The Asian Triangle: Japan, Korea and China

Catalog description

This class will examine the complex inter-relationship between the three great states of Northeast Asia - Japan, Korea and China. This class will take a historical approach but will focus as well on contemporary relations and policy issues. Topics to be covered will include Japanese imperialism and colonialism, the road to the war in the Pacific, the consequences of Japan's defeat, the Communist victory in China, the Korean War and the creation of the postwar architecture. We will focus heavily on the dynamics of the Sino-Japanese relationship, the shift from containment, to engagement, and then to rivalry. The class will look at the two Koreas and their relationship to Japan and China, and to the great powers. We will explore the tension between integration and nationalism, and the future of the triangular relationship. Class will combine lectures and class discussion, with short essays or papers and will be offered for both 3 and 4 credits.