Teaching Modules “Southeast Asia at the Crossroads of World War II”
Southeast Asia at the Crossroads of World War II
Teaching about Southeast Asia before, during, and after WWII while identifying past, present, and possible future implications, allows teachers to bring into focus the interconnectedness of history and the intersections between individual, national, and regional histories. Given US textbooks’ predominant focus on the European theater of the war, turning a lens on Southeast Asia in WWII contributes to our understanding of not only historic change and continuity in the region, but also how the world became as it is today.
Southeast Asia’s strategic location at the intersection of trade routes connecting East Asia with Europe and Africa and its abundance of sought-after natural resources, including spices, tin, timber, and oil, made it a region continually visited by international traders, and coveted by expansionist European powers like Portugal, England, France, Spain, and the Netherlands, as well as Japan. These processes of interaction, exchange, adaptation, and colonization created a region dense in diversity—cultural, ethnic, linguistic, and religious—and these have also affected Southeast Asia’s role in WWII and in global politics after the war.
Below are links to teaching modules and education resources that explore the events and mindsets that turned Southeast Asia into a major theater of WWII, and how the effects of the war unfolded to realign the world and reshape this region that continues to be crucial today.
These modules were created as part of the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH)-supported Summer Institute for School Teachers, which took place from June 26 to July 15, 2011 at the East-West Center in Honolulu, Hawai‘i. Please note that any views, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in these modules do not necessarily reflect those of the National Endowment for the Humanities or the East-West Center.
Module 1 – The Making of 20th Century Southeast Asia
Module 2 – Uncovering Legacies of Imperialism through Primary Sources
Module 3 – Economic Motives for Imperialism in Southeast Asia
Module 4 – Integrating “Legacies of Colonialism” Lessons into Teaching
Module 5 – Using Literature and Films to Teach History of Southeast Asia during WWII
Module 7 – Nationalism and Competing Identities in Southeast Asia
Module 8 – Islam and Politics of Identity in Southeast Asia
Module 9 – Europe between the Wars and Its Effect on Southeast Asia
Module 12 – World War II, the Philippines, and the Aftermath of the Japanese Occupation
Module 13 – In the Shadows: Prisoners of the Pacific War: Southeast Asia
Module 14 – World Turned Upside Down: Southeast Asia in the Aftermath of Japanese Defeat
Module 15 – Indonesia’s Struggle for Merdeka (1945-1949) and the Japanese Legacy
Module 16 – Using DBQs and WebQuests to Teach about WWII in Southeast Asia