CHID 480 A: Special Topics: Advanced Study of the History of Ideas

CHID 480: Medicine, Environment, and Colonialism in Southeast Asia

Instructor: Dimas Iqbal Romadhon (dimas@uw.edu)

Schedule: Mon-Wed, 2:30-4:20, SWS 032

Welcome to Medicine, Environment, and Colonialism in Southeast Asia.

This seminar examines the legacies and impacts of continuing colonialism and imperialism in medical and environmental knowledge and practices in Southeast Asia. Along the course, students will be introduced to the postcolonial approach to Southeast Asian studies, identify the colonial nature of biomedicine and global health, examine how Euro-American imperialism has changed multispecies relationships in Southeast Asia, examine the impacts of plantation and environmental degradation on the lives of the local people, and explore how local religious agencies can intervene in the continuation of colonial projects and discourses in Southeast Asian environment.

Materials will be distributed into four themes: Southeast Asian peoples and landscapes, colonial medicine, multispecies relations, and environmental colonialism. Students will also explore the history of Southeast Asia as a cultural and political region, lead and engage in book discussions, develop public scholarship projects for a non-academic audience, and develop a research project on issues relevant to Southeast Asian medicine and environment.

Required reading materials

Ma Ma Lay. 1991[1959]. Not Out of Hate. Ohio University Center for International Studies. (Link to free access through UW library)

Michael G. Vann and Liz Clarke. 2019. The Great Hanoi Rat Hunt: Empire, Disease, and Modernity in French Colonial Vietnam. Oxford University Press. (Only physical copy, reserved for the course at UW library)

Juno Salazar Parreñas. 2018. Decolonizing Extinction: The Work of Care in Orangutan Rehabilitation. Duke University Press. (Link to free access through UW library)

Sophie Chao. 2022. In the Shadow of the Palms: More-Than-Human Becomings in West Papua. Duke University Press. (Link to free access through UW library)

Assessment:

By enrolling in this course, you are committed to attend 80% of class meetings, coming prepared with reading assigned materials, and participating in class activities.

Class assignment/assessment is structured into the following activities:

1. Two 1000-word reading responses. Options: Not Out of Hate, Decolonizing Extinction, The Great Hanoi Rat Hunt, and/or Plantation Life. Check the syllabus for different due dates of each reading.
2. One creative work (song, poem, comic, short video, or else) to describe your own pick of an endemic animal or plant, or a mythical creature, in Southeast Asia. Explain the ideological/cultural/spiritual/economic significance of the animal/plant/creature to its native community. Your work should be informative and resourceful for a larger, unfamiliar audience. You can submit it anytime but not later than March 8, 23:59. Be prepared to share your animal/plant/creature during the week of February 6.
3. Book discussion participation. This assignment can be satisfied through: a) Leading one book discussion by distributing five questions for class discussion on Canvas on Monday before the discussion date and presenting important arguments or thoughts from the text during the meeting, and b) Participating in two book discussions by contributing additional thoughts and answering questions posted on Canvas before the meeting. Sign-up for book discussion roles here.
4. One academic essay (2500-3000 words) on a topic or issue of your interest relevant to the course. Your essay should use a minimum of ONE class readings.

The default grade is 3.7, which will be graded up (or down) based on your participation and commitment to the class and not on the quality of your work. The following additional assignments can help you demonstrate the kind of exceptional engagement that is reserved for grades over 3.7. You can also do TWO additional assignments to make up some lost points.

1. Writing one 1000-word reading response. The book is your own choice and can be from outside the class materials, but you need to introduce the author and explain how the book is relevant to our topic. Meet me for a book recommendation.
2. A 500-word report on one talk or scholarly presentation that you attended. It can be from a recorded talk on Youtube or other social media. You need to introduce who the speaker is, what the talk is about, and why the talk is relevant to our topic.

I reserve the right to reject your submitted work if it doesn't show a serious effort–I will let you know why I think so, and you are welcome to resubmit it.

Disability and religious accommodations

In the first and second meetings, I will circulate a form in which you can describe your barriers and what kind of accommodation you need to succeed in this class. While we will work on these things together, please be advised that not all accommodations can be provided and some compromises need to be made. A regular well-being survey will also be circulated every four meetings to check in if your situation changes.

To access disability and religious accommodation form. Available until Jan 11, 2023.

Alternatively, you can contact The Disability Resources for Students Office (DRS): 448 Schmitz, Box 355839, (206) 543-8924, uwdrs@uw.edu.

Plagiarism

Plagiarism is defined as the use of work by another person, the use of work submitted to another course without the consent of both instructors, or the use of someone else’s words, ideas, or arrangement of ideas without giving proper reference to the author. This is a serious violation of the Student Honor Code. It applies to all electronic sources found on the Worldwide Web or on other online databases such as those available through our campus libraries. Please see the section on plagiarism in Student Handbook. All plagiarized work will be graded missing.

This course will use a plagiarism detection service to identify plagiarism for any assignments submitted electronically through Canvas. This service will report any indications of the use of original text in students’ works and whether all materials quoted, paraphrased, summarized, or used from another source are appropriately referenced. Students should notify the campus administrator to delete assignments from the database or those assignments will be stored for the duration of the contract with the service.

Communication

Please check the course website regularly for course-related announcements and changes. Use the course website email tool for sending emails. Always include your name and course code (CHID 480) when contacting the instructor. Allow 48 hours for responses to email inquiries and do not expect to receive a response over the weekend. I will not engage in lengthy email exchanges about assignment results with individual students, instead use office hours for discussing materials, grades, and obstacles.

Other resources

Campus writing centers: https://www.lib.washington.edu/ougl/owrc
Library/Librarian: https://guides.lib.uw.edu/research/anthropology
Counseling center: https://www.washington.edu/counseling/about/
SafeCampus: https://www.washington.edu/safecampus/
Q Center: https://sites.uw.edu/qcenter/
Black Student Union: https://huskylink.washington.edu/organization/uwblackstudentunion
Husky Health and Wellbeing: https://wellbeing.uw.edu/
Emergency Aid: https://www.washington.edu/emergencyaid/
UW Pantry: https://www.washington.edu/anyhungryhusky/the uw food pantry/
National Suicide Prevention Line: Call 1 800 273 TALK (8255). Text “START” to 741 741 to reach the Crisis Text Line.

Course schedule: