Asia in Paradigms of World History

Subject 131-422 (2009)

Note: This is an archived Handbook entry from 2009. Search for this in the current handbook

Credit Points: 12.50
Level: 4 (Undergraduate)
Dates & Locations:

This subject has the following teaching availabilities in 2009:

For information about these dates, click here.
Time Commitment: Contact Hours: A 2-hour seminar per week
Total Time Commitment: 2 contact hours/week , 8 additional hours/week. Total of 10 hours per week.
Prerequisites: Usually admission to the postgraduate diploma or fourth-year honours in history.
Corequisites: None
Recommended Background Knowledge: None
Non Allowed Subjects: None
Core Participation Requirements:

For the purposes of considering request for Reasonable Adjustments under the Disability Standards for Education (Cwth 2005), and Student Support and Engagement Policy, academic requirements for this subject are articulated in the Subject Overview, Learning Outcomes, Assessment and Generic Skills sections of this entry.

It is University policy to take all reasonable steps to minimise the impact of disability upon academic study, and reasonable adjustments will be made to enhance a student's participation in the University's programs. Students who feel their disability may impact on meeting the requirements of this subject are encouraged to discuss this matter with a Faculty Student Adviser and Student Equity and Disability Support: http://services.unimelb.edu.au/disability

Contact

Antonia Finnane

a.finnane@unimelb.edu.au

Subject Overview: This subject explores changing paradigms in world history with particular reference to Asia. Hegel supposed that China and India lay outside the domain of world history, waiting to be drawn into it by a youthful and vigorous Europe, whose rise marked the inexorable progress of Reason. In this subject, we shall reflect on how globalisation theory and postcolonialism in the post-Cold War era have produced a revisionist, post-Hegelian paradigm in world history. This revisionism has involved reconfiguring Asia's historical place, particularly but not only in histories of the Early Modern World.
Objectives:
  • An understanding of HegelÂ’s idea of “World-History” and its impact on understandings of Asia and Asian histories
  • A grasp of broad patterns of change in relations between Asia and the West over the last half-millennium
  • An ability to reflect in writing on the nature of paradigms in historiography
Assessment: A seminar paper 1500 words, 30% (due mid-semester) and a research essay 3500 words, 70% (due end of semester)
Prescribed Texts: A subject reader will be available at the beginning of semester
Breadth Options:

This subject is not available as a breadth subject.
Fees Information: Subject EFTSL, Level, Discipline & Census Date
Generic Skills:
  • show critical thinking and analysis through recommended reading, essay writing and classroom discussion
  • demonstrate research skills through competent use of the library and other information sources
  • demonstrate understanding of social, ethical and cultural contexts of knowledge
  • demonstrate writing skills through conducting a discussion and constructing an argument in clear prose.
Related Course(s): Master of Arts (Asian Societies)
Related Majors/Minors/Specialisations: Asian Studies
History
History
History

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