Malays- Tradition, Conflict and Change

The module will explore the changing and evolving notions of Malay and Malayness in terms of place, space and identity. It will begin with an exploration of the construction of the Malay World of the pre-colonial and colonial past. We will look at the notion of the Malay ruling and subject class, including gender and family relations within the nascent Malay World. The subsequent basis for transformation involved the creation of a new political space, the independent nation-state and new identity involving new pathways of empowerment or disempowerment. Entering a subsequent phase of later postcolonialism we will delve into topical and controversial issues associated with Malays and Malayness --- from underdevelopment to Islam to the current re-imaginings and deconstruction of national, cultural and civic identities. We will trace the origins of Islam in the Malay World and explore contemporary issues related to the politicization and refashioning of cultural and political identity within the peculiarities of each modern nation-state. At the culmination of the module it is hoped that we will be able to appreciate the complexities of place, space and identity in locating the question of ethnicity, religion, race and culture in debates about tradition versus change or conflict versus consensus within nation-states and their global contexts. We should ultimately be well-informed about the economic and socio-political situation of the Malays in Singapore, Malaysia and the rest of the archipelagic Southeast Asia.