2020年度

＜概要/Course Content Summary＞

The course is a survey of modern Japanese history. We will begin with the Edo period to study the origins of modern Japan. We will then consider the breakdown of Tokugawa rule， the construction of a modern nation-state during the Meiji period， the events leading to the Greater East Asia/Pacific War， and the legacy of war memories. We will then move on to the postwar period， focusing on the U.S. Occupation， the U.S.-Japan security alliance， and the causes and consequences of high economic growth. We will conclude with an examination of Japanese politics and popular culture in the post-Cold War era. 　
We will be reading primary documents translated from Japanese throughout the course to familiarize ourselves with the debates and concerns of people living in Japan from each era in focus. An underlying theme of the course will be the connections between politics and changes in society. We will therefore pay close attention to the geopolitical and economic structures underpinning the visible transformations in modern Japanese society， and identify as much as possible the connections between cultural trends and political-economic transformations.

＜到達目標/Goals,Aims＞

Students will gain a solid understanding of the history of modern Japan in addition to a more critical perspective on how our understanding of that history has been shaped. They will also gain greater familiarity with the multiple ways in which the same set of historical facts or events can be understood and interpreted differently depending on the ideological and historical perspective of the student.

＜授業計画/Schedule＞

＜成績評価基準/Evaluation Criteria＞

＜テキスト/Textbook＞