Many people of the eleven nations that constitute Southeast Asia, a region often considered esoteric in North American educational institutions, have interacted with much of the world for thousands of years. The following entries from the EAA archives only scratch the surface; look for a substantial number of additional essays, articles, and teaching resources featuring Southeast Asia in our archives.
- James Farrer’s “Globalizing Asian Cuisines: From Eating for Strength to Culinary Cosmopolitanism —A Long History of Culinary Globalization” (Volume 16, Number 3, Winter 2011) is not exclusively on Southeast Asia but introduces instructors and students to the region, and to the Indian Ocean, unfortunately, not usually taught in the US.
- Dana R. Herrera’s “The Philippines: An Overview of the Colonial Era” (Volume 20, Number 1, Spring 2015) is the most viewed article ever in our archives. Digest recipients who’ve neglected it are urged to read this this balanced, jargon-free essay.
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Pamela McElwee is the only EAA contributor ever to hold a joint PhD in Anthropology and Forestry. “The Politics of Climate Vulnerability in Asia” (Volume 26, Number 1, Spring 2021), with Vietnam as the case study, is particularly recommended to instructors with students who are passionate about climate change, but seem not to have a clue regarding the complexities of the issue.
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Singapore’s post World War II rise is remarkable, and Charles Chao Rong Phua’s “Top Ten Things to Know about Singapore in the Twenty-First Century” (Volume 22, Number 2, Fall 2017) gives students a succinct introduction to this “city nation.” Like him or not, the late Lee Kuan Yew was the leader clearly responsible for this rise. Freedom House still only ranks Singapore as “partly free”, but Singapore has the fifth least government corruption (tied with Sweden) of 180 countries in Transparency International’s annual 2022 Corruption Perceptions Rankings. For years, Singapore and Hong Kong finished first or second in the world for having the least government corruption.
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Tobey C. Reed’s review of My Cambodia and My Cambodian American (Volume 20, Number 3, Winter 2015) focuses upon two excellent SPICE teaching resources on Cambodia. The Yale University Cambodian Genocide Program estimates that during the Pol Pot regime from 1975–1979, approximately 1.7 million people (21 percent of the population) lost their lives. My Cambodia is a powerful 18-minute short documentary on the genocide available for no charge that every high school and undergraduate student should see and discuss.