Admission requirements
Admission to the BA South and Southeast Asian Studies. All other students interested in this course should contact the study advisor.
Description
This seminar offers an introduction to the cultural heritage that has linked South and Southeast Asia through the ages. We focus on the medieval and early modern period when Hinduism and Buddhism and later also Islam were important shared cultural phenomena. During the first block we first critically consider the term ‘classical’ and the theories brought forward to clarify South and Southeast Asia’s shared culture. Then, perceptions of time, space and the cosmos are discussed, as well as the writing systems and manuscript cultures of South and Southeast Asia. A visit to the rich collections of South and Southeast Asian manuscripts in the Leiden University Library concludes this block. During the second block the focus is on major monuments (stupa, temple), objects of worship (relics, divine statues), models of kingship across traditions, and we visit the Asia and Indonesia rooms of Museum Volkenkunde. Finally, we also look into the role of the great epics Mahabharata and Ramayana in offering a narrative backbone for arts and media in various different places, times and contexts. Each of these culture-historical topics will also be linked to aspects of the living cultures of South and Southeast Asia.
The seminar combines content-focused lectures and readings with study materials and practical exercises focused on training specific library and academic skills, such as reading and abstracting, presenting, essay-writing, and using online resources for academic purposes. Library skills will be offered by staff of the University Library during separate meetings.
Course objectives
To get familiarized with characteristic cultural traditions that connect South and Southeast Asia historically and up to the present;
To develop a first working knowledge of the nature and relevance of primary and secondary sources for the study of the shared heritage of South and Southeast Asia;
To discover ways to access such sources (along traditional roads and digitally) and to judge them for their usefulness, quality and reliability;
To train the specific academic skills (academic reading, abstracting, presenting, writing) while focusing on content issues related to the classical shared cultural heritage of South and Southeast Asia.
Timetable
The timetables are available through My Timetable.
Mode of instruction
- Seminar
Assessment method
Assessment
Full attendance and active participation in class (20%)
Three short writing assignments (120-150 words) (10%)
A midterm exam – terms, definitions, map quiz (20%)
A class presentation of final project (up to 10 minutes) (20%)
A research paper (~1500 words) (40%)
Passing Seminar I with a sufficient result (6 or higher) is an entry requirement for students in SSEAS for admission to BA2 of SSEAS.
Weighing
To complete the final mark, please take notice of the following:
The final mark of the courses is established by the weighted average (see above), with the passing grade for the paper component as an additional requirement.
Resit
As this is a seminar with a final essay, re-sit will not be offered.
Inspection and feedback
How and when an exam review will take place will be disclosed together with the publication of the exam results at the latest. If a student requests a review within 30 days after publication of the exam results, an exam review will have to be organized.
Reading list
The booktitles and / or syllabi to be used in the course, where it can be purchased and how this literature should be studied beforehand.
Links to chapters from books or articles or info on how to access them is offered via Brightspace
- A syllabus with a reading list is made available before the start of the course.
Literature needs to be read in advance based on the list. This includes reading for the first meeting.
Registration
Enrolment through MyStudyMap is mandatory.
General information about course and exam enrolment is available on the website.
Contact
For substantive questions, contact the lecturer listed in the right information bar.
For questions about enrolment, admission, etc, contact the Education Administration Office Herta Mohr
Remarks
Classical Cultures of SSEA: Seminar 1 must be completed for a positive binding study advice. Failing in this course means that you cannot continue your SSEAS program!