Northern Arizona University
College of Arts and Letters
Department of History
Spring 2024
HISTORY 251: MAKING OF MODERN ASIA
Instructor: SANJAY JOSHI Meetings: Tu-Th 9:35 -10:50 pm, LA 209F
Office: LA 206
Phone: 523-6216
Office Hours: Tu-Thu 11:15 am to 12:15 pm E-mail: Sanjay.Joshi@nau.edu
and by appointment
Course
Web page: http://jan.ucc.nau.edu/~sj6/makingmodernasia.html
Graduate Teaching Assistant: DANIEL MENSAH
Email: dm2953@nau.edu
Office: LA 320 Office Hours: Mon and Wed. 11:30 to 12:30 and by appointment
A Liberal Studies Course in the Social and Political Worlds
Block. Fulfills NAU’s Global Diversity Requirement. Policy Statements at: https://nau.edu/university-policy-library/syllabus-requirements/
A COPY OF THIS SYLLABUS CAN ALSO BE FOUND ON THE COURSE WEB PAGE
Course Description
This course examines transformations in the lives of people,
economies, and governments in Asia from the 18th century to the mid-20th
century. We use China, India, and Japan as case studies to
understand how they were, in different ways, brought in contact with, and then
subordinated to the interests of more powerful Western powers. We examine the
transformations in the political economy of these three areas of Asia as a
result of their interaction with Western colonialism, and the different
strategies they adopted to overcome and adapt to the changes they confronted. We
seek to understand how and why the three places saw such different
outcomes by the middle of the 20th century. The aim of the
course is not so much a mastery of the histories of three different
nation-states, but rather to understand the connections (expressed through similarity and differences) which
went into the making of modern Asia until the middle of the twentieth century.
Course Structure/Approach
The format of the course consists of lectures and formal and
informal discussions. Students are encouraged to raise questions and make
comments throughout the course.
Required Books
1. Barbara and Thomas Metcalf. Concise History of Modern India. Third
Edition. Cambridge, 2006. Available as
an ebook to be checked out from Cline Library. This is a direct link to the book.
2.
Ranbir Vohra. China's Path
to Modernization. Third Edition. Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice
Hall, 2000. Relevant chapters available as links on schedule, below.
3.
Kenneth B. Pyle. The Making
of Modern Japan. Second Edition. Lexington, Mass., Toronto: D. C. Heath and
Company, 1996. Relevant chapters available as links on schedule, below.
IN ADDITION, other sections of books, journal articles, short stories, films
or videos will be used for this course, and will be made available
electronically either through the course webpage or Canvas, as appropriate.
Course Objectives
By the end of the course, students will not only be familiar with
the broad contours of the political, social, and cultural history of Asia from
ca. 1750 to ca. 1945, but also be able to do the following:
a. Critically read and interpret histories of India, China, and
Japan and make arguments about the connections between these histories.
b. Combine evidence
from a variety of historical sources to get a sense of life in the times and
places they are reading about.
c. Be able to present a cogent argument well supported by evidence in
exams, discussions, and most important, the final paper.
Student
Learning Outcomes
By the end of the course:
I.
Students will have learned,
through reading, attending and taking notes at lectures, and participating in discussions,
a general and thematic framework for analyzing and interpreting the historical
experience of the people of India, China and Japan from the 18th to
the 20th century and the broad contours of the empirical historical
data on and related to that experience.
II.
Through the quizzes,
students will demonstrate their knowledge of the basic historical data and the
fundamental interpretive ideas that they have learned from the reading and from
lectures that pertain to specific thematic topics in the historical experience
of India, China and Japan in the period covered by the course
III.
Through the discussions,
students will demonstrate competency in reading texts and examining ideas
critically, interpreting different arguments and perspectives on Indian,
Chinese and Japanese history and evaluating the merits of these historical
and/or historiographical arguments.
IV.
Through the term paper
exercise, students will learn to synthesize evidence from a variety of sources
and genres of sources to present interpretive portrayals of life experiences of
the people of India, China, and Japan in the historical context of the period
covered by this course.
V.
In writing papers,
conducting research, preparing for participation in discussions, students will
present cogent arguments, listen and respond to other people’s arguments,
support viewpoints by evidence, and critique as well as defend their own as
well as other people’s points of view.
