Modern History of East Asia

Bachelor 2023/2024

Category 'Best Course for New Knowledge and Skills'

Type: Compulsory course (HSE University and Kyung Hee University Double Degree Programme in Economics and Politics in Asia)

Area of studies: Foreign Regional Studies

Delivered by: Faculty of World Economy and International Affairs

Where: Faculty of World Economy and International Affairs

When: 1 year, 3, 4 module

Mode of studies: offline

Open to: students of one campus

Instructors: Бондаренко Никита Александрович, Olga Puzanova

Language: English

ECTS credits: 3

Contact hours: 84

Full Syllabus

Abstract

This course presents a general introduction to the history of East Asia from the origins of civilisations with a particular emphasis on the 17th century through to the 1990s, with a focus on the process of modernisation in China, Japan, and Korea. Adopting a comparative and international perspective, the course covers not only the domestic events in each of these countries but also looks at how they shaped and were shaped by the international developments in the broader region. Emphasis falls on a comprehensive understanding of the efforts of people across East Asia to respond to profound cultural, social, and economic challenges of the 19th and 20th centuries and to devise viable solutions. The course will prepare students for higher-level courses dealing with modern and contemporary East Asia.

Learning Objectives

➢ Students gain a working knowledge of the history of China, Japan, and Korea. This knowledge will serve both as a foundation for further study and as a tool for more effectively understanding today's world.
➢ Students learn to think critically and comparatively about historical events in East Asia.
➢ Students are able to understand and identify historical themes, causes, and effects.
➢ Students are able to utilise their knowledge and critical thinking abilities to consider primary and secondary sources on topics related to East Asia.
➢ Students acquire a comparative perspective on the history of East Asian societies.
➢ Students display knowledge about the origins and nature of contemporary issues and develop a foundation for future comparative understanding.
➢ Students think and speak critically about primary and secondary historical sources by examining diverse interpretations of past events and ideas in their historical contexts.

Expected Learning Outcomes

➢ Students will be able to analyse the causes and results of the hegemony of Japan in East Asia in the first half of the 20th century
➢ Students will be able to analyse the impact of Neo-Confucian orthodoxy, bushi and bourgeois culture on the development of Japan
➢ Students will gain the ability to discuss colonialism in Asia, its forms, the process of penetration, and the impact on the countries of the region
➢ Students will be able to analyse China's economic development after 1949
➢ Students will be able to analyse the impact of the Unequal treaties on Japan, the development of Japanese expansionism and the first attempts to colonise the nearby territories
➢ Students will be able to analyse the history of Japan’s participation in the Second World War, the reasons, the course of hostilities, and the results of this conflict
➢ Students will be able to analyse the politics of colonialism in Japan in Korea and Taiwan, achievements and crimes committed during colonial rule
➢ Students will be able to analyse the processes of economic development in Japan, Korea and Taiwan after the Second World War as well as the reasons for their rise
➢ Students will be able to discuss modern territorial issues in East Asia, the reasons for their appearance and possible solutions
➢ Students will be able to evaluate Joseon Korea's relations with China
➢ Students will be able to evaluate the Tokugawa events, from national unification to a new political order
➢ Students will be able to operate the basic economic models, compare them and decide which of them are most applicable to East Asia.
➢ Students will be able to take part in a discourse regarding the rise of imperialism in Japan and its expansion in China
➢ Students will be able to use the knowledge of East Asian history to analyse current trends and processes
Furthermore, the course should develop competencies outlined in the State Educational Standard in accordance with which the students will be:
UK-1 Capable of conducting research, critical analysis, and synthesis of information, applying a systemic approach to solve assigned tasks.
UK-5 Capable of perceiving intercultural diversity in society within socio-historical, ethical, and philosophical contexts.
OPK-3.ZRV Capable of identifying, systematising, and interpreting empirically significant data from information streams, as well as meaningful constructions in original texts and sources related to the profile of activity.
OPK-3.PPSN Capable of identifying, systematising, and interpreting empirically significant data from information streams, as well as meaningful constructions in original texts and sources related to the profile of activity.
OPK-4.ZRV Capable of establishing cause-and-effect relationships, providing characteristics and assessments of socio-political and socio-economic events and processes, revealing their connection with economic, social, and cultural-civilisational contexts, as well as with objective trends and patterns of comprehensive development at the global, macro-regional, national-state, regional, and local levels.
PK-3.ZRV Capable of justifying the connection between the situation in specialised regions and countries and Russia's foreign policy course.
PK-7.ZRV Capable of adhering to ethical standards in the field of international relations, recognising professional ethical limitations, and adhering to them in everyday practice.
PK-17.ZRV Capable of working with media materials in Russian and foreign languages, compiling press reviews on assigned topics, finding, collecting, and initially generalising factual material, making reasoned conclusions.
PK-18.ZRV Capable of scientifically interpreting data from domestic and foreign statistics on socio-economic and political processes and phenomena in regions and countries.

