A central aim of this unit is to investigate how culture serves the political objectives of the state and how resistance to state power is also often derived from culture. Close interaction between the state and sociocultural life has been a fundamental feature of countries in the Asian region since the end of the colonial era and has been seen as crucial to nation building. In recent years most Asian nations have experienced extraordinarily rapid economic change, at times resulting in acute social tensions including huge disparities in income, aggravated rural–urban dichotomies, ethnic conflict, regional separatism, gender inequalities, environmental devastation, and the dislocation and... -- Course Website
Instructor: Associate Professor Stephen Dobbs
Prerequisites: a Level 1 unit in Asian Studies or an Asian language unit