work and 50 per cent thesis.
ASST401H Asian Studies Hons Coursework
The coursework component, ASST 401H, is based on a series of essays. These enable the student to explore and master key theoretical perspectives, specific concepts and important empirical trends pertaining to Asian Studies.
ASST402H Asian Studies Hons Dissertation
This unit is based on a dissertation. Students are required to research and write a dissertation on an Asian Studies topic relating to their own interests. The topic is to be developed in consultation with their supervisor. This unit allows the student to explore and analyse a significant theory, policy or trend in Asian societies in considerable depth.
For specific information on the Asian Studies Honours units contact Dr Paul Healy (phealy@une.edu.au) on +61 2 6773 3514.
Further information on the Honours program in Asian Studies can be found on the Courses section of this page.
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.
Partnerships, Networks and Industry Links
Resources
Asia for Educators
Asia Society
Asia-Studies Full-Text Online
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 and Singapore Society
Vietnam Studies Association of Australia (VSAA)
International Organisations
Asian Development Bank
Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC)
Association of Southeast Asian Nations
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
Asia Policy
Asia Pacific: Perspectives
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 Leadership Monitor
China Perspectives
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
Indonesia Journal
Japan Focus
Japan Studies Review
Journal of Current Chinese Affairs
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 Copenhagen Journal of Asian Studies
The Journal of Asian Studies
The Journal of Southeast Asian Studies
Asian Studies Centres
ANU College of Asia and the Pacific
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
China Studies Centre
Flinders Asia Centre
Griffith Asia Institute
Malaysia and Singapore Society
Monash Asia Institute (MAI)
Murdoch University Asia Research Centre
Philippines Australia Studies Centre (PASC)
UNE Asia Pacific Centre
Contacts
For further information about Asian Studies at UNE please contact Dr Paul Healy on + 61 2 6773 3514 or phealy@une.edu.au
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