Asia Scope

1993, Total Running Time 144 Minutes (6 x Episodes)

Asia Scope is a series in six parts for high school teachers and their students that brings the nations of Asia into the classroom. Pitched at a level that makes it truly accessible to high school students, the series is designed in segments for classroom use, either within an Asian Studies program or as case studies in other subject areas. Each program examines a particular topic in terms of the Asian region as a whole, using examples of conditions in selected countries to provide crucial insights into the complexity of this region.

Re-orientation (16 mins) Examines the major influences that have shaped the history and development of the Asian region: from the birth of its great civilisations and religions to the economic renaissance underway in many of its nations.

Not So Far East, The (16 mins) Looks at the history of the relationship between East and West: from the days of Marco Polo through European colonisation to independence and the economic renaissance in many Asian nations.

Society (16 mins) Examines the three very different social systems of China, Thailand and Singapore.

Economic Change (16 mins) Takes a look at the process of economic development in the regions of South Korea, the Philippines and Taiwan and examines the issues of balance of power and equity between business, government and workers in an economic system.

Environments (16 mins) Examines the relationship between the environment and resource use and management in the regions of India, Japan and Indonesia, and the ways in which people are responding and adapting to the environmental changes that inevitably accompany economic development.

Australia and Asia (16 mins) Takes a look at the historical relationships between Australia and its Asian neighbours, and the changing status of these relationships.

A Film Australia National Interest Program. © 2011 National Film and Sound Archive of Australia.