Assessment of Outcomes
The course uses primarily three types of
instruments to assess your achievement of the learning objectives listed above:
Five Quizzes (50% of the total points for the course, 10 % each), one medium-length
paper (25% of the total course grade), and a response paper connecting extracts
from Amitav Ghosh’s novel, River of Smoke to
the early part of the course material (15%). Ten percent of your course grade
will be evaluated on the basis of your attendance and participation in the
class and discussion groups. The quizzes will draw on material from the
prescribed books for the course and may also have map-based questions to test
your grasp of geography of modern Asian history. The paper is designed to test
your ability to read critically and think creatively about the material on
modern Asian history, and to be able to present it effectively in appropriate
prose.
Assignments and Exams
I. Term Paper:
You will write one 5 to 8 page analytical final paper comparing themes across
the course. The paper will be assigned on March 26 and is due on April 25.
II. Five Online Quizzes: The first three will focus on histories of
India, China and Japan covered to the respective points in the course. The last
two will be more comparative in nature.
III. A 3 page response paper based
on extracts from Amitav Ghosh’s novel, River of Smoke. Assigned February 8th, due
February 29th
IV. Class Participation: My subjective assessment of your attendance and
participation in class activities (including two informal discussions), will
count toward 10 % of the total course grade.
Grading System
Grades for the course will be determined according to the
following criteria:
Five Online Quizzes 50%
Response Paper on Extract from River of Smoke 15%
Final Comparative Paper 25%
Class Attendance & Participation 10%
6 % on Two Discussions; 4% on attendance
TOTAL FOR COURSE 100%
The grading scale for the course will be as follows:
90%+ = A;
80 - 89%= B; 70-79%= C; 60-69%= D; below 60%= F.
EVALUATION
The
grading scale for the course will be as follows:
90+ = A; 80 - 89= B; 70-79= C;
60-69= D; below 60= F.
Course Policies
ALL WRITTEN ASSIGNMENTS ARE DUE ON CANVAS BEFORE THE START OF CLASS
ON DAYS OUTLINED IN THE SCHEDULE BELOW
PLEASE NOTE: I do not give extensions, incompletes, or make-up exams, except
in cases allowed for by University Policy.
Plagiarism or other
forms of academic dishonesty will not be tolerated in any of the assignments
and will result in failing the course. Please consult the section on “Academic
Integrity” and “Artificial Intelligence” in the NAU Policy Statements appended to this syllabus for further
details. IT IS THE STUDENTS' RESPONSIBILITY TO FAMILIARIZE HERSELF/HIMSELF WITH
THESE MATTERS AS DEFINED BY THE UNIVERSITY.
Attendance and Punctuality
Regular attendance is even more crucial than usual for all
courses. Absences will be excused either based on medical documentation, or in
cases allowed for by University policies. In rare cases, I will excuse absences
for personal reasons, but these need to be discussed and approved by me,
ideally in advance. I will allow for TWO unexcused absences over the semester. Beyond
that you start losing participation points. More than FIVE unexcused absences
over the semester will AUTOMATICALLY result in a failing grade, regardless of
your performance in assignments. If you think your University-related
activities, such as field trips, debates, athletic competitions or training
might mean you will miss more than three classes during this semester, my
advice would be not to take the course.
Whatever your reasons for arriving late or missing a class, it is
YOUR RESPONSIBILITY to arrange to contact a classmate and find out what
happened in that class. I encourage you to form small “study groups” or at
least make a “class buddy” whom you can contact for information about classes
missed, study with for the exams, and discuss the proceedings of the class.
In General
I expect you to come to class having done all the required reading
and prepared to engage in discussion. I want you to be motivated to learn about
the subject and to improve your skills as a historian. I will do my best to
help you understand more about the subject. What you make of this course,
however, is ultimately entirely up to you.
PROVISIONAL
SCHEDULE (all dates, readings and assignments subject to change. Depending on how
we progress, I reserve the right to change the schedule or even the assigned
readings for the course)
Introduction
January 16 Introduction to the
Course.
PART
I: Toward Western Hegemony
January 18-25 India: The Emergence and Consolidation of British Power.
Readings: Metcalf and Metcalf,
pp. 29-91.
Tentative Schedule: Jan. 18: pp. 29-55 (chapter 2).
Jan.
23: pp. 56-81.
Jan.
25: pp. 81-91.
Quiz One Assigned January 25, due February 1
January 30 -February 6 China: The Manchus, Traditional Chinese Society, and pressure from the
West.
