Subject Area: Asian Studies
This course can also be studied in the following specialisations: History, Indonesian Studies, Korean Studies

This course focuses on interactions among China, Korea, and Japan; their relations with the West; and the issues of culture and civilization in the post-nation-state era. The course is organized thematically. You will start by examining East Asia in terms of its history of globalization through cultural and religious interaction. You will then turn to fundamental cultural commonalities centring on statecraft, institutions, education and notions of civilization that united and divided the region. You will examine cross-cultural comparisons among China, Japan, and Korea that highlight the global and regional dimensions of cultural change in East Asia. You will study how cultural similarities and differences influenced the varying approaches to modernity taken by Chinese, Japanese and Korean activists when East Asia came under increasing pressure from the West. The formation of nation-state ideologies along Western lines led to evolving conceptions of their place in the world, the meaning of culture, the role of commerce, and the relationship of the individual to the state. But in the era of globalization, these issues are situated in a post-nation-state framework. You will conclude by assessing East Asia’s contributions to globalization.

This course is taught in English and with readings in English.