Natsume Sōseki (1867-1916) is often celebrated as modern Japan's greatest novelist. This course will cover several of his major novels, as well his short stories and works of literary theory, looking at questions of selfhood, gender, property ownership, and empire. We will also look at critical studies of Sōseki from Japan and elsewhere. All readings will be available in English.
This course presumes that to describe what is normal in human culture, premodern and modern, we can observe how one culture’s monsters and marvels define the abnormal. The history of monsters and marvels in China, Japan, and Korea is explored on several levels: indigenous constructions of monsters and marvels in each culture; cross-influences among the three cultures; the place of monsters and marvels in everyday life; their religious and political significance; and their influence in Chinese, Japanese, and Korean aesthetic products—literature, visual and plastic arts, and performance. The focus is premodern with an eye to modern revivals in East Asia and globally.
This graduate seminar uses the robust field of Chinese legal history as a starting point for an examination of how historians have used legal records and documents to craft historical narratives. Students of Chinese history will find that exploring the intersection of law and society in modern China through both primary and secondary texts, students will gain an overview of legal codes, the evolution of China’s legal system under successive regimes, as well as an introduction to the diverse materials that might be considered sources for “legal” history. While historiographic questions from the China field will arise, the class will also consider legal history strategies employed by historians beyond the China field. We will engage with debates about the role of civil law: How might more contemporary legal practices be a legacy of law or custom? How do societies' definitions of crime change over time. What role does the law play in shaping social attitudes toward different behavior?
This is the second part of the East Asian Science, Technology, and Medicine series. In this series, we will read major works on the history of STM in East Asia and constantly are in conversation with studies of this history in the globe.
This course discusses the history of major energy sources in East Asia with a focus on coal, hydropower, and nuclear power plant. We pay close attention to both the technological side of the history of energy and how different energy sources interact with the social and political environment in Japan, China, and Koreas.
This course is the first half of the East Asian Science, Technology, and Medicine series. The second part of the course will be offered in the spring quarter by Professor Jacob Eyferth. In this series, we will read major works on the history of STM in East Asia and constantly are in conversation with studies of this history in the globe.
This course is on the post-imperial and postcolonial history in East Asia. After Japan declared defeat on August 15th, 1945, the empire has officially ended. Yet, the aftermath and afterlife of Japan’s empire still deeply influenced the social and political environment in this region. How did the post-imperial connections shape Japan and its Asian neighbors? How did different actors react to this sudden change of political environment? This course pays close attention to the imperial and post-imperial continuity and changes.
Although food is an essential part of human existence, it has only recently become the object of historical analysis, and historical research has drawn attention to its significance in relation to issues of health, gender, class, technology, and culture. This course explores the history of food in Japan in the period from c. 1600 to the postwar era. Topics to be examined include changing practices of consumption and production, medical discourse and conceptions of a proper diet, the impact of introduction of new foods and new methods of preparation, the rise of nutritional science, the development of a “national cuisine,” and the impact of war and defeat upon food culture.
This course explores modern Korean history through the lens of gender as a critical analytical tool. In studying social, historical, and cultural changes shaping gender relations, we will extend our understanding of gender dynamics and its relationship to the family, the state, civil society, class, and the economy. By reading and discussing significant scholarly works, this course will help students understand Korean women’s history in both local and global contexts. The course will be divided into two parts. The first section will address women’s issues and identities, such as women as mothers, wives, and citizens in the framework of family and social institutions, by looking at postcolonialism, patriarchy, and nationalism. Next, the latter half will examine various aspects of women and the economy, including labor, consumption, market economy, governmentality, and class and status.
Korea has a rich and dynamic history in terms of historical coherence and distinctiveness but is often restricted to just a one-note idea, such as North Korea’s nuclear threats or BTS. This course explores modern Korean history from Japanese colonial rule to the contemporary era, covering major historical events such as Korean War, the Kwangju democratization movement, and two Korea’s reunification efforts, as well as contemporary sociocultural dimensions such as the industrialization of plastic surgery, drinking culture, classified expansion of Korean popular culture as written and called with Capital K (K-pop, K-film, K-drama, etc.), and mukbang (food casting). Weekly topics address major socioeconomic, political, and cultural issues such as postcolonialism, capitalism, developmentalism, neoliberalism, governmentality, gender, sexuality, and family. Students will gain a fuller understanding of Korea’s place in the world through engaging with Korean cultural heritage and historical transformations. They will also learn how to critique contemporary media representations of Korea and enable critical reading of texts and films to build their own perspectives.
