The beautifully preserved ruins of the city Angkor Wat. This city was the centre of power for the Khmer Empire, which was Southeast Asia’s largest empire during the 12th century CE.

General history of the region

Keeping in mind the diversity present within the Asia-Pacific region, we should think about the historical experiences of the region. We’ll start this Section by considering what events or issues have significant historical relevance in the region. We’ll then turn to a more in-depth examination of the great (and small) civilisations in the region, noting the pattern of their historical evolution. We will compare our findings and reflect on how many of these civilizations retain a position of power in the contemporary period.

The content e-learning activities for this section of the Module should not only broaden your knowledge of the region’s history, but they should again reflect the diversity of the peoples and places in the region, as well as their experiences over time. You will need to look for and read sources that provide an historical overview of Asia and the Pacific. You will also need to select a civilization to focus on and locate and read sources on that particular civilization.

Activity

Before completing the following learning activity, think about the following questions:

• What is history?
• Who writes history?
• Who is left out of history?

Share your thoughts by posting on WEnotes below. Examples of your post:

• I had never thought that history could be biased ……
• This confirmed my belief that ….

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