History 415: The Vietnam War
Explores the Vietnamese context of the war as well as the reasons for US involvement; the relationship of the war to the domestic and foreign policy of the Kennedy, Johnson, and Nixon administrations; the anti-war movement; the causes of defeat; the plight of the war's veterans.
History 421: Gender in East Asia
The evolution of sex and gender as they have been influenced by traditional thought systems and by social and economic developments over time. Topics include ideas about masculinity and felinity, division of labor, economic and legal status of women, marriage and dowry, sexuality and the female body.
History 422: Medieval and Early Modern Japan
The history of Japan from the earliest times to the beginning of the nineteenth century, focusing on religion, politics, economic development, social trends and elements of the history of ideas. The course also examines Japan's mythic tradition, culture and social structure and its interaction with mainland civilizations.
History 423: Modern Japan
All major aspects of Japanese history since 1800, including politics, economic trends, sociocultural and intellectual changes, and foreign relations. Important themes include the conflict between local and foreign ideologies, the socioeconomic roots of World War II from the Japanese perspective, the development of Japanese science and technology, and Japan's contemporary economic and political prominence.
History 424: China from Qin to Qing, 256 BCE-1839 CE
Investigation of the social and cultural factors leading to the creation of the world's longest enduring state by the Qin and Han dynasties; the economic revolution which made the Tang and Song empires the richest in the world; the reasons for the decline of China during the Ming and Qing periods.
History 425: China from the Opium War to the Founding of the People's Republic
Focuses on social, cultural, and intellectual change in China following the intrusion of Western imperialism; contrasts will be drawn between the conservative response of the traditional leadership of the nineteenth century and the radical response of the nationalist and revolutionary leadership of the twentieth century.
History 426: China, 1949 to Present
The political, social, and economic history of China from the establishment of the People's Republic to the present including the Great Leap Forward, the Sino-Soviet Split, the Cultural Revolution, the Rise and Fall of the "Gang of Four," and the Four Modernizations under Deng Xiao-ping.
