East Asian History and Civilizations

Catalog description

This seminar is designed for incoming graduate students in the department of East Asian Languages and Civilizations, offering a thematic overview of the academic study of Chinese and Japanese history and cultures from the Neolithic period to the 21st century. Over the course of the semester, students will be introduced to different scholarly approaches to the study of East Asian history and culture through a close reading and analysis of the work of leading scholars in the fields of Sinology and Japanology. Together, we will learn about the diverse approaches to the study of China and Japan, from the various subfields of historical studies (such as social, intellectual, legal, and religious history) to other academic disciplines such as religious studies, anthropology, gender studies, and archaeology. We will examine the different methodological frameworks and tools used by past and present scholars and draw on them in order to problematize and enrich our understanding of East Asia. In addition, this seminar will provide incoming students with the relevant skills to produce their own original graduate-level research and present it in a clear and persuasive fashion both orally and in written form. While original-language research for the final project is encouraged, all weekly readings will be in English.