Readings: Vohra, chapters 1, 2, 3.
Tentative Schedule: Jan 30: Chapter One.
Feb.
1: Chapter Two.
Feb.
6: Chapter Three.
Quiz Two Assigned February 6, due February 13
February 8 Connections between India and China: Opium
Trade
Readings: Selections from Amitav Ghosh’s novel, River
of Smoke.
Response Paper on River of Smoke Assigned February 8th,
due February 29th
February 13-20 Japan: The Tokugawa Shogunate
and its downfall.
Readings: Pyle, pp. 1-74.
Tentative Schedule: Feb. 13: pp. 1-27 (chapters ONE and TWO).
Feb.
15-20: pp. 29-74 (chapters THREE, FOUR and FIVE).
Quiz Three Assigned February 15, due February 27th
February 22 Comparative Colonial Experiences and Early
Responses.
Readings: Revise all chapters from Metcalf and Metcalf,
Vohra, Pyle, and Ghosh (selections).
Discussion # 1 Questions
Assigned.
February 27 Discussion #1
PART
II: Colonialism, Reform, and Nationalism (Please keep in
mind that the reading schedule, and the overall pace of the course becomes more
challenging than in part I, and remains so till the end of the semester)
February 29-March 5 Colonialism
and Early Response in India.
Readings: Metcalf and Metcalf, pp. 92-166.
Tentative Schedule: Feb. 29: pp. 92-120.
March
5: SKIM pp. 120-122 and READ pp. 123-166.
February 29th Assignment
Response
Paper on River of Smoke, due
March 7 Catch up. No Class Meeting if we are
on schedule.
March
11-15 SPRING
BREAK
March 19-26 Nationalist Revolutions in China.
Readings: Vohra, chapters FOUR, FIVE, and SIX.
Schedule One chapter per class meeting (to be
read BEFORE class meetings, of course)
TERM PAPER ASSIGNED March 26 (DUE April
25 on Canvas by end of day)
March 28-April 4 Meiji Nationalism in Japan.
Readings: Pyle, chapters Six, Seven, Eight.
Schedule One chapter per class meeting (to be
read BEFORE class meetings, of course)
Assignment
Discussion # 2 Questions
Assigned April 2.
April 9 Discussion #2
Quiz Four Assigned April 11th, due April 18th
PART
III: Asia in the Modern World: Revolutions and Empires
April 11-16 India: Toward Independence.
Readings: Metcalf and
Metcalf, pp. 167-230.
Tentative Schedule: April 11: pp. 166-202.
April
16: pp. 203-230.
April 18-23 Japan: Toward Authoritarianism and
Imperialism.
Readings: Pyle, chapters Nine, Ten, and Eleven.
Tentative Schedule TBA.
April 25-30 China: Toward Socialist Revolution.
Readings: Vohra, chapters Seven and Eight.
Schedule One chapter a day.
Assignment
Due
April 25: TERM PAPER DUE!
Quiz Five Assigned April 30th, due May 7th
May 7 Discussion of course and End of Term Review.
Assignment
Due Quiz Five Due
May
9 Catch
up. No class if we are on schedule.
Liberal
Studies
Distribution
Block: Social and
Political Worlds.
Essential
Skills: Critical thinking.
Course
Objectives
By the end of
the course, students will not only be familiar with the broad contours of the
political, social, and cultural history of Asia from ca. 1750 to ca. 1945, but
also be able to do the following:
a. Critically read and interpret histories of India, China,
and Japan and make arguments about the connections between these histories.
b. Combine evidence from a variety of historical sources to
get a sense of life in the times and places they are reading about.
c. Be able to present a cogent argument well supported by
evidence in written essays, discussion notes, and in discussion groups.
