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A. Course Description:This
course traces the rise of modern Japan from the Tokugawa period (1600-1867)
through the Meiji Restoration of 1868, and into the contemporary world
of the Shôwa (1926-1989) and Heisei (1989- ) eras. Interpretive issues
related to Japan’s historical developments in feudalism, confucianism,
constitutionalism, imperialism, liberalism, socialism, communism, fascism,
totalitarianism, militarism, democracy, capitalism, and post-modernism
will be explored, since the latter were the supposed forces which most
significantly informed the vicissitudes of Japan over the last three centuries.
Our survey of modern Japanese history concludes with a discussion of postwar
Japan and its impressive economic accomplishments, as well as its efforts
to create a more liberal, egalitarian polity. Students who complete the
course can expect to have a holistic yet detailed grasp of the often contorted
and seemingly contradictory logic of Japan’s modern historical development.
B. Grading:
Grading
will be based on three exams (25% each---July 2; July 16; July 30), class
attendance and participation (25%). Perfect attendance is expected, as
is regular participation in the form of questions, comments, and discussion.
Exams will include objective (true/false, multiple choice) and essay questions,
with the latter accounting for the majority of the points. Required readings
will be discussed weekly.
East Carolina University
seeks to comply fully with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Students
requesting accommodations based on a covered disability must go to the
Department for Disability Support Services, located in Brewster A-117,
to verify the disability before any accommodations can occur. The
telephone number is 252-328-6799.
C. Required Readings:
Dower, John W. War Without
Mercy: Race and Power in the Pacific War.
New York: Pantheon, 1986.
Duus, Peter. Modern Japan.
Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1998.
Field, Norma. In the
Realm of a Dying Emperor: Japan at Century’s End.
New York: Vintage Books,
1993.
Fujitani, T. Splendid Monarchy:
Power and Pageantry in Modern Japan.
Berkeley: University of
California, 1996.
Fukuzawa Yukichi. The Autobiography
of Yukichi Fukuzawa.
New York: Columbia University
Press, 1966.
Fumiko, Kaneko. The Prison
Memoirs of a Japanese Woman.
Armonk, New York: M. E.
Sharpe, 1991.
Soseki, Natsume. Kokoro.
New York: Gateway, 1957.
D. Recommended General Readings:
(1) Edwin O. Reischauer.
Japan:
The Story of a Nation. New York:
Knopf, 1981.
(2) George Sansom. History
of Japan, 3 vols. Stanford: Stanford
University Press, 1963.
(3) John W. Hall. Japan:
From Prehistory to Modern Times. New
York: Delacorte, 1970.
(4) Conrad Totman. Japan
Before Perry: A Short History Berkeley:
University of California
Press, 1981.
(5) Janet E. Hunter. The
Emergence of Modern Japan. New York:
Longman Group, 1989.
(6) Mikiso Hane. Modern Japan:
A Historical Survey. Boulder:
Westview Press, 1986.
(7) Kodansha Encyclopedia
of Japan. 9 vols. Tokyo: Kodansha, 1981.
(8) Martin Collcutt, Marius
Jansen, and Isao Kumakura, compilers.
Cultural Atlas of Japan.
New York: Facts on File, 1988.
(9) Peter Duus, ed. The Cambridge
History of Japan, Volume 6:
The Twentieth Century.
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1988.
(10) Marius Jansen, ed. The
Cambridge History of Japan, Volume 5:
The Nineteenth Century.
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1989.
(11) John Boyle. Modern Japan:
The American Nexus. New York:
Harcourt Brace Jovanovich,
1993.
(12) James L. McClain. Japan:
A Modern History. New York:
W. W. Norton, 2002.
(13) Andrew Gordon. A Modern
History of Japan: From Tokugawa Times
to the Present.
New York: Oxford University Press, 2003.
E. Weekly Lecture and Reading
Schedule (for
supplementary materials)
| June
24: Introduction to Modern Japanese History |
Duus,
chs. 1-2. |
| June
25: Politics & Society in Tokugawa Japan |
Duus,
ch. 3. |
| June
28: Early Modern Chonin Culture |
Fukuzawa,
1/2 |
| June 29: Collapse of the
Old Regime |
Duus, ch. 4,
Fukuzawa, remainder |
| June
30: The Meiji Reinvention of Imperial Japan |
Duus,
ch. 5. |
| July 1: Review for Exam |
|
| July 2: First Exam |
|
| July 5: Holiday |
|
| July 6: Redefining Political
Ideals and Order |
Duus, chs. 6-7
Splendid Monarchy |
| July 7: Meiji Economic Development |
Duus, ch. 9 |
| July
8: Meiji Imperialism |
Duus,
ch. 8 |
| July 9: Meiji Literature
as Cultural Commentary |
Soseki, Kokoro |
| July 12: Paradoxes of Taisho
Japan |
Duus, chs. 10-11 |
| July
13: The Underside of "Taisho Democracy" |
Fumiko,
Memoirs |
| July
14: The "Dark Valley" of Militarism |
Duus,
chs. 12-13 |
| July
15: Review for Exam |
|
| July 16: Second Exam |
|
| July 19: The Beginnings
of the WWII in Asia |
Duus, ch. 14 |
| July 20: A War Without Mercy |
Dower, WWM |
| July 21: Hirohito: the Role
of the Emperor |
Video |
| July 22: Hiroshima and Nagasaki |
Video |
| July 23: The American Occupation |
Duus, ch. 15 |
| July
26: Japan’s Cold War Reverse Course |
Duus,
ch. 16 |
| July
27: The Economic Miracle |
Duus,
chs. 17-18 |
| July
28: Japan in the 1980s: As Number One |
Video |
| July
29: Heisei Japan: Postmodern Decline |
Duus,
chs. 19-20
Field, In the Realm |
| July
30: Final Exam |
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