HIS 268T History of Modern Japan
Following over two centuries of self imposed isolation, Japan was forcibly opened to the west in the 1850s by America's 'black ships'. Since then it has experienced revolutionary changes as its leaders struggled to align Japan with the prevailing trends of the world system. These efforts have had far reaching and lasting consequences for the Japanese people and for Japan's neighbors.
This course examines these changes as Japan struggled to catch up with the western powers, to industrialize, build modern systems of administration, establish itself as an imperial power, and later, to recover from the ravages of war and meet the challenges of economic success and stagnation and the ever present danger of natural disaster.
This Academic Travel course includes a period of field-research throughout Japan.