Simon Fraser University
Engaging the World

Course Outlines

Summer 2023 - HIST 371 D100

The Asia-Pacific War in Modern Japanese History (4)

Class Number: 3243

Delivery Method: In Person

Overview

  • Course Times + Location:

    May 8 – Aug 4, 2023: Thu, 2:30–5:20 p.m.
    Burnaby

  • Exam Times + Location:

    Aug 15, 2023
    Tue, 3:30–6:30 p.m.
    Burnaby

  • Prerequisites:

    45 units, including six units of lower division history. Recommended: at least one course on modern Japan.

Description

CALENDAR DESCRIPTION:

Covers the period in Japan from the 1930s to the 1950s and will introduce students to topics such as wartime atrocities, the dropping of the atomic bombs and the prosecution of war criminals. It will also attempt to explain why so much controversy surrounds interpretations of events arising from Japan's last war, the Asia-Pacific War.

COURSE DETAILS:

This course focuses on the Asia-Pacific War and its very long postwar, which may have still not come to an end insofar as so many issues arising from the war have not been satisfactorily resolved for individuals both in Japan and in the countries that were subjected to colonization and wartime occupation.  It thus covers both events during the war as well as how the war has been remembered by inviting students to examine events of continuing controversy, many of which arose from the problematic handling of war crimes. 

This is not a course dedicated to specific battles or military strategy, and students are forewarned that the course addresses events that can only be described as cruel.

Recommended: While it is not a prerequisite for this course, students who have taken a course on Japan prior to this one will be at an advantage.

Grading

  • Eight Page (double-spaced) Essay plus Bibliography 25%
  • Tutorial Work (Perusall: collaboratively commenting on weekly readings 30% and Weekly in-class discussion: formulating potential examination questions 20%) 50%
  • Examination 25%

NOTES:

The Department of History respectfully acknowledges the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), səl̓ilw̓ətaʔɬ (Tsleil-Waututh), q̓íc̓əy̓ (Katzie), kʷikʷəƛ̓əm (Kwikwetlem), qiqéyt (Qayqayt), qʼʷa:n̓ƛʼən̓ (Kwantlen), Səmyámə (Semiahmoo), and sc̓əwaθən (Tsawwassen) Peoples, on whose ancestral, traditional, and unceded territories Simon Fraser University’s three campuses stand. We are committed to reconciliation through decolonization and Indigenization.

Materials

REQUIRED READING:

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

SFU Library available online: https://ebookcentral-proquest-com.proxy.lib.sfu.ca/lib/sfu-ebooks/reader.action?docID=4963133&ppg=1

Tutorial readings (available through CANVAS)


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

RELIGIOUS ACCOMMODATION

Students with a faith background who may need accommodations during the semester are encouraged to assess their needs as soon as possible and review the Multifaith religious accommodations website. The page outlines ways they begin working toward an accommodation and ensure solutions can be reached in a timely fashion.