Modern East Asia

This course covers East Asian History from 1600 to the present with a focus is on the tumultuous 19th and 20th centuries, when China, Japan, Korea, and Vietnam underwent rapid social and political transformations in response to unprecedented internal and external pressures. Our goal is to develop a deep understanding of key historical ˜moments, such as the Opium War and the Meiji Restoration, and the ability to situate those moments in the greater context of East Asian history. Lectures will be broad in scope while readings will be more narrowly focused. The course format will alternate between lecture and open-ended discussion. The course is structured in four major units as follows: Unit 1: East Asian Order from 1600-1839 Unit 2: Crisis and Adaptation (1839-1895) Unit 3: A New Balance of Power (1895-1945) Unit 4: Rebuilding after World War II (1945-present)