Honours

The honours program in Indonesian Studies comprises 50 per cent coursework and 50 per cent research thesis. You can begin your Honours program in Semester 1 or 2.

Honours candidates will have fulfilled the faculty requirements for admission into the Honour year. They normally have also completed ASNS2661 History of Modern Indonesia or ASNS2663 Social Activism in Southeast Asia or ASNS2664 Southeast Asia Transformed AND ASNS3690 Approaches to Research in Asian Studies as part of their undergraduate study. Students interested in doing Honours on an Indonesia-related topic in future years should contact the Chair of Indonesian Studies.

Honours coursework comprises advanced level Indonesian language studies on topics relevant to your thesis research and an advanced English language unit of study that complements your honours topic. The Indonesian language seminar will be timetabled in Semester 1. The timing of advanced unit of study will depend on the unit selected. Your major assessment piece in the latter will focus on Indonesia.

The honours thesis in Indonesian Studies constitutes an original piece of research and writing in a field which is able to be supervised by a member of staff. It amounts to 18,000-20,000 words of writing which may be in English or Indonesian and must demonstrate both a command of a wide range of secondary source material in Indonesian as well as a command of a particular disciplinary or interdisciplinary approach to the topic of the research. Intending students must discuss options for their thesis research with the Chair of Indonesian Studies. well in advance of the commencement of the academic year.

You should download the Honours Handbook for Indonesian Studies. You may also find the A-Z Honours Survival Guide helpful.

Honours Topics for 2008

• The environmental movement in Indonesia
• Middle-class Indonesian women’s perceptions of virginity
• Indonesian domestic labour in Hong Kong
• Regional autonomy and local government
• Dakwah for Non-Muslims
• Nazism in Indonesia

Recent Honours Theses on Indonesian Topics

• The Quality of Democracy in Indonesia and Russia: A Path-Shaping Analysis of Two Fourth Wave Democracies (Rachael Chadwick)
• Advocacy NGOs, Transnationalism and Political Space: An Indonesian Case Study (Ben Davis)
• Religious Affiliation and a Minority Community: The Impact of Religious Affiliation on the Experiences of the Indonesian Community in Sydney after September 11 (Amelia Mitchell)
• Islam, Women and Indonesian Politics: The PKS Challenge to Substantive Theories of Democracy (Lydia Trotter)
• Private Choice or Public Obligation? Institutional and Social Regimes of Veiling in Contemporary Indonesia (Eve Warburton)
• Transnational Feminism and Labour Organising: The Case of Gabungan Serikat Buruh Indonesia (Elena Williams)