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DEGREE REGULATIONS & PROGRAMMES OF STUDY 2015/2016

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DRPS : Course Catalogue : School of Literatures, Languages and Cultures : Asian Studies

Undergraduate Course: Modern East Asian History A (ASST08042)

Course Outline
SchoolSchool of Literatures, Languages and Cultures CollegeCollege of Humanities and Social Science
Credit level (Normal year taken)SCQF Level 8 (Year 1 Undergraduate) AvailabilityAvailable to all students
SCQF Credits20 ECTS Credits10
SummaryThis course offers a political, social and cultural history of Japan from 1600 to the present day with an emphasis on understanding Japan in the context of East Asian modernity.

Students will be introduced to the most important characteristics of society and intellectual life in this period, including the literature and art of Japan and East Asia. For intending Honours students in History, Modern East Asian History: Japan provides an opportunity to learn about the histories and cultures of an increasingly important part of the globe, and is a useful foundation for History Honours courses on China, Japan and Vietnam given in the third and fourth years. For all students, the course aims to provide insight into cultures that in many respects differ fundamentally from Western civilization and to enhance understanding of the social and cultural bases of the nations of East Asia.
Course description This course covers the following topics:

Week 1:

Modernity and East Asia
An outline of Tokugawa Japan

Week 2:

Distinctiveness of Tokugawa Culture
Entertainment in Tokugawa

Week 3:

Intellectual currents in Tokugawa
Cultural Transmission from Korea to Japan

Week 4:

The Bakumatsu Period
Japan's Changing Role in East Asia, 1853-1905

Week 5:

Political and Social Developments in Japan, 1868-1912
Revisiting Modernity in East Asia: The Case of Japan

Week 6:

The Taish¿ Democracy, 1905-1931
Cultural responses to modernisation

Week 7:

Japanese ultra-nationalism and imperial expansion in the 1930s
Japanese Expansion in East Asia, 1931-1945

Week 8:

Korea under Japanese colonial rule
Women in Japanese Society

Week 9:

Rebuilding Japan after the Pacific War
Political activism in the 60s and 70s

Week 10:

Japanese civil society
Literary responses post-war change

Week 11:

1989: A new era?
Japan, East Asia and the World
Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
Pre-requisites Co-requisites
Prohibited Combinations Other requirements None
Information for Visiting Students
Pre-requisitesNone
High Demand Course? Yes
Course Delivery Information
Academic year 2015/16, Available to all students (SV1) Quota:  None
Course Start Semester 1
Timetable Timetable
Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) Total Hours: 200 ( Lecture Hours 22, Seminar/Tutorial Hours 9, Summative Assessment Hours 2, Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 4, Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours 163 )
Assessment (Further Info) Written Exam 50 %, Coursework 50 %, Practical Exam 0 %
Additional Information (Assessment) Essay (2500 words): 50%
2-hour class exam (December): 50%
Feedback Feedback is an essential element of the learning process and an important part of this course.

You will receive written formative feedback for a mini-essay to be completed and submitted in the middle of the semester. You will also receive written feedback for your final essay.

In both instances the feedback will be provided within fifteen days. It is important that you make use of the feedback from teaching staff to reflect on your own learning and study in preparation for the final examination.
Exam Information
Exam Diet Paper Name Hours & Minutes
Main Exam Diet S1 (December)2:00
Resit Exam Diet (August)2:00
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
  1. Recall and summarise a broad account of Japanese history from 1600 to the present day
  2. Summarise and evaluate selected academic debates related to key historical events in Japan.
  3. Explain the main drivers of Japanese modernity within the context of the East Asia region
  4. Make critical use of a ride range of primary and secondary sources to explain key transformations in Japanese society
  5. Critically situate current social, political and cultural developments in Japan within their historical context
Reading List
None
Additional Information
Graduate Attributes and Skills Not entered
Additional Class Delivery Information You are required to attend 2 lectures and 1 tutorial per week.
KeywordsJapan,East Asia,History,Modernity
Contacts
Course organiserProf Urs Matthias Zachmann
Tel: (0131 6)50 4225
Email: U.Zachmann@ed.ac.uk
Course secretaryMr David Horn
Tel: (0131 6)50 4227
Email: david.horn@ed.ac.uk
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