Fall 2024 | Yale University
When does religious nationalism begin? What is decentralized resistance? How do ethnic and religious minorities imagine their identities, and how do interreligious communities resist nationalism and state power in dangerous contexts? This course introduces students to the politics of religion, identity, and resistance in Southeast Asia. It examines how religion has played a role in both nationalism and resistance, from the colonial past to the post-colonial present. By placing James Scott's theory of “decentralized everyday resistance” in dialogue with Myanmar's everyday resistance movement against centralized coup, we will examine, through comparison, how the concept of "decentralized resistance" is applicable to elite political activists, grassroots peasant protesters, and ordinary religious practitioners across Southeast Asia’s diverse democratic and undemocratic contexts. The course concludes by exploring how religion may also shape democratic visions of ethnic reconciliation amid ethnic conflict and religious hostility. Looking at these religious and ethnic dynamics in Southeast Asia can also be applied to these kinds of ethnic conflicts and everyday resistance elsewhere in the world, including in the US.
General
REQUIRED BOOKS
[\o] Anderson, Benedict. Imagined Communities: Reflections on the Origin and Spread of Nationalism. Rev. ed. New York: Verso, 2016 [orig. 1983].
[\c] Anitwongse, Kusuma and W. Scott Thompson, eds. Ethnic Conflicts in Southeast Asia. Singapore: ISEAS, 2005.
[\c] Liow, Joseph Chinyong. Religion and Nationalism in Southeast Asia. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2016.
[\c] Liu, Amy H., and Jacob I. Ricks. Ethnicity and Politics in Southeast Asia. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2022.
[\c] Scott, James C. Domination and the Arts of Resistance: Hidden Transcripts. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1990.
RECOMMENDED TEXTS (For Book Reviews)
[\c] Bertrand, Jacques. Democracy and Nationalism in Southeast Asia. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2021.
[\c] Cady, Linell E., and Sheldon W. Simon, eds. Religion and Conflict in South and Southeast Asia. New York: Routledge, 2007.
[\a] Foong, Hui Yew. Encountering Islam: The Politics of Religious Identities in Southeast Asia. Singapore: ISEAS, 2013.
[\c] Gier, Nicholas F. The Origins of Religious Violence: An Asian Perspective. Lanham, MD: Lexington Books, 2009.
[\c] Glazer, Nathan, and Daniel P. Moynihan, eds. Ethnicity: Theory and Experience. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1975.
[\c] Lehr, Peter. Militant Buddhism. New York: Palgrave, 2019. (E-book on Canvas)
[\c] Leukel, Perry Schmidt et al. Ethnic and Religious Diversity in Myanmar. London: T&T Clark, 2022.
[\c] Myint-U, Thant. The Hidden History of Burma. New York: W.W. Norton, 2020.
[\c] Ooi Keat Gin and Volker Grabowsky, eds. Ethnic and Religious Identities and Integration in Southeast Asia. Chiang Mai: Silkworm Books, 2017.
[\c] Queen, Christopher S., and Sallie B. King, eds. Engaged Buddhism. Albany, NY: SUNY Press, 1996.
[\c] Soper, J. Christopher, and Joel S. Fetzer. Religion and Nationalism in Global Perspective. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2018.
COURSE SCHEDULE
Week One: September 3, 2024
Region and Religion: An Introduction to Southeast Asia
Required Readings:
[\c] Scott, James C. The Art of Not Being Governed. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2009, pp. 1–39.
[\c] Esman, Milton. “Communal Conflict in Southeast Asia,” in Ethnicity: Theory and Experience, ed. Glazer & Moynihan. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1975, pp. 391–419.
[\c] Cady, Linell E., and Sheldon W. Simon, eds. Religion and Conflict in South and Southeast Asia. New York: Routledge, 2007, pp. 3–20.
Week Two: September 10, 2024
Religion, Ethnicity, and Identity
Required Readings:
[\c] Hutchinson, John, and Anthony D. Smith, eds. Ethnicity. New York: Oxford University Press, 1996, pp. 3–14; 35–45.
[\c] Ooi Keat Gin and Volker Grabowsky. “Introduction to Ethnic and Religious Identities,” in Ethnic and Religious Identities and Integration in Southeast Asia. Chiang Mai: Silkworm Books, 2017, pp. 1–27.
[\c] Liu, Amy H., and Jacob I. Ricks. Ethnicity and Politics in Southeast Asia. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2022, pp. 1–50.
[\a] Baird, Ian. “Indigeneity in ‘Southeast Asia’”, Journal of Southeast Asian Studies 50.1 (2019): 2–6.
Week Three: September 17, 2024
The Origins and Theories of Nationalism
Required Readings:
[\o] Anderson, Benedict. Imagined Communities. Rev. ed. New York: Verso, 1983, pp. 1–154.
[\c] Hutchinson, John, and Anthony D. Smith, eds. Nationalism. New York: Oxford University Press, 1994, pp. 3–13.
[\c] Liow, Joseph Chinyong. Religion and Nationalism in Southeast Asia. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2016, pp. 18–61.
Week Four: September 24, 2024
Religion and Politics of Anti-colonialism
Required Readings:
[\a] Ileto, Reynaldo. “Religion and Anti-colonial Movements,” in The Cambridge History of Southeast Asia, Vol. 2, ed. Nicholas Tarling. Cambridge University Press, 2008, pp. 197–248.
[\a] Stockwell, A.J. “The End of European Colonial Empires,” in The Cambridge History of Southeast Asia, Vol. 2, pp. 325–386.