Course Contents

1) Course introduction and sources.
2) Historical thought and historiography in East Asia VS Europe.
3) East Asia and its place in history. Periodisation of history in East Asia.
4) Ancient China and its impact on the subsequent history of East Asia.
5) Dynasties prior to Ming.
6) Korea prior to the 15th century.
7) Japan up to the 16th century.
8) Ming dynasty in China.
9) Tokugawa shogunate in Japan.
10) Joseon Korea.
11) Early Qing Empire and its development.
12) The Qing encounters the West: the Opium Wars.
13) Rebellions in late-Qing China: the cases of the Taiping Rebellion, Nian Rebellion, and Dungan Revolt.
14) Meiji Japan: a case of effective modernisation. Domestic reforms and the end of the ancien régime.
15) Attempt at modernisation in late-Joseon Korea.
16) Failed modernisation and reform in the Qing Empire. The Boxer Rebellion.
17) The First Sino-Japanese War and its repercussions.
18) Midterm
19) The Russo-Japanese War: World War Zero?
20) The Korean Empire. The end of Joseon Korea and the Japanese occupation.
21) The Xinhai Revolution and the fall of the Qing Empire.
22) Taisho Democracy and the imperial expansion of Japan
23) East Asia in World War I.
24) East Asia in the interbellum.
25) The Pacific War: historical background and causes.
26) The Pacific War: stages.
27) Consequences and legacies of the Pacific War in East Asia.
28) Japan during the Allied Occupation.
29) The Cold War in Asia.
30) The Korean war.
31) Political and economic developments in China in the 1950s-1960s.
32) China’s external relations. The Sino-Soviet Split and its consequences.
33) China in the 1980-1990s.
34) The Japanese economic miracle.
35) South Korea after Syngman Rhee. On the road towards democratisation.
36) North Korea: post-war developments.
37) The rise of China and its current state.
38) Japan following the late-1980s: the lost decades.
39) South and North Korea following the 1990s

Assessment Elements

Attendance
Students are expected to attend every class as attendance is counted towards the final grade (5%). In exceptional circumstances, advance notice must be handed in or emailed to the lecturer as well as the academic office of the programme. If a class is held online, cameras must be on at all times, otherwise the lecturer reserves the right to mark it zero. ● Two absences are excused per term. In case of a student’s absence for a valid reason, the student must provide a valid Certificate of Illness/Medical Note to the Students’ Office within one working day following the end of their sick leave, alternatively their absence will be graded as 0 (zero). Each additional absence beyond the allowed number may lower the final grade for the course. ● Additionally, if the student has three or more absences per term without a valid reason, they receive 0 (zero) for the “Attendance” part of the final grade.
Class Participation
Active participation is counted towards the final grade (25%). All students are expected to participate by contributing to the in-class discussions, answering questions, participating in group projects, and making notes and presentations. The statements and answers to the questions must contain well-formulated arguments, which clearly articulate the student’s position. To do this, students must demonstrate high-quality preparation for the seminar: read the assigned literature and be ready to perform a critical evaluation of it. The maximum number of participation credits earned by each individual student per class is limited to 8 (points). At the end of the course, it is decided which students receive automatic passes out of the whole course. Following this, the rest of the students’ participation grades are calculated and highest participation scores are established. These scores become the maximum for the participation component. The grades of the rest of the students are calculated based on the following formula: student’s points / maximum number of points * 25. In the end, the student receives a certain percentage number for this component. Example: the maximum number of participation points is 80. Student A earned 40 participation points. His/her grade is: 40/80*25=12.5%
Final Exam
The results of the final exam are counted towards the final grade (50%). It is an oral examination during which each student is presented with three questions covering the period from 1830s onwards in the following countries: China, Japan, Korea (later, South or North Korea). Each candidate must choose two out of three questions and answer them in a comprehensive manner. All questions are weighted equally. Additional follow-up questions will be asked by the examiners. Each student is given ten minutes in total to prepare for answers and may not leave the examination room from the point of being assigned questions until the end of his response. The use of mobile phones is strictly prohibited from the moment the student enters the classroom until the end of the examination. Candidates are not permitted to bring anything along with them to the examination room. Writing supplies will be given out during the examination. Any form of academic dishonesty, including but not limited to bringing mobile phones, headphones of any size and other electronic and/or cheating equipment results in the grade of 0 (zero) for the examination, in accordance with the University regulations. The grades are to be announced to the participants at the end of each examination day. Students eligible for an automatic pass for the course are exempt from the final examination (i.e. they receive a grade for the course without having to do the examination). This eligibility is based upon the accumulated grade consisting of performance (participation) component earned during the classes combined with the presentation and attendance grades. The following criteria apply to the automatic pass assignment: - top 4% of the overall number of students with highest accumulated grades are eligible for an automatic pass of 10, - the following 4% of students with high accumulated grades but below the previous category are eligible for an automatic pass of 9, - the following 3% of students with high accumulated grades but below the previous category are eligible for an automatic pass of 8.
Presentations Grade
A presentation is a form of assessment which not only captures the research conducted by students, but also develops a range of cognitive and transferable skills. A cumulative grade for presentations constitutes 20% of the final grade. A common format is an in-class presentation on a prepared topic, often supported by visual aids followed by a brief Q&A session. Presentations can be performed individually or in groups of no more than two people. Depth of understanding of the subject, ability to put it in a wider international/historical context and assess its significance for the field of study is what is expected of every presenter. The highest number of credits earned by each participant is 4 (points). Students are required to pay particular attention to the context in which the event took place (or a certain personality lived/worked), what caused the events to unfold in a certain way, what was happening in other parts of the world at the time, if it is relevant, how the event/s unfolded, which sides took part and who benefited from it, how it ended and what the broader implications (consequences) were for the countries and societies involved and observing it. Students should be ready to answer the question: why is this event/personality important? At the end of the course, it is decided which students receive automatic passes out of the whole course. Following this, the rest of the students’ presentation grades are calculated and highest presentation scores are established. These scores become the maximum for the presentation component. The grades of the rest of the students are calculated based on the following formula: student’s points / maximum number of points * 20. In the end, the student receives a certain percentage number for this component.

