2026 (Current Year) Faculty Courses Liberal arts and basic science courses Humanities and social science courses
Area Studies: South and Southeast Asia
- Academic unit or major
- Humanities and social science courses
- Instructor(s)
- Shinji Miyagawa
- Class Format
- Lecture
- Media-enhanced courses
- -
- Day of week/Period
(Classrooms) - Class
- -
- Course Code
- LAH.A505
- Number of credits
- 100
- Course offered
- 2026
- Offered quarter
- 3Q
- Syllabus updated
- Mar 5, 2026
- Language
- Japanese
Syllabus
Course overview and goals
Southeast Asia is a region rich in geographical, cultural, political, and economic diversity. However, this diversity makes it difficult to understand the region as a unified entity. Furthermore, as a relatively emerging region, the countries face unique challenges. On the other hand, many people will visit Southeast Asia for work or travel in the future, and opportunities to interact with people from Southeast Asia within Japan or to encounter news coverage about the region are expected to increase significantly. This course provides the knowledge and perspectives necessary to grasp complex situations, facilitating deeper communication with others.
The aim of this course is for students to acquire foundational knowledge about the geography, culture, history, society, economy, and politics of the Southeast Asian region and its individual countries, and to gain insights into understanding issues related to these topics. The first half will cover an overview, while the latter half will introduce the latest situation regarding urban governance in Manila and urban slums, which are the lecturer's areas of expertise. Topics overlapping with scientific fields will also be frequently introduced.
Course description and aims
(1) Acquire fundamental knowledge about the Southeast Asian region and each country's culture, politics, economy, history, and geography.
(2) Understand the issues facing the Southeast Asian region and each country.
(3) Understand the relevance to Southeast Asia of topics of interest to the participants.
Keywords
Southeast Asia, culture, politics, economy, history, geography, development
Competencies
- Specialist skills
- Intercultural skills
- Communication skills
- Critical thinking skills
- Practical and/or problem-solving skills
Class flow
The course will be conducted according to the slides prepared by the instructor. Other materials such as photos and videos will be used as necessary.
Course schedule/Objectives
| Course schedule | Objectives | |
|---|---|---|
| Class 1 | Introduction: Understanding Southeast Asia |
We will grasp the overview of the Southeast Asian region and consider the significance of learning about this area. |
| Class 2 | The development process of Southeast Asia |
We will learn how Southeast Asian countries have developed from the postwar period to the contemporary times. |
| Class 3 | Diving deep into each Southeast Asian Country |
We will learn in detail about the societies, economies, politics, and histories of each country. |
| Class 4 | Understanding poverty and inequality |
We will learn about indicators for measuring poverty and inequality and consider the causes of the widening inequality in recent years. |
| Class 5 | Case Study from the Philippines: (1) Expert-led urban governance |
We will learn about the growing role of various experts in the urban governance of Manila. |
| Class 6 | Case Study from the Philippines: (2) Urban governance through technology |
We will learn how various technologies are being introduced into the urban governance of Manila. |
| Class 7 | Case Study from the Philippines: (3) Survival strategies of slum dwellers |
We will learn about the survival strategies of slum dwellers, focusing on employment, housing, and infrastructure access. |
| Class 8 | Review and final exam |
Review the content of the course and check your understanding. |
Study advice (preparation and review)
To enhance effective learning, students are encouraged to spend approximately 100 minutes preparing for class and another 100 minutes reviewing class content afterwards (including assignments) for each class.
They should do so by referring to course materials.
Textbook(s)
None required. Materials will be provided in class.
Reference books, course materials, etc.
None.
Evaluation methods and criteria
Reaction paper (for each class) - 35%, final exam - 65%.
A section in the reaction paper will be used to assess the level of achievement of the ‘Student learning outcomes’ of the course (2) “find a clue to understand issues and problems that Southeast Asian region and/or countries are facing".
Related courses
- LAH.A501 ： Area Studies: Europe
- LAH.A502 ： Area Studies: East Asia
- LAH.A503 ： Area Studies: Latin America
- LAH.A504 ： Area Studies: Middle East and Africa
- LAH.A506 ： Area Studies: North America and Oceania
Prerequisites
None.
Other
This is a 500-level course.
Science Tokyo (science and engineering fields) implements a wedge-shaped style education in which students take liberal arts courses continuously from the Bachelor’s Program through the Doctoral Program. Students are recommended to take liberal arts courses in ascending order of course level. In the semester immediately after enrollment in the Master’s Program (1Q and 2Q for students who enroll in spring, and 3Q and 4Q for students who enroll in fall), students may register only for 400-level Humanities and Social Science Courses.
Students may take 500-level Humanities and Social Science Courses after at least six months of study following enrollment (3Q and 4Q for students who enroll in spring, and 1Q and 2Q of the following year for students who enroll in fall).