MODERN JAPAN*

概要

This course provides an overview of the transnational humanitarian histories of modern and contemporary Japan in the Asia-Pacific within both local and global contexts. It focuses on the history of the Japanese Red Cross movement and covers topics in Japanese history from the end of Tokugawa Shogunate to the present day. It first explores the economic, cultural, and political interactions between the Asia-Pacific and the West in the framework of Japan as an axis and examines Japan’s modernisation and its impact, as well as the varying responses and reactions of East Asian countries to imperialism. Interactions with humanitarian movements in Japan accelerated the so-called ‘globalisation’ in Asia-Pacific, thereby altering the trajectory of the modern world. The course provides an introduction to both the classic and recent historiography on contemporary Japan, and explores the post-industrial society of Japan as a case study of a country facing numerous challenges in the contemporary world. It explores what a sustainable society is by focusing on international humanitarianism, security, ageing society, energy policy, disaster preparedness, the crisis of capitalism, gender, and digital technology. This course focuses on humanitarian crises in Japan brought about by modernisation and wars in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, and by post-industrial challenges of the twenty-first century. Doing so will enable students to understand the pros and cons of modernity – its progress and retreat within the context of global history.

目標

Our work begins with close reading of the assigned texts and the textbook. Lectures are designed to supplement the required readings; seminar-style discussions will allow students to clarify questions raised in class, discuss assigned reading, and prepare for assignments. Each class is designed to introduce students to the intellectual tools necessary for historical inquiry. Participants are expected to engage in small-group discussions that are structured to elicit questions about each session’s reading assignment. While learning the facts of Japanese and East Asian history, students will be required to engage in critical reading of primary and secondary sources to develop analytical thinking and writing skills, and to learn the use of electronic and print-based research tools. Class presentations and essays provide an opportunity to synthesize material in preparation for the studies, which may draw on any and all required reading, class lectures, and seminar discussions. Ultimately, the aim of this course is to develop students’ interests in the history of Japan and East Asia and to equip participants to fulfil their potential. Training critical readers of texts will be one of the most important purposes of this course.

授業外の学習

Preparation of class materials and reading assignments (120 minutes). Review class lecture (70 minutes)

所要時間: 190 minutes per class