History, geography, ethnical background, languages, and cultures of the countries in Greater Mekong Sub-region (GMS), preparing students for subsequent courses on the GMS and its member countries, the Indianization of Southeast Asia, the Khmer Empire based at Angkor, the Thai Kingdoms of Sukhothai and Ayutthaya, the influence of the British in Burma and the French in Indochina, the Cold War, more recent efforts to strengthen regional cooperation and coordination based on the shared resource of Mekong watershed