Module HIST2621: Political Culture in Japan since 1688

Department: History

HIST2621: Political Culture in Japan since 1688

Prerequisites

• A pass mark in at least ONE level one module in History.

Corequisites

• None

Excluded Combination of Modules

• None

Aims

• To provide an understanding of the connections among political, cultural, and intellectual history in Japan from the late seventeenth century to the present.
• To introduce students to major works of Japanese political thought, with particular attention to the local and global contexts in which these works were created, understood, and put into practice.
• To examine how historians engage with a variety of sources and media in order to illuminate changes in political culture.
• To train students to think comparatively about Japanese history, so as to encourage them to reflect upon the historically contingent nature of contemporary assumptions about politics.

Content

• Japanese commoner culture flourished during the latter half of the 17th century. Scholars of Japan have scrutinized this period in search of the roots of the twentieth century transformation of Japan into a global economic and political power. This module explores different efforts to explain the origins and development of modernity in Japan through a focus on the relationship between political and cultural change.
• We will explore influential schools of political thought associated with Neo-Confucianism, nativism, pan-Asianism, and Communism across this period. At the same time, we seek to understand the historically specific forms of elite and popular commonsense that transcended the overt political oppositions associated with different schools. To this end, we will pay close attention to how different schools of political thought and political factions were embedded in a wide variety of social contexts, ranging from private academies dominated by master-disciple relationships to anarchist cooperatives and mass political parties.
• By paying close attention to changes in politics and culture across the span of Japan’s modern history, we hope to attain a better understanding of the historical resonance of contemporary debates about Japanese national identity, the country’s economic and political system, and its relationship with the outside world.

Learning Outcomes

• Knowledge of the political, intellectual, and cultural history of Japan from the Tokugawa period to the present.
• Ability to intervene in and understand what is at stake in public debates about historical change and continuity in Japan.
• Experience applying different methodological approaches to the study of political culture.

• Subject specific skills for this module can be viewed at: http://www.dur.ac.uk/history.internal/local/ModuleProformaMap/

• Key skills for this module can be viewed at: http://www.dur.ac.uk/history.internal/local/ModuleProformaMap/

Modes of Teaching, Learning and Assessment and how these contribute to the learning outcomes of the module

• Student learning is facilitated by a combination of the following teaching methods:
• lectures to set the foundations for further study and to provide the basis for the acquisition of subject specific knowledge. Lectures provide a broad framework which defines individual module content, introducing students to themes, debates and interpretations. In this environment, students are given the opportunity to develop skills in listening, selective note-taking and reflection;
• seminars to allow students to present and critically reflect upon the acquired subject-specific knowledge, methodologies and theories, and to identify and debate a range of issues and differing opinions. The seminar is the forum in which students are given the opportunity to communicate ideas, jointly exploring themes and arguments. Seminars are structured to develop understanding and designed to maximise student participation related to prior independent preparation. Seminars give students the opportunity to develop oral communication skills, encourage critical and tolerant approaches to reasoned argument and historical discussion, build the students' ability to marshal historical evidence, and facilitate the development of the ability to summarise historical arguments, think in a rapidly changing environment and communicate in a persuasive and articulate manner, whilst recognising the value of working with others and, occasionally, towards shared goals.
• Assessment:
• Summative essays remain a central component of assessment in history, due to the integrative high-order skills they develop. Essays allow students the opportunity to recognise, represent and critically reflect upon ideas, concepts and problems; students can demonstrate awareness of, and the ability to use and evaluate, a diverse range of resources and identify, represent and debate a range of subject-specific issues and opinions. Through the essay, students can synthesise information, adopt critical appraisals and develop reasoned argument based on individual research; they should be able to communicate ideas in writing, with clarity and coherence; and to show the ability to integrate and critically assess material from a wide range of sources.

Teaching Methods and Learning Hours

Summative Assessment

Formative Assessment:

Written assignment(s) of 1500-2000 words submitted in Michaelmas Term.

■ Attendance at all activities marked with this symbol will be monitored. Students who fail to attend these activities, or to complete the summative or formative assessment specified above, will be subject to the procedures defined in the University's General Regulation V, and may be required to leave the University