The Far East in World Politics Since 1894 (HI0135)

? Credit Points : 20 ? SCQF Level : 10 ? Acronym : HCA-3-FEWP

The course commences by setting the scene in terms of the opening up of China and Japan to the trade and political and cultural influences of the nations of the West in the nineteenth century and the very differing degrees of success in response to this of the two nations (with some reference also to Korea). Two of the major wars of the two decades before 1914 were in east Asia, the Sino-Japanese in 1894-1895 and the Russo-Japanese in 1904-1905. These placed east Asia at the centre of world politics for a time. However, it did not last; only some lesser origins of the First World War were Far Eastern. The Bolshevik revolution in Russia and the enhanced importance of Japan from simply emerging unscathed from the war led to a major effort by the also rising United States in the 1920s to reassert he Anglo-American concept of international order in the region, including a conciliatory response to China's demands for international equality of status. Japan at first responded positively and then, with economic problems as both a reason and a catalyst, completely rejected that order. That raised the questions of whether the Second World War really began with the Japanese aggression against China in Manchuria in 1931, the willingness of China, despite inferior resources, to resist Japan, the latter's relationship with the German Third Reich, the reasons why the 1939 war in Europe extended to the Far East with the Pearl Harbor attack, and the war aims of Japan and the Western Powers in east Asia between 1941 and 1945.

Entry Requirements

? Pre-requisites : A pass in any first level historical course and any second level historical course or equivalent. Before enrolling students on this course, Directors are asked to contact the History Honours Admissions Secretary to ensure that a place is available (tel. 503783).

Variants

? This course has variants for part year visiting students, as follows

The Far East in World Politics Since 1894 (VS1) (Semester 1 (Blocks 1-2))

Subject Areas

Home subject area

History, (School of History, Classics and Archaeology, Schedule E)

Delivery Information

? Normal year taken : 3rd year

? Delivery Period : Semester 1 (Blocks 1-2)

? Contact Teaching Time : 2 hour(s) per week for 11 weeks

First Class Information

Date	Start	End	Room	Area	Additional Information
24/09/2007	14:00	15:50	Room 11.18, David Hume Tower	Central

All of the following classes

Type	Day	Start	End	Area
Lecture	Monday	14:00	15:50	Central

Summary of Intended Learning Outcomes

The course aims to develop students' historical skills and expand their knowledge of an area that is likely to increase in importance, despite recent economic misfortunes. Many of the benefits will arise from the study (inevitably not all-encompassing and not in great depth) of change over a period of about one hundred years. It will draw contrasts between two periods of roughly equal length. In the first (1894-1945) the Far East (except for Japan) was the object of the imperialist attentions of western powers and of Japan. Chiefly of interest to them as a source of raw materials and as an outlet for goods and services from more developed countries, it experienced exploitation and warfare. In the second half (since 1945) the course will focus on the Far East as a more autonomous set of agents in the conflicts of the Cold War and the complexities of the post Cold War world.
The core countries will be China and Japan. The course will start by focusing on the Far Eastern ambitions and interests of the Western great powers, including the ambiguities of American policy and of Japan and the responses to them of China in particular. A unifying issue will be the relationship between appearances (or claims) and reality. Was Japanese policy completely selfish or was there any basis to claims of a regional liberating mission? Was there any substance, other than self-interest, behind copious American expressions of goodwill for China? Did the post 1917 Soviet regime have anything new to offer east Asia or only a veiled continuation of tsarist imperialism? These are the sort of questions that will be in mind during our examination of wars and international crises in the area. After 1945 the course somewhat changes in character along the lines indicated above.