Time Schedule:
Kenneth B Pyle
HSTAS 424
Seattle Campus
The making of modern Japan; World War II and surrender; American occupation; postoccupation rebuilding; emergence as an industrial power. Recommended: SISEA 242. Offered: jointly with SISEA 440.
Class description
This course studies Japan's post-World War II experience and gives considerable emphasis to US-Japan relations. It begins with the American decision to use the atomic bomb and the Japanese decision to surrender. It continues with consideration of the American occupation of Japan, Japan's formation of a new national purpose concentrating on economics, the mechanisms of rapid economic growth, postwar nationalism, the US-Japan alliance, development of Japanese-style democracy, the values of middle-class Japan, and Japan's troubles in the post-Cold War era, the growing concerns over tensions on the Korean peninsula, and the rise of China. This is a W course.
Student learning goals
General method of instruction
Lectures, class discussions, and video presentations.
Recommended preparation
No prerequisites.
Class assignments and grading
Readings to illustrate and expand on coverage in lectures. A research paper on a topic of the student's choice, approved by the instructor of approximately 7-10 pages.
An hour exam counts 25%, paper 25%, and final exam 50%.
