The History of Modern Japan

In this course we will review the major themes and events of modern Japanese history from the Meiji Restoration (1868) to the present. Through reading a variety of primary texts, historical analyses, and literature, as well as watching films, we will explore the formation of the modern Japanese nation-state, Japan’s colonial project in East Asia, 1920s mass culture, the question of Showa fascism, and Japan’s unique postwar experience, from occupation to high-growth and the “lost decade” of the 1990s. We will pay particular attention to the relationship between changes within Japan and larger global trends. 3 hrs. lect./disc.