Time Schedule:
David Spafford
HIST 388
Seattle Campus
Introduction to the discipline of history for new or prospective majors. Emphasizes the basic skills of reading, analysis, and communication (both verbal and written) that are central to the historian's craft. Each seminar discusses a different subject or problem.
Class description
In popular imagination, premodern Japan has long been associated with its hereditary warrior class. Countless movies (most recently the appalling Last Samurai) have explored the character and martial prowess of these men. Yet warriors constituted but a tiny portion of the societies they inhabited and ruled, and historians researching the medieval Japan have turned their attentions to a great range of subjects and to other classes (elite and commoner alike). This seminar is designed to acquaint prospective history majors with the challenge of researching the broader world of medieval Japan (ca. 1110-1600). In the course of the quarter, students shall be introduced to some of the central themes in the historiography of "warrior society" and to the peculiarities (both limitations and opportunities) of research in premodern history.
Student learning goals
General method of instruction
Seminar format
Recommended preparation
Class assignments and grading
Class assignments and grading will be outlined in the course syllabus.
