Modern Japan: Conflict in History

This module surveys the history of modern Japan from the late-Tokugawa period to the present. Its primary goal is to promote basic understanding of major events in modern Japan, while also aiming to analyze the history of Japan in transnational and comparative contexts through exploring a number of common themes in the 19th and 20th centuries global history: nation building, colonialism, and total war and occupation, as well as the Cold War, student movements, developmentalism, globalization, and grassroots conservatism. Through such examination, the module aims at promoting critical thinking concerning diverse historical interpretations and controversies. Accordingly, students will be exposed to a broad range of historical debates and viewpoints throughout the module.