THE UNIVERSITY'S East Asian Studies Program and its interdisciplinary East Asia Center provide students with a vast array of academic courses, useful resources on grant programs, and interesting study abroad offers. However, the program's lack of Southeast Asian related material is a source of worry and concern. Taking into account the region's economic, political and strategic clout, clearing this blind spot is an urgent issue that must be quickly addressed by the University.
Southeast Asia consists of Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand, Philippines, Vietnam, Myanmar, Laos, Brunei, Cambodia and East Timor, and combined with Northeast Asian countries Japan, China, Taiwan, Mongolia and North and South Korea, make up the broader East Asian region. Southeast Asia contains nearly 10 percent of the world's population and is the fifth largest market for American exports. It has been declared the "second front" against the war on terrorism and hosts the world's most important strategic waterway, the Straits of Malacca, through which a quarter of global maritime trade and oil shipments pass.
The massive significance of the region to American policymakers and the world at large alone accords it a prime position in academia, alongside other Asian giants China, Japan and the two Koreas. Yet, while Northeast Asian nations have a domineering influence in the East Asian Studies department, Southeast Asia is often left in the backburner. Foreign Affairs Prof. Brantly Womack, the only listed lecturer at the East Asian Studies Department with any expertise on Southeast Asia, laments that "despite the fact that Southeast Asia has a population larger than the European Union, the region continues to be ignored at the University."
More contemporary issues also highlight the urgency with which this oversight needs to be managed. American hegemonic influence in Southeast Asia has been waning in the face of Chinese inroads, provoking a surge of interest by American policymakers in the region. Even more concerning are the results by scholars such as Joshua Kurlantzick of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, who attributes Chinese successes to "soft power" strategies which include cultural and language exchange programs and a broader understanding of their Southeast Asian counterparts, which American diplomats and schools lack. Experts have suggested that producing more Southeast Asian regionalists and language specialists in universities might hold the key to offsetting China's "soft power" diplomacy. What better place to produce such experts than this University, which is the second best American public university, which houses one of the top-ten largest Asian populations in the United States?
However, integrating Southeast Asian curriculum into the East Asian Studies Program requires a lot of leverage, which the East Asia Center lacks. For one, its stature as a center, and not a department, renders it helpless in applying for curriculum or faculty changes directly to the Dean's Office. Secondly, the little bargaining power that the East Asian Center does have is channeled into filling gaps in the East Asian sphere, rather than the creation of a new Southeast Asian counterpart. "It has made more sense to build on what we do have, instead of what we don't have," says the center's head, Prof. Bradly Reed, who is well aware of the University's shortcomings with regard to Southeast Asia.
However, there is still a lot that the University can do to facilitate the integration of Southeast Asian curriculum.The first step must involve the creation of an independent East Asia Department to substitute the East Asia Center. This hopefully will increase the Center's bargaining power and enable it to strengthen its East Asian faculty and curriculum by applying for these changes directly to the Dean's Office. The incorporation of Southeast Asian curriculum has to occur alongside this, since the University needs to meet the ever rising demand for Southeast Asian specialists and linguists. Concrete reforms should include the integration of Bahasa Malaysia and Bahasa Indonesia. Malaysia is a modern Muslim nation while Indonesia houses the world's largest Muslim population -- as well as the introduction of broader international relations and history courses.
Given its geopolitical weight and increasing political clout, Southeast Asia deserves significantly more attention than its miniscule presence at the University and the United States. If we continue to ignore the rich culture, history and politics of Southeast Asia, it will only proliferate the regional image of an arrogant, ignorant and hegemonic United States, and cause us to lose the battle against China for regional dominance.
Prashanth Parameswaran is a Cavalier Daily Opinion columnist. He can be reached at pparasmewaran@cavlalierdaily.com.
Read More
PATEL: Personal development courses support students beyond the gradebook
By Heer Patel | 4 days agoThe University must rethink its approach to education beyond traditional major-specific requirements and mandate personal development courses.
EDITORIAL: Commercialization threatens U.Va.’s educational mission
By Editorial Board | 5 days agoAfter all, measuring the University’s worth in terms of accrued capital, operational efficiency and numerical rankings molds this space into just another cookie-cutter institution.
YOUNIS: Why every U.Va. student should say yes to English
By Ayat Younis | January 9, 2025Every student at the University, regardless of their primary field of study, can professionally and academically benefit from engaging with the English department.
