Courses

HISTORY 14: Introduction to the History of Japan
Andrew E Barshay

This undergraduate survey course will introduce students to the history of the Japanese archipelago, from antiquity to the present day, with a special focus on regional contacts, internal developments, and global exchanges. Beginning with the pre-textual archaeological record, we go on to explore the introduction of rice agriculture, Chinese writing and forms of political organization, and Buddhism as these culminated in the high aristocratic cultures of Nara and Heian. We then turn to the development of warrior (samurai) culture, the emergence and persistence of warrior rule in its successive phases. Particular attention will be given to the Tokugawa/Edo period, the flourishing of popular culture, the indigenous sources of Japanese industrialization and modern economic development, and the border and frontier interfaces of Edo Japan with China, Korea, the Ainu, the Ryukyus, and Europe. These considerations will form the basis for an interpretation of the Meiji restoration, the formation of the Japanese empire, and the regional conflicts leading to WWII and Japan’s defeat and surrender. In the final phase of the course we will discuss the postwar (or post-imperial) era and its extension into recent decades. This course is also intended to introduce students to some fundamental techniques of historical research and analysis and to major critical approaches to historical sources in general and those of Japanese history in particular. Course readings will include a wide range of primary sources (translated from Japanese into English) along with selected secondary (interpretive) materials. The course will offer students the opportunity to improve their academic writing and research skills while familiarizing themselves with the history of Japan.