Japan in the World, from the Age of Empires to 3.11

Catalog description

This seminar explores the ambitions, anxieties and mutual images that shaped Japan’s relationships with China, Korea, and eventually the West, from the early modern era to the 21st century. We will examine the response to Perry’s arrival in 1853, Japan’s subsequent efforts to join the ranks of the great powers of the day through diplomacy, the pursuit of empire, and military force, and the emergence of radically different ways of being in the world since 1945. Other topics to be covered include the role of race in shaping US-Japan relations, and the legacies of colonialism and war in East Asia.