East Asia to 1600

Catalog description

This course will introduce to students the history of East Asia from its Neolithic origins to 1600. It will examine the foundations of main East Asian nations, the important features of the classical East Asian civilization and further developments of East Asian cultures and societies prior to the arrival of the Westerners. Important East Asian classics, religious and ritual practices, such as Confucianism, Daoism, Shintoism, and Buddhism, will also be introduced. Other topics to be studied include relations between East Asia and its nomadic neighbors, different political systems, literate and martial traditions, popular cultures, important technological innovations, commercial and urban developments, peasant revolts, local societies, gender relations, Christian missionaries and the early contacts with the West. Fulfills History Requirement: History of Religion.