Course Description
A survey of the history of urbanism in East Asia through five
cities: Han and Tang Chang’an, Song Kaifeng, Ming-Qing Beijing,
and Tokugawa-era Edo, and their transformation into contemporary
megacities. Readings will focus on the lives of everyday people,
exploring the urban experience through visual and material
culture.
Athena Title
East Asian Cities
Prerequisite
Any 2000-level HIST course
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 cities 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 the history of East Asian cities shaped diverse social and cultural attitudes toward environmental landscapes, family organization, and notions of belonging, encouraging them to understand diverse worldviews and experiences.
- By the end of this course, students will be able to apply appropriate methodological approaches to their analysis of primary sources and to organize their evidence to show historical continuities and discontinuities.
Topical Outline
- 1. Han-dynasty Chang’an: foundations of Chinese urbanism
- 2. Tang-dynasty Chang’an: cosmopolitanism and the world city
- 3. Heian’era Kyoto: Chinese templates for the first Japanese city
- 4. Song-dynasty Kaifeng: the early-modern urban revolution
- 5. Ming and Qing-dynasty Beijing: imperial megaprojects and everyday life
- 6. Tokugawa-era Edo: Japanese patterns of urbanism and commercialization
- 7. Contemporary Beijing: Post-1949 interventions in the urban landscape
- 8. Contemporary Tokyo: Post-war interventions in the modern megacity
Institutional Competencies
Analytical Thinking
The ability to reason, interpret, analyze, and solve problems from a wide array of authentic contexts.
Communication
The ability to effectively develop, express, and exchange ideas in written, oral, interpersonal, or visual form.
Critical Thinking
The ability to pursue and comprehensively evaluate information before accepting or establishing a conclusion, decision, or action.
