History 343: Modern East Asia

Spring Semester 2013

6:30 – 9:10 Tuesdays

 

Instructor:

Dr. John Moser
119 Andrews
(419) 289-5231

E-mail

Office Hours: 10:00 am – 12:00 noon Tuesdays and Thursdays, or by appointment
 

Required Reading:

Mark C. Carnes and Daniel K. Gardner, Confucianism and the Succession Crisis of the Wanli Emperor.  New York: Pearson, 2004.  ISBN: 032133230X

 

Confucius, The Analects.  New York: Penguin, 1979.  ISBN: 0140443486

 

Wm. Theodore de Bary, Carol Gluck, and Arthur E. Tiedemann, eds., Sources of Japanese Tradition, Volume II: 1600-2000, Part Two: 1868 to 2000, Abridged Edition.  New York: Columbia University Press, 2006.  ISBN: 0231139195

 

John B. Duncan and Jennifer Jung-Kim, Korea at the Crossroads of Civilizations: Confucianism, Westernization, and the 1894 Kabo Reforms (Course Packet, 2011).

 

John Moser, Japan, the West, and the Road to World War, 1940-41 (Course Packet, 2011).


Other readings online, on reserve, or to be supplied by the instructor. 

 

 

Course Description:

 

This course will consider the political, diplomatic, and cultural history of East Asia—specifically China, Korea, and Japan—from the late 16th century to the present.  Specifically it will focus on three subjects—Confucianism as traditionally understood, the 19th century challenge of Western ideas to East Asian traditions, and the Japanese drive for hegemony over East Asia in the mid-20th century.  We will examine each of these in considerable detail through the use of role-playing simulations from the Reacting to the Past series.  This means that each student will actually take on the role of an important official in Beijing in 1587, in Pyongyang in 1894, and Tokyo in 1940-41.

 

 

Course Policies:

 

Although this is a face-to-face course, we will be using the learning management software ANGEL for many of its features.  A site has been created within ANGEL for this course, and all students enrolled will have access to it.  Certain course readings have been uploaded to it, as have your role descriptions.  You will be expected to upload your written work there as well.  If you have never used ANGEL before, you should familiarize yourself with its operation by visiting http://angel.ashland.edu and downloading the Student Quickstart guide, located on the right-hand side of the page.

 

The following factors will make up your final grade—

 

Papers (40%)

 

The number of written assignments, as well as their length, their subject matter, and when they are due, will depend on the role that you play in each simulation.  You may expect to write roughly 6,000 words (that is, about 17-20 pages) over the course of the semester, and each paper must be written in character; that is, it is to be written as the person you are portraying would have written. 

 

Each of your papers will receive a score out of 20, broken down as follows:

I. Logic (5 pts). This rubric assesses the structural soundness of your argument. Is your paper well-organized? Does it lead the reader/audience through a series of logical steps, each well-supported by appropriate evidence, to your conclusion? Do you use logically appropriate “transition words” (and, yet, but, because, whereas, nevertheless, furthermore, however, therefore, etc.) to connect each sentence to the next, and each paragraph to the next? If you have resorted to any logical fallacies in the hope of bamboozling your audience, have you correctly labeled these in your footnotes? (If I find a logical fallacy that you have not labeled, I will assume it is a mistake and deduct points.)

II. Content (5 pts). This rubric assesses whether or not you have “done your homework” on the issues your speech addresses. Your Game Book and role sheet do not contain everything you need to know in order to make an argument for your position. They only tell you what you want to happen and (broadly) why. This is not enough material with which to persuade someone else to share your opinion – especially if that person has done her homework and knows that you are talking nonsense! Remember that you are dealing with real historical places, people and events; while you are free to suggest a different course of action from that which was historically taken, you must know what the range of plausible possibilities for such action was – which you can only find out by undertaking historical research. You should take the Game Book only as a starting-point – a blueprint to help you generate good questions about the material, which you will then try to answer through your research. Ask yourself, “What kind of information would I need to include in this paragraph in order to convince a stranger that the point I am making is valid?” Once you have your questions, use the rich resources of the Internet and the library to track down the information you need. (Hint: if I can find out that one of the "facts" or assumptions in your paper is wrong merely by performing a simple Google search, you haven't done your homework.)

