The Rise of Modern Japan 1850s-1990s

Subject 671-374 (2009)

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

Credit Points: 12.50
Level: 3 (Undergraduate)
Dates & Locations:

This subject has the following teaching availabilities in 2009:

January, - Taught on campus.
Pre-teaching Period Start not applicable
Teaching Period not applicable
Assessment Period End not applicable
Last date to Self-Enrol not applicable
Census Date not applicable
Last date to Withdraw without fail not applicable


Timetable can be viewed here. For information about these dates, click here.
Time Commitment: Contact Hours: 10 2-hour lectures and av screenings between 14 January and 30 January, plus 1 hour tutorial per teaching day. The contact days will be 14,15,16, 19, 20, 21, 27, 28, 29, 30 January.
Total Time Commitment: Total of 8.5 hours per week.
Prerequisites: Usually 12.5 points of first-year history or Asian studies.
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

Coordinator

Assoc Prof Charles Schencking

Contact

Charles Schencking

j.schencking@unimelb.edu.au

Subject Overview: Japan’s rapid and remarkable transformation from a semi-feudal, isolated island nation to that of a centralized nation state, empire, and eventual global power has had a profound impact on its people, its Asian and Pacific neighbours, and indeed world history. This subject explores that extraordinary evolution and will change the way you understand Japan’s past and view this nation today. By introducing the history of Japan from the mid to late 19th century to the present, this subject explores what the rise of ‘modern Japan’ has meant to its own people and that of others in Asia and the Pacific. Throughout, we will use Japan’s modern emergence as a window into its political, social, cultural, environmental, economic, ideological, and military history. We will focus considerable attention on how this country’s environment and its emergence during a period of global industrialization and military expansion shaped the nature and trajectory of Japan’s domestic transformations and its foreign relations. Students who complete this subject should have a firm understanding of how Japan’s modern emergence has changed its people, the nation, and the world in fundamental and sometimes radical ways.
Objectives:
  • have a solid understanding of what Japan's emergence as a modern state has meant to Japanese citizens;
  • understand the influence Japan's rise has had on late 19th and 20th century Asian history.
Assessment: A primary document exercise of 2000 words 50% (due 30 January), a 2 hour exam on 6 February. Hurdle requirement: students must attend a minimum of 75% of tutorials in order to be pass this subject.
Prescribed Texts:
Breadth Options:

This subject potentially can be taken as a breadth subject component for the following courses:

You should visit learn more about breadth subjects and read the breadth requirements for your degree, and should discuss your choice with your student adviser, before deciding on your subjects.

Fees Information: Subject EFTSL, Level, Discipline & Census Date
Generic Skills:
  • demonstrate research skills through competent use of the library and other information sources;
  • show critical thinking and analysis through recommended reading, essay writing and tutorial discussion, and by determining the strength of an argument;
  • demonstrate understanding of social, ethical and cultural context through the contextualisation of judgements, developing a critical self-awareness, being open to new ideas and possibilities and by constructing an argument.
Notes: Formerly available as 131-229/329. Students who have completed 131-229 or 131-329 are not eligible to enrol in this subject.
Related Majors/Minors/Specialisations: Asian Studies
Asian Studies Major
History
History Major
International Studies Major

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