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HY/PA 299 |
Professor Cheek |
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Block 4, Fall 1996 |
Palmer 201 |
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Palmer 216: 9:30am-12:noon |
ext. 6525 |
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(*** = some afternoons) |
Office Hours: M 1:15-3:00 |
Topic: This course is a survey of Japanese history from the mid-19th century to the present. It has no prerequisites. Through lectures, discussions, and outside reading, we will study the transformation of Japan from a traditional society to a modern industrial nation. In particular, we will look at the "Meiji Restoration" in the last half of the 19th century, the roots of Japanese militarism leading to World War II, and the way Japan has managed to recover so rapidly to become a world economic power since the war.
In the eyes of many, Japan's modernization has been a success. We will try to understand not only how Japan made the transition to a modern industrial nation successfully but also the costs to various classes of people in Japan. What was it like for a peasant in 19th century Japan? for a modernization leader then? for a poor scholar? for a foot soldier in World War II? for the "salary man" in Japanese business today? for Japanese women? Although a modern nation, Japan still wrestles with its "uniqueness"--its cultural heritage, its isolation and its emphasis on group identity. In short, we will try to understand why Japan is the way it is today.
This is an introductory lecture course in which I will lay out the chronology of modern Japanese history. The required readings, most of which are available at the bookstore (the rest on reserve at Tutt Library or as handouts), will provide the detail and color you will need to understand this history. Although we will discuss a number of the readings, it is up to you to keep up and to raise questions about them--this puts a lot of responsibility on you. In addition, we will have a few movies shown in conjunction with the course. These sources (including the movies) will form the basis of your papers, quizzes, and final exam.
Reading Tips: This course requires a great deal of reading. I assume you will spend at least three hours a day outside of class in preparation. Read ahead. You will note that on some days very long readings will be discussed. Do not leave preparation to the night before; pace your readings. You will not be able to participate well unless you take reading notes. Several of the readings have sub-sections; flip through each reading before seriously reading it and familiarize yourself with those sub-heads. It will make life easier. For all readings, keep in mind the "topic of the day" to help you decide what to take down in your notes.
Course Mechanics: That is, assessment. Class participation is assumed. I will try to make it easy for you to speak up. If you have worries, let me know. I believe in the free flow of ideas; I also believe in pop quizzes. You are responsible for the readings given for each day and may be quizzed and graded on those readings. Attendance is required; missing three classes will result in NC. No changes on the timing of the final exam. Grading as follows:
Map assignment/Library assignment/group work
20%
Source interpretations/reaction papers
30%
Mid-Term & Final Exam
50%
Class attendance and participation will be taken into account when deter-mining the final grade.
Intellectual Hygiene: Plagiarism is presenting other people's work as your own without fair acknowledgment. Don't do it. Read the College handbook.
Method: This is a history course. Historical studies are one of many useful ways to look at human experience and the world around us. Think of history as one tool in your tool box as an educated person. History is ultimately a life story. To write history is to re-create a life story. Historians do three things in this re-creative process: they find documents, they critique (or assess the value of) documents, and they interpret documents. That's it for theory, the rest is work.
Historical study, as a writer or as a reader, involves at least three kinds of reading. Most of us begin by reading secondary sources written by other historians. Secondary sources are re-created life stories written by people who have studied primary sources (we hope). When we read secondary sources we must ask ourselves: how did they make this story (using what sources and putting them together in what way)? Do I believe it? Why? Not all "histories" (especially in college) are simple stories. A second kind of reading and writing (a sub-set of secondary sources) is analyses of problems. Analyses of issues, key points, or problems (like: urbanization, the role of so-and-so, class and gender) are valuable ways to look at human experience. Most of the term papers or themes you have written for history classes are these. Such perspectives add depth to the re-creation of past life stories. Like different filters, such as in infra-red photography, analyses of problems bring to our attention key aspects of a story we might otherwise have missed. A third way of reading is to analyze primary documents. Primary documents are records written by people who personally witnessed or lived at the time of the events they record. They may or may not be "analytical." Reading primary documents is where we begin to re-create a life story. So, when we read a primary document a good place to start (based on your reading of good secondary sources) is: How would I begin to write a life story from this? What can I find in this document that is useful to me? What questions do I have that it might help answer?
Historical study, then, involves reading critically among secondary sources, framing useful questions (identifying issues, perspectives and problems), and critiquing and interpreting primary sources. You may never take another Asian history, or any history course. If you take this one (and pass), you will know the fundamentals of historical reasoning and a few things about the life story of Japan. These skills can also be useful when dealing with the newspaper, TV and opinionated friends.
