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

This course deals with the history of China, Japan and Korea. It will acquaint students with the strong presence of certain traditions in these three countries that have now for about two decades been active players in a globalised world. The fact that traditions were instrumental in East Asia’s process of modernisation is in general recognised by scholars as well as by contemporary East Asian intellectuals. Since both Japan and Korea made some use of Chinese cultural and institutional achievements there are many obvious similarities between the three. While taking these similarities into account we will concentrate on the investigation of underlying differences and contrasts and thereby arrive at a more thorough and nuanced understanding of the region as a whole. We will explore the economic, social and cultural factors that were crucial for the formation of each tradition and will investigate their continuation in present times. For this purpose we will deal with four separate units. They are the creation of empires and their ideological and organisational characteristics; the adaptation of Buddhism and its role in society and the state; the commercial and political function of cities like Hangzhou and Edo; and finally the political and social characteristics of the fast growing economies of Japan and Korea in the 1980s and of China in the 1990s.