Description
A general survey of the history of East Asia from prehistoric times until the 20th century. This course seeks to help students understand the development of modern China, Korea and Japan from their ancient origins and traditions. The class will stress the emergence of these three distinct cultures and societies, as well as emphasizing the diversity found within each country.
Grading Basis
Graded
Course Learning Outcomes
Core Topics
- Geography of East Asia
- The first Chinese dynasties
- Confucianism, Daoism, and Legalism
- Qin Unification
- The Han Dynasty
- The Post-Han World
- The Tang and Sui Dynasties
- The Song Dynasty
- Buddhism and Neo-Confucianism
- The first Japanese states
- Japanese society and belief systems
- The Kamakura period
- Ashikaga/Muromachi Period
- The Yuan and Ming Dynasties
- The Qing Dynasty
- The Tokugawa/Edo Era
- Western Exploration
- The Opium Trade
- Restricting Western contact in Japan
- The Opium Wars and the Taiping Rebellion
- Western Spheres of Influence in China
- The Meiji Restoration
- The Modernization of Japan
- The Sino-Japanese War
- Korea under Japanese Rule
- Sun Yatsen and The Revolution of 1911
- The Warlord Era
- The Nationalists and Communists
- Mao Zedong and Chiang Kaishek
- Nationalism and the Japanese imperial ambitions
- World War II
- The Establishment of the People’s Republic of China
- Post-war Japan
- The Korean War
- The People’s Democratic Republic of Korea
- Mao’s China
- China after Mao