The following books are available at the Book Store. Other sources will be on reserve at Tutt Library or given as hand outs.
Edwin O. Reischauer, Japan: The Story of a Nation (4th ed., 1990)
Wray & Conroy, Japan Examined
Mikiso HANE, Peasants, Rebels, and Outcasts
Sharon L. Sievers, Flowers in the Salt
Ishinomori, Japan, Inc. (the comic book!)
I: The Restoration (1850s-1895)
Reading: Reischauer, Japan, chs. 1-9.
Week 1 |
M |
INTRODUCTION -- "NATIONAL CHARACTERISTICS" |
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Tu |
"SHOGUN"--THE TOKUGAWA ORDER & GEOLOGY OF JAPAN Reading: Reischauer, Japan, chs. 1-6. "Tokugawa Order" Documents (handout) MAP ASSIGNMENT DUE *** 1PM MOVIE: "Yojimbo" (884) in Palmer 223. |
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W |
RESOURCES on Japan (TUTT LIBRARY South Basement/TLC) |
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Th |
NO CLASS (THANKSGIVING DAY) |
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F |
NO CLASS (THANKSGIVING HOLIDAY) |
Week 2 |
M |
PROBLEMS AND ROOTS OF CHANGE IN THE OLD SOCIETY Reading: Reischauer, Japan, ch. 7 SOURCE INTERPRETATION DUE IN CLASS |
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Tu |
REVOLUTION FROM ABOVE: THE MEIJI RESTORATION Readings: Japan Examined, 55-78 LIBRARY ASSIGNMENT DUE TODAY |
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W |
THE BUREAUCRATIC STATE Readings: Reischauer, Japan, ch. 8 Japan Examined, 104-111 & 18-25 Kanagaki Robun, "The Beefeater," and Hattori Busho, "The Western Peep Show," in Donald Keene, Modern Japanese Lit, pp. 31-36. REACTION PAPER DUE IN CLASS |
Week 2 |
Th |
DISCUSSION: Daily Life in Meiji Japan (Groups present on one reading each) Readings Sievers, Flowers in the Salt, pp. pp. 1-53, 54-86; Japan Examined, (Hane), pp. 26-33, & Japan Examined 79-129 (Meiji & its Critics); Hane, Peasants, Rebs & Outs, pp. 79-101, 139-71 & 207-225 |
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F |
MODERNIZATION & JAPANESE IMPERIALISM: KOREA, CHINA Readings: Reischauer, Japan, ch. 9 Japan Examined, 121-148. |
Week 3 |
M |
MID-TERM EXAM |
II. The Empire (1895-1945)
Reading: Reischauer, Japan, chs. 10-12.
Week 3 cont. |
Tu |
TAISHO DEMOCRACY: BUST, BOOM & STAGNATION Readings: Hane, Peasants, Rebels & Outcasts, pp. 177-204, Japan Examined, pp. 171-198, fiction selection from Keene, Modern Japanese Lit.(on reserve at Tutt--photocopy your story for class) REACTION PAPER DUE IN CLASS
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W |
DISCUSSION GROUPS: Roots of Militarism & World War II (Groups meeting 9:00, 10:30, [2:00]) Readings: Hane, Peasants, Rebels & Outcasts, pp. 103-36, Japan Examined, pp. 237-90 (domestic) or 291-330 (for.). "The Handstand" & "Letter in a Barrel" (handouts) "The Kamikaze Fighters," in Ivan Morris, The Nobility of Failure, pp. 276-334. |
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Th |
WAR: The Japanese Experience of World War II |
III. The Economic Miracle (1945-1985)
Reading: Reischauer, Japan, chs. 13-18.
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Fr |
REVOLUTION FROM ABOVE: THE AMERICAN OCCUPATION Readings: Reischauer, Japan, chs. 13 & 14, Japan Examined, pp. 332-363. SECOND SOURCE INTERPRETATION DUE (1936 Fund P's) |
Week 4 |
M |
JAPAN AS NO. 1: MAKING OF THE ECONOMIC MIRACLE Readings: Reischauer, Japan, chs. 15 & 16 Japan Examined, pp. 365-389 Ishinomori, Japan, Inc. (preface & first ch.) *** 1PM MOVIE: Tampopo(1441)--Tutt South Video (basement) |
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Tu |
JAPAN, INC: DEALING WITH SUCCESS & THE WORLD Readings: Reischauer, Japan, chs. 17 & 18 Ishinomori, Japan, Inc. (chapters by groups) Hane, Peasants, Rebels & Outcasts, pp. 246-269 |
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W |
Wrap Up |
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Th |
FINAL EXAM |
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