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DEGREE REGULATIONS & PROGRAMMES OF STUDY 2021/2022

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

Undergraduate Course: Korean-Japanese Relations: Historical and Contemporary Issues (ASST10140)

Course Outline
SchoolSchool of Literatures, Languages and Cultures CollegeCollege of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences
Credit level (Normal year taken)SCQF Level 10 (Year 4 Undergraduate) AvailabilityAvailable to all students
SCQF Credits20 ECTS Credits10
SummaryThis course examines the politics of the Korean-Japanese relationship in historical and contemporary context. It looks at a number of key issues that have shaped this complex relationship and explores the puzzles of why events from the past have grown more contentious between the two states over time.
Course description This course will be taught as an interactive seminar in which students will have the chance to engage in small group discussions on the weekly topics, facilitated by the instructor. Students will also give a class presentation on their chosen essay topic and will receive feedback from the instructor and their peers.

The course examines the major historical and contemporary political developments in Korean-Japanese relations from the early 20th century to the present. It begins by tracing the trajectory of the Korean peninsula from the stomping ground of the great powers to its subjugation under Japanese colonial rule. It proceeds to look at how the peninsula became divided into northern and southern spheres, demarcated by the most heavily militarised border in the world. It then examines the state-building practices and political economies of the emergent two Koreas and the role of Japan therein. Lastly, it explores the nature of Korea-Japan relations at present.
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
Not being delivered
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
  1. Debate key issues and debates pertaining to North and South Korea's domestic and foreign politics
  2. Analyse the historical and contemporary developments on the Korean peninsula in cultural, historical and theoretical contexts
  3. Design research questions and critically assess source material
  4. Apply conceptual and methodological tools that will assist with completing the MSc dissertations in International Relations and Political Science
Reading List
Suh, J.J., Katzenstein, P.J., and Carlson, A., eds., Rethinking Security in East Asia: Identity, Power, and Efficiency. Stanford, Calif.: Stanford University Press, 2004.
Duus, P., The Abacus and the Sword: the Japanese Penetration of Korea, 1895-1910, Berkeley: University of California Press, 1995.
Ramon Myers et al. The Japanese colonial empire, 1895-1945, Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 1984.
Hasegawa, T., (ed.), The Cold War in East Asia, 1945-1991, Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2011.
Wada, H., The Korean War: an International History, Lanham, Maryland: Rowman & Littlefield, 2014.
Armstrong, C.K., Tyranny of the weak: North Korea and the world, 1950-1992, Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 2013.
Pempel, T.J.(ed.), The Economy-Security Nexus in Northeast Asia, New York: Routledge, 2012.
Kim, Samuel S., The two Koreas and the Great Powers, Cambridge; NewYork: Cambridge University Press, 2006.
Armstrong, C. (ed.), Korean Society: Civil Society, Democracy and the State, 2nd ed., Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge, 2006.

Additional Information
Graduate Attributes and Skills The course will contribute to your analytic skills, as you examine texts written in different genres and explore their authorship, contexts, and audiences. Also as you identify, locate, and select from appropriate materials relating to specific areas of enquiry, your research skills will also be significantly enhanced.
KeywordsKorean politics,Japanese politics,international relations,Korea,Japan,politics
Contacts
Course organiserDr Holly Stephens
Tel: (0131 6)51 7112
Email: holly.stephens@ed.ac.uk
Course secretaryMrs Vivien MacNish Porter
Tel: (0131 6)50 3528
Email: vivien.macnish-porter@ed.ac.uk
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