History Of The Malay WorldPresent IdentitiesPast Histories

In this course, you will examine and deconstruct the category 'Malay' as a lens into the broader processes of making and unmaking group identities in the maritime Southeast Asia region that historically used the Malay language as a trade lingua franca. You will conceptualize how Malay ethnic identity is an ongoing process and group boundaries develop with culturally specific markers along five major axes: economy, geography, political authority, religion and gender. As the course spans the pre-modern and modern periods, it will offer you an opportunity to compare and contrast how these processes change over time. Given the paucity of conventional documentary archives in accessing this history, you will develop new skills in interpreting alternative archives such as archaeological artifacts, the architecture of mosques and houses as well as literary manuscripts.