The Gordon Library has an extensive collection of books, both in print and electronic, related to Southeast Asia. Books and e-books can provide helpful background information on your topic. Below is a sampling of those books. To find more books, type your keywords into WPI Library Search, click on Resource Type in the left column of the search results page, and then select the Books filter.
Deepening the Understanding of Social Media's Impact in Southeast Asia by
Southeast Asia's Internet users are far more diverse than usually reported. They range from the urban youth with laptops and highspeed Wi-Fi, to the older generation semi-rural and rural users with affordable mobile phones for Facebook and WhatsApp.Southeast Asians generally trust social media platforms more than in Western societies. This trust in social media reflects a lack of trust in local mainstream media and official sources of information.What campaign information (and disinformation) is being spread and which ones are most successful are essential for understanding how voters in Southeast Asia use and trust social media.Social media platforms and Southeast Asia's "app industry" need clearer and enforced regulation on their use of data and the extent to which they can sell data to advertisers. These advertisers include, but are not limited to, politicians and political parties.Since the future of social media usage will likely lie in closed groups, the role of big data analyses that have dominated research on social media over the past ten years, is likely to regress. Instead, ethnographic scholars who can access these groups and engage with their particular interests and identities are more likely to be useful in understanding the digital sphere in the future.
Gender in Southeast Asia by
This book examines gender in Southeast Asia by focusing on two main themes. The first concerns hegemonic cultural constructions of gender and Southeast Asian subjects' responses to these dominant discourses. The author introduces hegemonic discourses on ideal masculinities and ideal femininities, evaluates the impact of religion, analyses how authoritarian regimes fashion these ideals. Discussion then turns to the hegemonic ideals surrounding desire and sexualities and the way these are policed by society and the state. The second theme concerns the ways hegemonic ideals influence the gendering of power and politics. The author argues that because many Southeast Asians see power as being held by kinship alliance groups, women are able to access political power through their ties with men-as wives, mothers, daughters, sisters and even mistresses. However, women's movements have challenged this androcentric division of power.
Southeast Asia in World History by
A brief survey of the history of Southeast Asia from ancient times to the present, paying particular attention to the region's role in world history and the distinctive societies that arose. describes colonization by Europeans and Americans between 1500 and 1914, tracing how the social, economic, and political frameworks inherited from the past, combined with active opposition to domination by foreign powers, enabled Southeast Asians to overcome many challenges and regain their independence after World War II.
Sustainable Development Goals in Southeast Asia and ASEAN by
The international community has come together to pursue certain fundamental, common goals, Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), to make progress toward ending poverty and hunger, improving social and economic well-being, preserving the environment and combating climate change, and maintaining peace. This volume studies the governance and implementation of the SDG goals in Southeast Asia.
Exploring Southeast Asia by
This book is based on an in-depth conversation with Jacques Bertrand, Professor of Political Science and Director of the Collaborative Master's Program in Contemporary East and Southeast Asian Studies at the University of Toronto. This conversation explores Jacques Bertrand's extensive research on the politics and political change in Southeast Asia and provides detailed insights into this extensive and complex region which consists of countries with remarkably diverse histories and cultures.
Bomb Children by
Half a century after the CIA's Secret War in Laos, explosive remnants of war continue to be part of people's everyday lives. The author offers a perceptive analysis of the long-term, often subtle, and unintended effects of massive air warfare. She traces the sociocultural impact of cluster submunitions--known in Laos as "bomb children"--through stories of explosives clearance technicians and others living and working in these old air strike zones. The author presents her ethnography alongside poetry written in the field, crafting a startlingly beautiful analysis of state terror, authoritarian revival, rapid development, and ecological contamination.
Contentious Belonging: The Place of Minorities in Indonesia by
Contention has surrounded the status of minorities throughout Indonesian history. Two broad polarities are evident: one inclusive of minorities, regarding them as part of the nation's rich complexity; the other exclusive, viewing with suspicion or disdain those communities or groups that differ from the perceived majority. State and community attitudes towards minorities have fluctuated over time. This book explores the complex historical and contemporary dimensions of Indonesia's religious, ethnic, LGBT and disability minorities from a range of perspectives, including historical, legal, political, cultural, discursive and social. It addresses fundamental questions about Indonesia's tolerance and acceptance of difference, and examines the extent to which diversity is embraced or suppressed.
Fast Food Globalization in the Provincial Philippines by
Few contemporary societies remain beyond the global reach of today's fast food industry. This style of cuisine and the corporate brands that promote it have effectively transformed the appetites, health profiles, and consumer sensibilities of millions the world over. The author offers readers a highly engaging and granular account detailing the rise and popularity of these American-style chains throughout the Philippines. In Fast Food Globalization, the author examines the rich, diverse, and decidedly syncretic food traditions of the Philippines, one of the few global markets where industry giant McDonald's lags behind in competition with an indigenous chain. The author has crafted an anthropological account of fast food production and consumption within the socioeconomic milieu of a less-developed country. He examines many of the historical, political, economic, and sociocultural complexities that characterize the Philippines' now thriving fast food scene.
Historical Dictionary of Malaysia by
This second edition of Historical Dictionary of Malaysia contains a chronology, an introduction, appendixes, and an extensive bibliography. The dictionary section has over 500 cross-referenced entries on important personalities, politics, economy, foreign relations, religion, and culture.
A History of Thailand by
A History of Thailand is an authoritative and readable account of Thailand's political, economic, social and cultural history. From the early settlements in the Chao Phraya basin to today. This edition contains a new chapter on Thailand's turbulent politics since 2006 and incorporates new sources and research throughout.
Singapore's Multiculturalism by
Since independence in 1965, Singapore has developed its own unique approach to managing the diversity of Race, Religion, Culture, Language, Nationality, and Age among its citizens. This approach is a consequence of many factors, including its very distinct ethnic makeup compared with its neighbours, its ambitions as a globally oriented city-state, and its small physical size. In the writing of this book, the author team set themselves the task of projecting the impact of current domestic and international social trends into the future, to anticipate what Singapore society might look like by around 2040. In doing so, they analyse the particular path that Singapore has taken since independence, in comparison with other multicultural societies. They further consider how current trends may develop over the next couple of decades, what new challenges this may present to Singapore society, and what might be the likely responses to such challenges.