[\c] Smith, Donald. Religion and Politics in Burma. Princeton: Princeton University Press, pp. 38–80.
Week Five: October 1, 2024
Post-colonial Politics of Religion and Nationalism
Required Readings:
[\c] Huntington, Samuel. “The Clash of Civilizations?” Foreign Affairs 72.3 (1993): 22–49.
[\c] Anderson, Benedict. “Western vs. Eastern Nationalism,” New Left Review 9 (2001): 31–42.
[\a] Brubaker, Rogers. “Religion and Nationalism,” Nations and Nationalism 18.1 (2012): 2–20.
[\a] Vu, Tuong. “Southeast Asia’s New Nationalism,” TRaNS 1.2 (2013): 259–279.
Week Six: October 8, 2024
Ethnicity and Islamic Nationalism
Required Readings:
[\o] Royyani, Muh. Arif, and Muhammad Shobaruddin. “Islam, State, and Nationalism,” Ihya Ulum Al Din 21.2 (2019): 182–191.
[\c] Hefner, Robert. “Religion and Violence in Muslim Southeast Asia,” in Religion and Conflict in South and Southeast Asia, pp. 33–48.
[\a] Abdul Rahman, Noor Aisha. “Islam and Muslims in Singapore Post-9/11,” in Encountering Islam, pp. 335–375.
[\c] Liow, Joseph Chinyong. Religion and Nationalism in Southeast Asia, pp. 135–174.
Week Seven: October 22, 2024
Ethnicity and Buddhist Nationalism
Required Readings:
[\a] Keyes, Charles. “Theravada Buddhism and Buddhist Nationalism,” Review of Faith & International Affairs 14.4 (2006): 42–52.
[\c] Gier, Nicholas F. The Origins of Religious Violence, pp. 86–113.
[\a] Nguyen, Phi-Van. “Religious Nationalism in Vietnam,” Journal of Asian Studies 77.3 (2018): 741–771.
[\c] Liu & Ricks, Ethnicity and Politics in Southeast Asia, pp. 27–37.
Week Eight: October 29, 2024
Exclusion, Nationalism, and Tribalism
Required Readings:
[\a] Ferrer, Miriam C. “The Moro and Cordillera Conflicts,” in Ethnic Conflicts in Southeast Asia, pp. 109–150.
[\a] Vaddhanaphuti, Chayan. “Thai State and Ethnic Minorities,” pp. 151–166.
[\a] James, Paul, and Damian Grenfell. “Nationalism in Timor-Leste,” Postcolonial Studies 21.4 (2018): 391–413.
[\a] Bertrand, Jacques. Democracy and Nationalism in Southeast Asia, pp. 203–228.
Week Nine: November 5, 2024
Religion, Resistance, and the Coup (Myanmar)
Required Readings:
[\o] Scott, James C. “Everyday Forms of Resistance,” Copenhagen Journal of Asian Studies (1989): 33–62.
[\c] Scott, James C. Domination and the Arts of Resistance, chs. 3 & 7.
[\c] Steinberg, David I. The Military in Burma/Myanmar, pp. 1–37.
[\a] Frydenlund et al. “Religious Responses to the Military Coup in Myanmar.” Review of Faith & International Affairs 19.3 (2021): 77–88.
[\a] Moe, David Thang, and James C. Scott. “Reading Romans 13,” International Journal of Public Theology 17.2 (2023): 226–245.
Week Ten: November 12, 2024
Engaged Religion and Reciprocal Liberation
Required Readings:
[\c] Queen, Christopher S., and Sallie B. King, eds. Engaged Buddhism: Buddhist Liberation Movements in Asia, pp. 1–41.
Moe, David Thang. “Sin and Suffering: The Hermeneutics of Liberation Theology in Asia” Asia Journal of Theology 30.2 (2016): 206–225.
[\o] Kyed, Helene Maria. “Soldier Defections Since the 2021 Military Coup,” Independent Journal of Burmese Scholarship, Special Issue: Memories of Leaving the Myanmar Military, vol. 1 (August 2022): 1–32.
[\o] Tun, Yin Le Le. "Testimony" Independent Journal of Burmese Scholarship, Special Issue: Memories of Leaving the Myanmar Military, vol. 1 (August 2022): 194-199.
[\o] Lwin, Thuza. "Testimony" Independent Journal of Burmese Scholarship, Special Issue: Memories of Leaving the Myanmar Military, vol. 1 (August 2022): 220-224.
[\o] Kyaw, Hla Min. "Testimony" Independent Journal of Burmese Scholarship, Special Issue: Memories of Leaving the Myanmar Military, vol. 1 (August 2022): 207-210.
Week Eleven: November 19, 2024
Religion, Reconciliation, and Nation-building
Required Readings:
[\a] Gopin, Marc. “Religion, Violence, and Conflict Resolution,” Peace and Change 22.1 (1997): 1–31.
[\a] Friedlander, Peter. “Conflict and Peace in Buddhism,” in Lee Marsden, ed, The Ashgate Research Companion to Religion and Conflict Resolution, Burlington, VT: Ashgate, 2012, pp. 79–95.
[\a] Moe, David Thang. “A Burmese Public Theology of Religions and Reconciliation After the 2021 Coup,” International Journal of Public Theology 17.2 (2023): 262–268.
[\a] McGhee, Michael. “Buddhist Thoughts on Reconciliation,” in Jerald D. Gort and Hendrick M. Vroon, ed, Religion, Conflict, Reconciliation: Multifaith Ideals and Realities. New York: Rodopi B. V, 2004, pp. 85–92.