The Chair of Critical Development Studies – Southeast Asia offers a study trip to Indonesia every two years. The trip is planned and carried out in close cooperation with the Indonesian lecturer, Kartika Wulang (Language Centre).

In preparation for the excursion, a seminar is offered in the winter semester in which students learn about Indonesia in general and the specific topic of the trip.  At the end of this seminar, students (must) present their project ideas for the excursion and submit a preliminary report. Students are required to attend this seminar to join the excursion. Students will receive 5 ECTS for successfully completing the seminar.

The 10-12-day excursion to Indonesia takes place during the semester break (usually in March). The topics, destinations and partners vary each time. Students organise their own travel to and from the agreed meeting point in Indonesia. The excursion leaders design the programme and take care of the group logistics (including accommodation) during the excursion. The programme may include visits to universities, research institutions and NGOs, as well as places of social, historical, geographical and/or economic significance in the respective region. Students will be given sufficient time during the trip to carry out their own research projects. The report, written after the excursion, describes the student project.

Participation is open to all students, but priority will be given to students learning Indonesian and/or attending classes on Southeast Asia. The preparation seminar and the excursion are conducted entirely in German. The Chair will apply in advance for university funding of up to €800 per participant for each study trip. More detailed information on costs will be communicated in the preparatory seminar.

Cultural Area Representative Southeast Asia: Dr. Judith Ehlert (judith.ehlert@uni-passau.de)
As part of the bachelor's degree program "International Cultural and Business Studies / Kulturwirtschaft", students are required to complete an independently planned study project in the form of an empirical paper on a scientific basis and under the supervision of a university staff member responsible for the cultural area.

In terms of content, the topic of the study project should be meaningfully related to the chosen subjects and majors, especially to the area of Southeast Asia. The qualification goal is to work out a cultural studies topic (i.e. a social, economic, political, cultural, geographical, etc.), if possible, on site in a Southeast Asian country through independent research. ) by independent research in a Southeast Asian country.

If the Southeast Asian cultural area is chosen, the study project can also be carried out in another cultural area, but should still have a content-related connection to Asia (ideally Southeast Asia) and must be submitted to the responsible cultural area representative, Dr. Judith Ehlert, for recognition.

As a rule, the study project report should comprise approx. ten pages of continuous text in the usual format of a scientific term paper, be arranged thematically, have a direct reference to the (visited) region, and include empirical data that the student has compiled him/herself. The reference to relevant scientific literature is to be provided by a (short) bibliography at the end of the report. A statement of independence must also be included.

There are no deadlines for submission. Completed study projects can be submitted to Dr. Judith Ehlert as a PDF via email at any time. If you have any questions, please contact the Cultural Area Officer.

The examination regulations (German) include the requirement that students undertake a Profile Module (a module individually tailored to their own interests) in the form of a field tips or research project lasting at least eight days. Students can either organize their own research project or take part in a field trip organized by the University. Each student is required to write a report of about 10 pages on the research project or field trip s/he took part in. The report should be presented to the field trip leader or the Chair of the department.

The formal requirements for the report are the same as for written assignments. However in this case, students are not asked to write a literature review, but to analyse and reflect on their own data and experiences. The starting point is to define a research question, that can be analysed, leading to a conclusion. The research question can be theoretical, empirical or practical.

Example: Report of a field trip to a village of the Lisu ethnic minority in north Thailand

• Theoretical research question: How do clan structure and related marriage rules, including dowry rules, influence gender-specific forms of division of labour?

• Empirical research question: What are the reasons for the independence of Lisu women in matters concerning the household budget and crop selection?

• Practical research question: Do Lisu women play a central role in the dissemination of agricultural innovation and therefore also for sustainable resource use?

In defining a research question, students should take account of current state of knowledge of the issue, and this should be summarized in the report. It is important that the report should compare the student’s own data with data from the scientific literature, drawing attention to any differences or contradictions etc. The data should first be presented and then analysed; the analysis will provide the basis for the student’s interpretation of the data. The choice of data and information to include in the report, and the analysis and interpretation, should all focus on the research question the student has chosen to investigate.