East Asia: Past and Present
This course surveys the history of East Asia from early times to the present. We will discuss the establishment of various sociopolitical orders and their characteristics along side major cultural developments. Covered topics include: state formation and dissolution; the role of ideology and how it changes; religious beliefs and values; agriculture, commerce, and industry; changing family relations; responses to Western imperialism; and East Asia’s place in the modern world. Although a main focus will be on understanding how the regions we now know as China, Japan, and Korea emerged with their respective identities, the course will also give attention to various Inner Asian groups that are rarely noticed in the contemporary West but nonetheless historically important, such as the Khitans, Jurchens, Mongols, and Manchus.