Interim Assessment

2023/2024 4th module
0.05 * Attendance + 0.25 * Class Participation + 0.5 * Final Exam + 0.2 * Presentations Grade

Bibliography

Recommended Core Bibliography

A history of East Asia : from the origins of civilization to the twenty-first century, Holcombe, C., 2022
The Cambridge history of Japan : Vol. 1 - 6, , 2006
История Японии : учебник / под редакцией Д. В. Стрельцова. — 2-е изд. — Москва : Аспект Пресс, 2018. — 592 с. — ISBN 978-5-7567-0932-2. — Текст : электронный // Лань : электронно-библиотечная система. — URL: https://e.lanbook.com/book/112507 (дата обращения: 00.00.0000). — Режим доступа: для авториз. пользователей.
Курбанов, С. О. История Кореи: с древности до начала XXI в. : монография / С. О. Курбанов. - 4-е изд., испр. - Санкт-Петербург : СПбГУ, 2022. - 744 с. - ISBN 978-5-288-06225-4. - Текст : электронный. - URL: https://znanium.com/catalog/product/1907095

Recommended Additional Bibliography

A history of East Asia : from the origins of civilization to the twenty-first century, Holcombe, C., 2011
De Weerdt, H. (2016). The Cambridge History of China Volume 5. Sung China, 960–1279 AD Part 2. Edited by John W. Chaffee and Denis Twitchett . Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2015. 957pp. ISBN: 9780521243308. $190.00, £99.99 (cloth), $152, £94.08 (ebook). Journal of Chinese History ; Volume 1, Issue 1, Page 198-202 ; ISSN 2059-1632 2059-1640. https://doi.org/10.1017/jch.2016.23
The Cambridge history of China. Vol.1: The Ch'in and Han empires, 221 B.C.- A.D. 220, , 2006
The Cambridge history of China. Vol.13: Republican China, 1912-1949. Part 2, , 2002
The Cambridge history of China. Vol.5: Part one: the sung dynasty and its precursors, 907-1279, , 2009
The Cambridge history of China. Vol.6: Alien regimes and border states, 907-1368, , 2007
The Cambridge history of China. Vol.8: The Ming Dynasty, 1368-1644, Part 2, , 2007
The Cambridge history of China. Vol.9: Part one: the Ch'ing empire to 1800, , 2002

Authors

Базарова Евгения Сергеевна
PUZANOVA OLGA VADIMOVNA

Course Syllabus