Spring 2023 - HIST 206 D100

Imperial Japan (ca. 1868-1952) (3)

Class Number: 4813

Delivery Method: In Person

Overview

  • Course Times + Location:

    Jan 4 – Apr 11, 2023: Tue, 2:30–4:20 p.m.
    Burnaby

  • Exam Times + Location:

    Apr 13, 2023
    Thu, 3:30–6:30 p.m.
    Burnaby

Description

CALENDAR DESCRIPTION:

A survey of Japanese history from 1868 until 1952 which will examine, among other topics, the evolution of its colonial empire and wars with Russia, China and the United States, as well as the post-war Allied Occupation. Breadth-Humanities.

COURSE DETAILS:

This course will chart how, between 1869 and 1945, Japan became one of the largest empires in modern world history, eventually controlling over 7,400,000 km2.

During the late 19th and early 20th centuries, most countries had been incorporated into an imperialist world system as either colonizers or colonized, and, in the case of Japan, it had been both a victim and perpetrator of the “new imperialism.”  Operating under a perceived threat of colonization, the country’s leadership merged state- and empire-building to ensure Japan’s independence.  The nation adopted a Western-inspired political, economic, and social order to better mobilize the existing Japanese population behind state policies and successfully waged two wars that led to the acquisition of Taiwan and contributed to the takeover of Korea.

Moreover, although the First World War prompted in many of the belligerent nations an aversion to outright military expansionism, Japan further extended its regional power and prefigured the existence of post-1945 client-states through its establishment of a Manchurian “puppet-state” in Northeast China in the 1930s.

 

Grading

  • Tutorial work: Using Perusall and collaboratively commenting on the readings (20%) and Weekly group discussion (20%) 40%
  • Take home assignment (based on three assigned readings) 10%
  • Essay project (analysis of assigned readings) 25%
  • Final examination 25%

Materials

REQUIRED READING:

Andrew Gordon, A Modern History of Japan: From Tokugawa Times to the Present.  New York: Oxford University Press, 2003. 

James L. Huffman, Japan and Imperialism, 1853-1945.  Ann Arbor: Association for Asian Studies, Inc., 2017. 

REQUIRED READING NOTES:

Your personalized Course Material list, including digital and physical textbooks, are available through the SFU Bookstore website by simply entering your Computing ID at: shop.sfu.ca/course-materials/my-personalized-course-materials.

Registrar Notes:

ACADEMIC INTEGRITY: YOUR WORK, YOUR SUCCESS

SFU’s Academic Integrity website http://www.sfu.ca/students/academicintegrity.html is filled with information on what is meant by academic dishonesty, where you can find resources to help with your studies and the consequences of cheating. Check out the site for more information and videos that help explain the issues in plain English.

Each student is responsible for his or her conduct as it affects the university community. Academic dishonesty, in whatever form, is ultimately destructive of the values of the university. Furthermore, it is unfair and discouraging to the majority of students who pursue their studies honestly. Scholarly integrity is required of all members of the university. http://www.sfu.ca/policies/gazette/student/s10-01.html