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School of Culture History and Language · ANU College of Asia and the Pacific
In this intensive course, conducted mostly on the ground in Southeast Asia, motivated students will rapidly build field research skills and awareness of complex borderland issues. They will explore topics including international relations, transnational security, regional trade and ethnic minority group experiences. Actively engaging with informants and communities from Canberra to Bangkok to the borderlands of Northern Thailand, students will learn from richly diverse sources: migrant workers, policy makers, NGOs, law enforcement officials, and many others. Throughout the course, students will also build cultural awareness and basic language skills (in Thai and other languages as appropriate), as tools to facilitate deeper access and engagement.Students' knowledge and analytical skills will be tested and refined during four weeks of field engagements, training and group seminars. Following their in-country experience, students will write a substantial research paper on a topic of their interest, incorporating some of their insights and primary information sources from the field.Placements will be subject to availability and security assessment. Students are advised that due to circumstances beyond the University's control (for example: the onset of specific international security concerns, or international health crises) it may not be possible for this program to run or it may be terminated at short notice or without notice.
evidence of preparation for activities
positive representation of self, group and ANU
punctuality
quality of input and questions
contribution to success of peers
respectful, ethical engagement with sources
engagement in community-based activities
demonstrated cultural sensitivity
proactive foreign language learning
advancement of foreign language skills
contribution to language development of peers
preparatory notes
in-field note taking
post-activity reflections
short research papers
quality of argument/depth of analysis
effective use of information from field
effective use of quality secondary sources
adherence to referencing standards
This intensive course is the equivalent of two semester-long ANU courses conducted over 4 weeks in winter session.The first week of the course is an intensive preparation held at ANU in Canberra.Students will conduct field study and researchin Thailand and the border area following. Work Integrated Learning Fieldwork Other Information Please note that this is an in country study tour course, and there will only run if there are a minimum of eight students enrolled. Enrolment in this course will be through the terradotta studio abroad site (https://anu-au-sa.terradotta.com/) as a Short Program. Students are required to register on the system in order to apply for the course. There are a number of scholarships and grants available for student who undertake this course in order to assist them to go. Please contact the CAP student centre (cap.student@anu.edu.au) for more information. The course will complement the following existing courses: Thai 1A and 1B, Thai 2A and 2B, Thai 3A; Burmese 1A; Security and Strategic Studies A and B; Individual and Society in Asia A and B; Burma/Myanmar: A Country in Crisis. This is a co-taught course. Any cap on enrolments in one course applies to both courses combined.
Preliminary Reading Chachavalapongpun, Parvin, A Plastic Nation: The Curse of Thainess in Thai-Burmese Relations, Lanham, University Press of America, 2005. Fink, Christina, Living Silence: Burma Under Military Rule, Bangkok, White Lotus, 2001. Lang, Hazel, Fear and Sanctury: Burmese Refugees in Thailand, Ithaca, Cornell University Press, 2002. Pasuk Phongpaichit and Chris Baker, History of Thailand, New York, Cambridge University Press, 2005. South, Ashley, Mon Nationalism and Civil War in Burma, London, Routledge Curzon, 2003.