Modern Japan: An Introduction
Curriculum guideline
Class sections will be divided between lectures and seminar discussions. The seminar discussion sessions will serve as a forum for the analysis and discussion of scholarly literature and as a testing ground for student hypotheses. The instructor will encourage students to elaborate, refine and revise ideas. Discussion sessions will also include tutorials in conducting historical research, the exploration of primary source documents, and practice in oral presentations. Participation in both lectures and seminar discussions is required for the successful completion of the course.
A sample course outline would include the following topics.
Note: Content may vary according to the instructor’s selection of topics.
- Language, Religion, Culture and Tradition
- Western Intrusion and the Collapse of the Bakufu
- Meiji Restoration
- Modernization: the Economy and the Military
- Education and Culture
- Foreign Policy and Wars: China, Russia, and Korea
- Showa and the Great Depression
- Military Ascendancy and the Road to Pearl Harbour
- War and Surrender from Japan’s Side
- Occupation
- Economic Miracle
- Politics and Japanese-American Relations in Postwar Japan
- Education as Tool for National Advancement
- Struggle for Public Memory: War Crimes, Textbooks, and Politics
- Women and Modern Japan
- The slow growth era
At the conclusion of the course the successful student will be able to:
- Examine historical sources critically and analytically (reading history). These sources include not only survey texts and scholarly articles, but also short monographs and extended primary sources.
- Create and communicate personal interpretations of historical problems (writing history). Forms for communication of personal interpretations include medium-length essays (from 1500-3000 words), comparative book reviews, short interpretive essays, primary source studies, and final examinations.
- Independently analyze the ideas of other students and the instructor in class in both tutorials and seminars (discussing history).
Assessment will be in accord with the Douglas College student evaluation policy. Specific components of evaluation will include some of the following: mid-term and final exams consisting of short answer questions and essay questions; in-class written work, quizzes, research paper; seminar presentations; short debate/position papers; participation in class discussions.
Specific evaluation criteria will be provided by the instructor at the beginning of the semester and will vary according to the instructor’s assessment of appropriate evaluation methods.
An example of one evaluation scheme:
Any combination of the following totalling 100%
| Book review essay | 15% |
| Research proposal | 10% |
| Research essay | 25% |
| Class/seminar participation | 15% |
| Midterm exam | 15% |
| Final exam | 20% |
Textbooks and Materials to be Purchased by Students:
Texts will be chosen from the following list, to be updated periodically:
An instructor’s Course Reader may be required.
Duus, Peter. Modern Japan. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1998.
Gordon, Andres. A Modern History of Japan: From Tokugawa Times to the Present. 2nd ed. New York: Oxford University Press, 2009.
Huffman, James L. Modern Japan: A History in Documents.2nd ed. New York: Oxford University Press, 2011.
Kingston, Jeff. Japan in Transformation, 1952-2000. 2nd ed. New York : Longman, 2011
McClain, James L. Japan: A Modern History. New ed. New York: W.W. Norton, 2002.
Pyle, Kenneth B. Japan Rising. New York: Public Affairs, 2007.
Pyle, Kenneth B. The Making of Modern Japan. 2nd ed. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth. 1996.
Tipton, Elise. Modern Japan. 2nd ed. New York: Routledge, 2008.
ONE 1000-LEVEL HISTORY COURSE