Island SE Asia

The Island Southeast Asia Center at ANU is currently one of Australia's strongest institutions in teaching and researching several countries in the region, especially Indonesia, Malaysia, and Timor. Our research-based courses are open to students taking degrees in the ANU's College of Asia and the Pacific, as well as those enrolled in other Colleges at the Australian National University, and beyond. Our language courses include all levels of Indonesian, and introductory levels of Tetum and Javanese. Our non-language courses vary widely, ranging from those focussing on history, politics, and democratization to performing arts, and popular cultures and linguistics. One highlight of studying with us is the opportunity for students (undergraduate and graduate) as well as eligible non-university members of the community to participate in-country programs. These include an intensive language course (at all levels) and work experience in one of more than ten institutions. In keeping with the long-term strategic planning of the ANU's College of Asia and the Pacific, we have been one of the first units to deliver Indonesian courses online and via video-conferencing to students on the other side of the globe.

Although highly flexible and sympathetic to cross-disciplinary approaches, the core academic disciplinary training of our members are in anthropology, history, linguistics and political science. Various and inter-related areas of research work that have been the major strengths and are currently focussed by our members include development, customs and law in Timor, Muslims in Eastern Indonesia, Australia-ASEAN relations, Islam and globalisation, electoral politics in Southeast Asia, second language pragmatics, Austronesian and Papuan languages of Eastern Indonesia and Timor, gender, media, popular culture in Southeast Asia, peasant movements in Java, and the history of ideas in Malay society.