Course Outline for History 19
Hist Modern China and Japan

Effective: Fall 2003
SLO Rev: 02/21/2017
Catalog Description:

HIS 19 - Hist Modern China and Japan

3.00 Units

History and culture of modern China and Japan. Social, political, economic and cultural structures and processes; ideologies and leadership; modernization and development; and selected aspects of regional and international interactions.
Optional
Type Units Inside of Class Hours Outside of Class Hours Total Student Learning Hours
Lecture 3.00 54.00 108.00 162.00
Total 3.00 54.00 108.00 162.00
Measurable Objectives:
Upon completion of this course, the student should be able to:
  1. identify the broad outlines of the history and development of modern China and Japan;
  2. identify the complexity of Chinese and Japanese cultures--varied religious and cultural traditions and diverse peoples;
  3. define the geopolitical roles of China and Japan with respect to Asia and the Pacific Rim countries;
  4. assess the development and modernization of financial and production structures in each country;
  5. interpret and compare the ideological and political developments within each country;
  6. define the foreign policy goals of China and Japan.
Course Content:
  1. Intrusion of the West:  China
    1. Opium War
    2. China and the West
    3. Taiping Rebellion
    4. Qing Restoration
  2. Intrusion of the West: Japan
    1. "Opening" of Japan    
    2. Meiji Restoration
    3. Dismantling Feudalism
    4. Crisis of 1873
  3. Emergence of Modern Japan:  1874-1984
    1. Meiji Constitution
    2. Natural Law
    3. Social Darwinism
    4. Education
    5. The Arts
    6. Modernization of the Economy
    7. Zaibatsu
    8. Military
  4. Reform Movements in China;  1874-1984
    1. Self-Strengthening
    2. Education
    3. Traditional Economic Sector
    4. Missionary Efforts
    5. Foreign Relations
    6. Vietnam and the Sino-French War of 1884-85
    7. Korea and Sino-Japanese War of 1894-95
    8. Treaty of Shimoneoseki
  5. Old order and the Struggle for the New:  China 1895-1927
    1. Reformers
    2. Boxer Uprising
    3. Revolutionaries
    4. Revolution of 1911
    5. Yuan Shikai
    6. Warlord Era
    7. Intellectual Ferment
    8. Marxism in China
    9. Guomindang and Sun Yat-sen
    10. National Government
  6. Limits of success:  Japan 1895-1931
    1. Late Meiji
    2. Taisho Period
    3. First World War
    4. Politics and Government
    5. Art and Culture
  7. China, Japan and Second World War
    1. Manchurian Incident
    2. Road to War
    3. Chinese Communist
    4. United Front
    5. Pacific War
    6. End of the War
  8. Aftermath of the Second World War
    1. New Order
    2. Civil War and Communism
    3. Japan Under Occupation
    4. Korea and Vietnam
    5. International Relations after the Korean War
    6. Vietnam War  
  9. Contemporary Japan
    1. Economy
    2. Social Change and Quality of Life
    3. Arts and Culture
  10. New China
    1. Communist China
    2. Great Leap Forward
    3. Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution
    4. China After Mao
    5. Taiwan
    6. Arts and Culture
Methods of Instruction:
  1. Lecture/Discussion
  2. Student report
Assignments and Methods of Evaluating Student Progress:
  1. Assigned readings for class discussion and book reviews on selected topics such as Boxer Uprising, Korea and Sino, Japanese War, Growth of Maxism and World War II
  2. Five to ten page historical paper on selected topics such as Religious Practices, Dynastis, Japanese and Chinese contact with the West
  3. Mapping exercises
  4. Historical film reviews
  1. Exams/Tests
  2. Quizzes
  3. Papers
  4. Final Examination
Upon the completion of this course, the student should be able to:
  1. Analyze the causes and consequences of political, economic and social change
  2. Synthesize factual information and historical evidence from a variety of sources and identify the connections between them
  3. The students will demonstrate a body of knowledge about and critical understanding of historical eras, their key events and ideas, and the process of change over time
Textbooks (Typical):
  1. Conran Schirokauer (1992). Modern China and Japan: A Brief History Harcourt Publishers.
Abbreviated Class Schedule Description: