To provide students who have no previous background in the subject
with a fundamental acquaintance with the historical, religious,
political, economic, and social traditions of East Asia, a
foundation upon which they can build in future studies.
Athena Title
East Asia in the World
Equivalent Courses
Not open to students with credit in HIST 2600H
Grading System
A - F (Traditional)
Student Learning Outcomes
By the end of this course, students will be able to arrive at conclusions about the history of East Asian civilizations by gathering and weighing evidence, logical argument, and listening to counter argument.
By the end of this course, students will be able to write stylistically appropriate papers and essays. Students will be able to analyze ideas and evidence, organize their thoughts, and revise and edit their finished essays.
By the end of this course, students will be able to identify how East Asian history has shaped social and cultural identities around class, religion, and national identity, and encouraging them to understand diverse worldviews and experiences.
Topical Outline
1. Introduction to the Course: Organizational Meeting
2. The Problem of Origins: Pre-History and Myth in China and Japan
3. The Shang Dynasty: The Evidence of Absence
4. The Western Zhou Dynasty: The Mandate of Heaven
5. The Eastern Zhou Dynasty: Warring States and Sanctioned Violence
6. Foundations of Classical Chinese Thought: Finding the Way
7. The Qin Dynasty: Creation of the Early Imperial Order
8. The Han Dynasty: Consolidation and Expansion of the Early Imperial Order
9. Chinese Buddhism: Assimilating Doctrines and Transforming Practices
10. The Sui and Tang Dynasties: Reunification and Fragmentation
11. Early Japan: Buddhism, Confucianism, and State Formation
12. Heian Japan: Shining Princes and Aristocratic Monks
13. The Tang-Song Transition: Early Modern Transformations of China
14. The Song Dynasty: Of Wen and Wu
15. Medieval Japan: The Rise of the Samurai and the Kamakura Shogunate
16. Medieval Japan: The Buddhist Soul of a Civilization
17. The Yuan Dynasty: Welcome to the Occupation
18. The Ming Dynasty: The Embarrassment of Riches
19. Muromachi and Sengoku Japan: “Feudalism” and Reunification
20. Tokugawa Japan to 1800: Tamed Samurai and Floating Worlds
21. The Qing Dynasty to 1800: Calm Before the Storm?
22. China 1800-60: Breaking in and Breaking Up
23. Japan 1800-68: The Collapse of the Tokugawa Order
24. Japan 1868-1900: The Meiji Transformation
25. China 1860-1911: The Collapse of the Imperial Order
26. Japan 1900-45: Militarism, War, and Embracing Defeat
27. China 1911-49: The Long Revolution
General Education Core
CORE IV: World Languages and Global Culture CORE V: Social Sciences
