Rise of Modern Japan: 1800 to Present

Catalog description

This course examines the transformation of Japan from the late Tokugawa period in the 1800s to the emergence of Japan as a post-industrial society. It focuses on historical forces and events, and on the efforts of Japanese women and men that have shaped Japan's transition from a late developing industrial nation during the Meiji period (1868-1912) to a great economic power in the 20th century. The dramatic social, political, economic, and cultural changes of the 1980s and 1990s receive attention. Students compare Japan's path to modernization with that of the West.