History 243: Japan’s Modern Empire

From the collapse of samurai society in 1868 to the collapse of the Fukushima nuclear power plant in 2011, from the rise of the Japanese empire to the global spread of the Japanese entertainment industry, the modern history of Japan presents one of the more striking transformations in the interconnected history of the modern world. This course will explore how people in Japan have dealt with some of the major issues of modern global history: the fate of modern imperialism, the social upheavals and transformations of capitalism and democracy, the experience of total war, and the spread of mass consumer culture. Class meetings will be divided between lecture and discussion of primary and secondary texts. May be taken for credit toward the South Asian and Middle Eastern Studies major or Japanese minor. Formerly History 346 may not be taken if previously completed 346.