III. Style (5 pts). Under this rubric, I consider all the things that make your paper rhetorically effective: clarity and concision, word choice, appropriate use of metaphor and/or other figurative language, freedom from cliché, and most of all, impeccable grammar and usage.

 

IV. Authenticity (5 pts). This rubric addresses the extent to which the paper represents something that your character would write.  Not only should your character be obvious in the arguments you are making (in other words, you should not be arguing a position contrary to what your role description dictates), as well as your overall style.  For example, a Crowd Leader in the French Revolution game should have a simple, but forceful manner of writing.

In most cases, papers will be due not during class, but rather by noon on the day before the class when the issue on which you are writing will be discussed in class.  If you are writing for one of the in-game newspapers (and most of you will be) the editor of that paper may designate an even earlier deadline in order to provide him or her with sufficient time for formatting.  Papers should be uploaded to designated drop boxes located at the course’s ANGEL site. 

 

Speeches (40%)

 

Most of you will be expected to make at least three speeches (and probably more) to the class over the course of the semester, one during each simulation.  Since the setting for each of these is an important official body—the Chinese Grand Secretariat, the Korean Deliberative Council, and the Japanese Cabinet—these will be formal speeches made before your colleagues on matters of general concern.

 

It is likely that your speeches will address the same subjects as your papers.  While it is certainly acceptable in this case to refer to notes during your in-class speeches, you absolutely may not read your speech from a prepared text.  In other words, simply reading aloud from your paper will not satisfy your speech requirements—nor are your fellow students likely to appreciate it.  Remember that your primary goal here is to persuade others to support your views.

 

Speeches will be graded according to the criteria defined above for papers.  However, in place of authenticity speeches will be assessed on:

 

IV. Delivery (5 pts). This rubric assesses the effectiveness of your speech as an oral performance: do you establish contact with your audience, use appropriate vocal emphasis, and speak with expression? Do you avoid stumbling over words, misplacing the emphasis in sentences, and losing momentum between high points?

 

Attendance and Participation (20%)

 

As you have probably gathered by now, this is not a typical university course.  There will be very few lectures.  The course will succeed or fail based on the willingness and ability of every student to participate meaningfully in class discussions, both in and out of character.

 

Of course, the first requirement is that students attend class diligently.  This is particularly important for this course, given that it meets only once per week.  No student may miss more than one class session without his or her grade being adversely affected.  In addition, keep in mind that during the game’s public meetings—in other words, those class sessions when students will be “in character” (January 29 – February 12, March 5-26, and April 9-30)—an absence could seriously affect the ability of your particular faction (your team, so to speak) to accomplish its objectives.

 

Attendance is a necessary, but not sufficient, aspect of the course.  To receive a grade higher than a C in this course you must participate fully in class discussions and in the role-playing simulations, above and beyond the speeches you will be required to give.  Even when you are not addressing the group, you should be questioning those who are.  At the very least you should—during the simulations—make a habit of expressing your support for arguments of which you approve, and your hostility to those of which you do not!  Remember, for the character that you portray this would not have simply been an academic exercise; these would have been questions—often literally—of life or death.

 

 

Academic Integrity:

 

I strongly advise you to examine the university’s academic integrity policy, which may be found here.  All students are responsible for maintaining the highest standards of honesty and integrity in every phase of their academic careers.  The penalties for academic dishonesty are severe, and ignorance is not an acceptable defense. 

 

Course Calendar, with assignments:

January

15

First Half: Course Introduction

Second Half: Discussion of Confucius

Reading Assignment:

Carnes and Gardner, pp. 2-22

Confucius, pp. 59-100

 

22

First Half: Discussion of Confucius and Huang

Reading Assignment:

Confucius, pp. 101-160, Huang, 1-74 (in ANGEL)

Second Half: Civil Service Examination

 

29

Presentation of First Memorials

First memorials due in ANGEL Drop Box by 12:00 noon on Monday, January 28.

February

5

First Half: Responses by First Grand Secretary and Emperor

Responses due in ANGEL Drop Box by 12:00 noon on Monday, February 4.

