Module review for SE1101E: Southeast Asia: A Changing Region

Taken AY2014/2015 Semester 2


SE1101E: Southeast Asia: A Changing Region

It has often been said that out of all the modules in the Asian Studies basket, SE1101E is the most interesting and manageable. However, there were huge changes made to the module for this semester, because of complaints received through the module feedback that the module was too “easy” and “light”. Because of that, the lecturers decided to up the ante, adding fieldwork to this module for the very first time, and making finals more complicated and difficult to boot. Many of us found the new workload startling and cumbersome, given that we were expecting something easier.

While both lecturers were funny and engaging, the topics taught were extremely broad and there was very little depth covered, with most concepts being dealt with at a touch-and-go basis. As a result, the mod came across as very fluffy and insubstantial, with students not really discerning any patterns in the content and therefore not knowing how to study for it. It felt like the module did not really come together as a whole as well as it should have.

The fieldwork was difficult, as we were required to go to a location in Singapore, make observations and conduct interviews in order to find more about a certain theme. It is possible to get a theme in which you’re absolutely lost on how to approach the question, and it’s all randomized, so you don’t have the luxury of choice in this regard. You will have to write an essay and do a presentation on your findings as well, to top it off, which makes the workload pretty heavy, in my opinion.

I had been looking forward to this module, as I like SEA as a region and I find it interesting, but the module wasn’t as interesting as I’d hoped it would be. If you’re looking for an Asian Studies module that is easy to score in, this may not be the module for you, although I think it’s possible to do well if you know what to look out for, especially for the finals.

Assessment: It consists of tutorial participation (10%), field work that comprises the group essay (25%) and a group presentation (25%), and finals (40%).

For fieldwork, the lecturers specified that we would be unable to form our own groups or choose our own locations, although my tutor allowed us to form our own groups. The standards for these group projects varied depending on the group, and a lot of people put a surprising amount of effort into it, resulting in a very polished performance. If you came into this module expecting that a lot of people were hoping to SU it, you may be disappointed.

For finals, the lecturers decided to make an MCQ section, short answer section and an essay section to boot – all of which you had no options to choose from. There was a collective groan when the lecturers announced this. The MCQ section consists of testing the map, and the content of the readings, which was unfortunate, given that I had barely read any of the readings as I was under the impression that I could escape. I only studied the locations of each SEA country; however, you must be sure to study the key terms that they provide under the syllabus, because I didn’t, and they actually tested the locations of the rivers and the seas and what not, upon which I died. The short essay section was a torture, requiring you to list out four things that would demonstrate a certain phenomena, and it was hard enough to think of one example, let alone four. The essay section was on a specific topic, and although they told us repeatedly that we’d all have to put in effort for the group project (as a way to disincentivise slackers) because that content would come in handy for the essay, it most certainly did not. In fact, if you were unlucky to have not studied a certain topic by trying to spot, you might have been faced with the prospect of not knowing what to write at all. As much as I hate to say this for a level 1000 module, you’d be much safer studying everything, unless you get lucky somehow.

Workload: The workload was heavy, and my friend and I spent a really long time slaving over the group essay and trying to do a good job on it. My tutor happened to be fairly lenient, which was wonderful, but it was still very time-consuming and required a lot of preparation. I’m not sure if I would opt to take this module again if I could rewind back the time, and may have taken another Asian Studies module instead.


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