History OF Modern East Asia II (c.1868-1945) Japan & Korea

By Dr. Anuradha Kayal | Rabindra Bharati University

Learners enrolled: 359

JAPAN

Crisis in the Tokugawa Shogunate is an important phase in the Japanese history. The downfall of the Tokugawa Shogunate was followed by Meiji Restoration. Meiji Political reorganization, Military reforms, Social cultural, Educational and financial reforms are also highlighted, in the Japanese history. Meiji constitution is also an important part of Japanese history. Meiji revolution transform the domestic space in Japan. World War–I brought unprecedented human disaster to Europe, in Asia it brought some unexpected opportunities. From 1890s through the 1920s hybrid politics of imperial democracy emerged in Japan. A similar mixture of consensus on basic goals and a strategic contentions over how to achieve them marked Japanese foreign policy of the 1910s and 1920s. In 1937 Japanese troops emerged in a minor skirmish with the Chinese soldiers. The Pacific war began with swift dramatic victories for Japanese army and navy. The combination of two atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima (August 6, 1945) and Nagasaki (August 9, 1945) led the Japanese emperor to end the War. Japanese surrender marked a great drive in modern history.

KOREA

Korea is an ancient land with 2000 years of recorded history and a rich and distinctive cultural tradition. Korea today is divided into two rival states but this is a fairly recent development. The peninsular heartland of what is today’s Korea was united in 676 and except for one brief period remained so until the end of World War–II. A nation that arguably the most ethnically homogeneous in the world with thirteen century of political unity with national and provincial boundaries older than almost any other state was cut into halves by two super power. The history traces the origin and development of the Korean people and their culture from the varied tribal people who settled in the Pennisula to the two Koreas today. The remarkable continuity of Korea’s social and political history. The old order, the institutional decay of Joseon Korea, Koreas interaction with the western world, social, political and economic reforms of Korea, Japanese colonization and post war changes makes Korean history worthy of study.

Summary

Course Status :	Completed
Course Type :	Elective
Duration :	8 weeks
Category :
Credit Points :	2
Level :	Undergraduate
Start Date :	01 Feb 2021
End Date :	28 Mar 2021
Exam Date :

Page Visits

Course layout

Week 1

Module 1 : Tokugawa Shoganate

Module 2 : Meiji Restoration

Week 2

Module 3 : Political Reorganization & Military Reforms in Japan

Module 4 : Social, cultural and educational reforms (bunmeikaika)

& Financial reforms and educational development in the ‘Meiji’ era

Week 3

Module 5 : Meiji Constitution

Module 6 : Emergence of Japanese Imperial Power

Week 4

Module 7 : Popular and Democratic movements

Module 8 : Nature of political parties in Japan

Week 5

Module 9 : Japan and First World War, Washington Conference, Manchurian Crisis

Module 10 : Democracy, Militarism and second Sino Japanese War

Week 6

Module 11 : Japan and Second World War part 1

Module 12 : Japan and Second World War part 2

Week 7

Module 13 : Post-War Changes in Japan

Module 14 : The old order and Institutional Decay: Choson Korea

Module 15 : Korea’s interactions with the western powers and unequal treaties with Japan

Week 8

Module 16 : Social, political and economic reforms in Korea

Module 17 : Japan’s colonization: March First Movement and the growth of Korean nationalism; in situational transformation 1910-1945

Module 18 : Post-War Changes in Korea

Books and references

1. George Allen, A Short Economic History of Japan.

2. G. Beasley, The Modern History of Japan.

3. John K. Fairbank, et al., East Asia: Modern Transformation

4. Mikiso Hane, Modern Japan: A Historical Survey.

5. Y. Immanuel Hsu, The Rise of Modern China.

6. Jon Livingstone, et. al., The Japan Reader ( Imperial Japan : 1800 û 1945), Vol. I

7. E.H. Norman, Japan’s Emergence as a Modern State.

8. Nathaniel Peffer, The Far East: A Modern History.

9. Kenneth B. Pyle, The Making of Modern Japan.

10. Chow Tse Tung, The May Fourth Movement: Intellectual Revolution in Modern, China. 1913.

11. Michael J. Seth, A concise history of Modern Korea, Rowman and Littlefield,2009

Instructor bio

Dr. Anuradha Kayal

Rabindra Bharati University

Dr. Anuradha Kayal is presently working as a Professor in the Department of History Rabindra Bharati University, Kolkata. She has completed her M.Phil and Ph.D. from Calcutta University. She was the Head of the Department of History, Rabindra Bharati University (2016-2018). At present she is the M.Phil Co-ordinator in the Department of History, Rabindra Bharati University. She has authored a number of books including: Organization and Movement of White Collar Employees of West Bengal in Post Colonial Period 1947-77, Multi Dimensions of Colonial and Post Colonial Bengal (Editor), Studies In Bengal History (Forth Coming)