This course is an introduction to modern China, Korea, and Japan from 1600 to the present, with emphasis on the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. It covers the following topics: China’s progressive decline and rejuvenation, the impact of imperialism, the rise and development of the PRC; the struggles of Korea, its colonization by Japan; liberation and division into the two Koreas, and the rising economic status of the South; and the end of feudalism in Japan, the building of a modern state and economy, Japanese imperialism, postwar recovery, and the rise to super-power status. Taking a broad comparative perspective on East Asia, the course explores the inter-relations between political economy, society, and culture in each country within an emerging modern world system.

Course Requirements:

Attendance in lectures and discussion sections is mandatory. Students should have read the assigned readings prior to coming to lecture or discussion sections. Students will write three short essays. There will be two in-class examinations.

Intended Audience:

This course is a continuation of History 204, but prior knowledge of East Asian history is not required.

Class Format:

Two lectures and one discussion section each week.