(SEAT) Southern and Eastern Asia Today Module Overview

Southern and Eastern Asia Today Module Overview

Introduction

Ancient Asian religions and philosophies of Buddhism, Hinduism, Shintoism, and Confucianism have similarities beyond the region in which they developed. They all emphasize selflessness as a way to lead a good life. This emphasis has encouraged a tradition among Asians to put what is good for the many ahead of what is good for the one. However, Asians are a diverse people who have adopted different methods of delivering what is good for the many. Depending on the type of government a nation has, you will find a range of personal freedoms. For example, the personal freedoms enjoyed by the people living in Communist China are far more restricted than those of the people living in Democratic Japan. This is also true for the role Chinese citizens play in their government versus the role of Japanese citizens in theirs. The more restrictive the government, the more restricted are the people.

Module Lessons Preview

In this module, we will study the following topics:

Culture

Southern and Eastern Asia have a variety of religions that have influenced its culture. Hinduism is a polytheistic religion still dominating India today, Buddhism has spread out of India to become the major religion throughout Asia with its eight-fold past, and Islam has spread out of the Middle East and throughout Asia due to historical trade routes. The rich culture spread due to intense trade routes throughout the region known as the Silk Roads and Indian Ocean Trade.

Governance

As the region has a diverse culture, it also has a diverse government structure. India is the world’s largest democracy, but the region isn’t fully democratic. Numerous countries such as China, Vietnam, and North Korea have historically embraced communism after World War II. The divide between democracy and communism caused growing tensions in the region.

Location

The geography of Southern and Eastern Asia is an extremely diverse region, much like the culture. Geography has impacted what they produce, how they transport it, and the overall economic success of the region.

Key Terms

Population Density - a measurement of population located per unit area; for example, 100 people per square mile
Population Control - government policy to reduce population growth using incentives and punishments to restrict family size
Dialect - a form of speech spoken in a certain district or by a certain group of people
Defector - a person who leaves his or her home nation to move to another nation that is considered a political enemy
Demilitarized Zone - an area free from military control
Nuclear Weapons - explosive devices that derive their tremendous and far-reaching force from nuclear reactions
Diet - Japanese parliament
Ie - the tradition of loyalty given to expanded family in Japan
Tiananmen Square Protests - student-led protests in Beijing (China) in 1989 that drew attention to the split within the Communist Party
Ethnic Group- a social category based on people identifying with each other over shared experiences or ancestry
Religious Group- a social category based on people identifying with each other over a shared religious belief or practice
"Mother Tongue"- the first language a person learns to speak
Cultural Revolution - the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, as it is formally known, began in China in 1966 under Mao Zedong's leadership. The purpose was to strengthen Communism in China by removing traditional, capitalist or cultural elements Mao thought were undermining Communism
Four Olds - principles attacked during the Cultural Revolution in China- they included old customs, old culture, old habits and old ideas
Red Guards - students directed by Mao Zedong to attack the Four Olds in China during the Cultural Revolution
Proletariat - the working class, especially industrial workers paid in wages
Bourgeoisie- the middle class, people between the very wealthy (aristocrats) and the working class
Unitary Government - one central government for the entire nation
Federal Government - a government that divides duties between a large, central government and smaller local governments
Confederation - a government formed by the joining together or alliance of separate states or groups
Civic Participation - the amount of participation individual citizens have in a government (examples include voting, running for office, protests)
Autocracy -government led by a single person having unlimited power
Monarchy - government led by a king, queen, emperor, sultan (monarch)
Dictatorship - government led by a dictator who has absolute authority
Oligarchy - form of government in which a few people have the ruling power
Presidential Democracy - a democratic government led by a president
Parliamentary Democracy - a democratic government led by a prime minister who represents the majority party in the legislative branch
Republic - nation or state in which the citizens elect representatives to manage the government
British Raj - the British colonial rule over India from the mid-1800s until the 1940s
Nationalist- person who works for national independence or self-rule
Indian National Congress- Indian organization that worked to end the British Raj in India before independence and then became a major political party in India following independence
Muslim League- organization that pushed for the partition of India to allow for the creation of a separate, Muslim state upon the end of the British Raj; the League formed the first government of Pakistan and later became a minor political party
Muhammad Ali Jinnah- Muslim nationalist in India who worked for the partition of India following the end of the British Raj; he was the first governor-general of Pakistan.
Jawaharlal Nehru - first prime minister of India after the British Raj ended
Maharajah- formerly a ruling prince in India
Independence - freedom from the control or influence of others
Atomic Bomb - bomb in which the splitting of atoms results in an explosion of tremendous force and heat; America dropped two atomic bombs on Japan during World War II
Chiang Kai-shek - leader of the Nationalist Party in China that fell to the Communist Party after World War II
Communists - people who practice the economic and political system known as communism in which most or all property is owned by the state or community as a whole and is shared by all.
Mao Zedong- Chinese leader of the Communist party; responsible for creating a communist state in China after defeating the Nationalist Party and ousting its government
Occupation- the occupying or possession of one nation over another, usually in a military sense
Capitalist - person who favors or supports the economic system that allows private individuals or groups to own means of production (capitalism)
"Cold War" - the period of deep hostility that existed between the capitalist United States and communist Soviet Union following the end of World War II and into the late-1980s
Ho Chi Minh - Vietnamese communist leader who led the fight for Vietnam's independence from France, created the Democratic Republic of Vietnam in North Vietnam and worked as its president and prime minister for decades
Vietminh - a communist group in Vietnam formed during World War II to promote independence
Vietcong -the communist group of rebels living in South Vietnam prior to and during the Vietnam War
Domino Theory - American political theory that Communism would spread throughout Asia- similar to dominoes falling in a line- if one nation became communist
Containment- American policy after World War II during the Cold War era to "contain" the spread of communism as predicted in the Domino Theory.
Martial Law - martial law occurs when a nation's military takes over the governing of the nation from the civilian government- sometimes it is done in emergencies when the civilian government has lost control of the nation, sometimes it is done as an act of control by corrupt forces

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