Second Half: Presentation of Second Memorials

Memorials due in ANGEL Drop Box by 12:00 noon on Monday, February 4.

 

12

First Half: Presentation of Second Memorials (continued)

Second Half: Responses by First Grand Secretary and Emperor

Responses due in ANGEL Drop Box by 12:00 noon on Monday, February 11.

 

19

First Half: Historical Background to the Kabo Reforms

Reading Assignment:

Duncan and Jung-Kim, pp. 3-30

The Evolution of the Confucian Tradition in Antiquity: Mencius" (in ANGEL) "Zhu Xi's Neo-Confucian Program" (in ANGEL)

"Political Thought in Early Choson” (in ANGEL)

Second Half: East Asia and the West

Reading Assignment:

Duncan and Jung-Kim, pp. 31-39

Excerpt from East Asia: A Cultural, Social, and Political History (in ANGEL)

A History of Korea, Chapter 13 (in ANGEL)

“Civilization and Enlightenment” (in ANGEL)

“Moderate Reform and the Self-Strengthening Movement” (in ANGEL)

“Development of Enlightenment Thought” (in ANGEL)

 

26

First Half: The Tonghak Rebellion and the Kabo Reforms

Reading Assignment:

Duncan and Jung-Kim, pp. 41-63

A History of Korea, Chapter 14 (in ANGEL)

“The Tonghak Uprisings and the Kabo Reforms” (in ANGEL)

Second Half: Faction Meetings

March

5

First Half: Discussion of Korea’s Foreign Relations

Reading Assignment:

Duncan and Jung-Kim, pp. 64-66, 78-79, and 89-96

Memorials on Foreign Relations due in ANGEL Drop Box by 12:00 noon on Monday, March 4.

Second Half: Discussion of Political Reforms

Reading Assignment:

Duncan and Jung-Kim, pp. 66-71, 80-82, and 112-118

Memorials on Political Reforms due in ANGEL Drop Box by 12:00 noon on Monday, March 4.

 

12

Spring Break—NO CLASS

 

19

First Half: Discussion of Social Reforms

Reading Assignment:

Duncan and Jung-Kim, pp. 74-77, 84-86, 101-111, and 136-148

Excerpts from Beyond Birth (in ANGEL)

Memorials on Social Reforms due in ANGEL Drop Box by 12:00 noon on Monday, March 18.

Second Half: Discussion of Educational Reforms

Reading Assignment:

Duncan and Jung-Kim, pp. 77-78, 86-88, 97-100, and 120-124

“Education” (in ANGEL)

Memorials on Educational Reforms due in ANGEL Drop Box by 12:00 noon on Monday, March 18.

 

26

First Half: Discussion of Reform Proposals

Reform Packages due in ANGEL Drop Box by 12:00 noon on Monday, March 25.

Second Half: Post-Mortem for Korea at the Crossroads

April

2

First Half: Bushidō, Shinto, and Traditional Japan

Reading Assignment:

Moser, pp. 3-24, 53-62

De Bary (ed.), Sources of Japanese Tradition, pp. 118-125

Second Half: Japan and the West

Reading Assignment:

Moser, pp. 63-82

De Bary (ed.), Sources of Japanese Tradition, pp. 30-42, 148-163

 

9

First Half: Discussion of Fundamentals of Our National Polity

Reading Assignment:

Moser, pp. 25-49, 83-117

Second Half: First Imperial Conference

Papers due in ANGEL Drop Box by 12:00 noon on Monday, April 8.

 

16

First Half: Second Imperial Conference

Papers due in ANGEL Drop Box by 12:00 noon on Monday, April 15

Second Half: Third Imperial Conference

Papers due in ANGEL Drop Box by 12:00 noon on Monday, April 15

 

23

First Half: Fourth Imperial Conference

Papers due in ANGEL Drop Box by 12:00 noon on Monday, April 22

Second Half: Fifth Imperial Conference

Papers due in ANGEL Drop Box by 12:00 noon on Monday, April 22

 

30

First Half: Sixth Imperial Conference

Papers due in ANGEL Drop Box by 12:00 noon on Monday, April 29

Second Half: Post-Mortem for Japan, the West, and the Road to World War

 

7

TBA