Syllabus Requirements
Syllabus Policy Statements
ACADEMIC INTEGRITY
NAU expects every student to firmly adhere to a strong
ethical code of academic integrity in all their scholarly pursuits. The primary attributes of academic integrity are honesty, trustworthiness, fairness, and responsibility. As a student, you are expected to submit original work while
giving proper credit to other people’s ideas or contributions. Acting with
academic integrity means completing your assignments independently while
truthfully acknowledging all sources of information, or collaboration with
others when appropriate. When you submit your work, you are implicitly declaring that the work is your own. Academic integrity
is expected not only during
formal coursework, but in all your relationships or interactions that are connected to the educational enterprise. All forms of academic deceit such as
plagiarism, cheating, collusion, falsification or fabrication of results or
records, permitting your work to be submitted by another, or inappropriately
recycling your own work from one class to another, constitute academic misconduct
that may result in serious disciplinary consequences. All students and faculty
members are responsible for reporting suspected instances of academic
misconduct. All students are encouraged to complete
NAU’s online academic
integrity workshop available in the E-Learning Center and should review the full Academic Integrity policy available at https://policy.nau.edu/policy/policy.aspx?num=100601.
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
Artificial intelligence (AI) technologies bring both
opportunities and challenges. Ensuring honesty in academic work creates a
culture of integrity and expectations of ethical behavior. The use of these
technologies can depend on the instructional setting, varying by faculty
member, program, course, and assignment. Please refer to course policies, any
additional course-specific guidelines in the syllabus, or communicate with the
instructor to understand expectations. NAU recognizes the role that these technologies
will play in the current and future careers of our graduates and expects
students to practice responsible and ethical use of AI technologies to assist
with learning within the confines of course policies.
COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT
All
lectures and course materials, including but not limited to exams, quizzes,
study outlines, and similar materials are protected by copyright. These
materials may not be shared, uploaded, distributed, reproduced, or publicly
displayed without the express written permission of NAU. Sharing materials on
websites such as Course Hero, Chegg, or related websites is considered
copyright infringement subject to United States Copyright Law and a violation
of NAU Student Code of Conduct. For additional information on ABOR policies
relating to course materials, please refer to ABOR Policy
6-908 A(2)(5).
COURSE
TIME COMMITMENT
Pursuant to Arizona Board of
Regents guidance (ABOR Policy 2-224, Academic
Credit), each unit of credit requires a minimum of 45 hours of work by
students, including but not limited to, class time, preparation, homework, and
studying. For example, for a 3-credit course a student should expect to work at
least 8.5 hours each week in a 16-week
session and a minimum of 33 hours per week for a 3-credit course in a 4-week session.
DISRUPTIVE BEHAVIOR
Membership in NAU’s academic community entails a special
obligation to maintain class environments that are conductive to learning, whether
instruction is taking
place in the classroom, a laboratory or clinical setting,
during course-related fieldwork, or online. Students
have the obligation to engage in the educational process in a manner
that does not interfere with normal class activities or violate the rights of others. Instructors have the authority and responsibility to address
disruptive behavior that interferes with student learning,
which can include
the involuntary withdrawal of
a student from a course with a grade of “W”. For additional information, see
NAU’s Disruptive Behavior in an
Instructional Setting policy at https://nau.edu/university-policy-library/disruptive-behavior.
NONDISCRIMINATION AND ANTI-HARASSMENT
NAU prohibits discrimination and harassment based on sex,
gender, gender identity, race, color, age, national origin, religion,
sexual orientation, disability, veteran status and
genetic information. Certain
consensual amorous or sexual relationships between faculty and students are
also prohibited as set forth in the Consensual
Romantic and Sexual Relationships policy. The Equity and Access Office
(EAO) responds to complaints regarding discrimination and harassment that fall
under NAU’s Nondiscrimination and Anti-
Harassment policy. EAO also assists with religious accommodations. For
additional information about nondiscrimination
or anti-harassment or to file a complaint, contact EAO located
in Old Main (building 10), Room
113, PO Box 4083, Flagstaff, AZ 86011, or by phone at 928-523-3312 (TTY: 928-523-1006), fax at 928-523-9977,
email at equityandaccess@nau.edu, or visit the EAO website at https://nau.edu/equity-and-access.
TITLE IX
Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, as amended,
protects individuals from discrimination based on sex in any educational
program or activity operated by recipients of federal financial assistance. In
accordance with Title IX, Northern Arizona University prohibits discrimination
based on sex or gender in all its programs or activities. Sex discrimination
includes sexual harassment, sexual assault, relationship violence, and
stalking. NAU does not discriminate on the basis of sex in the education
programs or activities that it operates, including in admission and employment.
NAU is committed to providing an environment free from discrimination based on
sex or gender and provides a number of supportive measures that assist
students, faculty, and staff.
One may direct inquiries concerning the application of Title
IX to either or both the Title IX Coordinator or the U.S. Department of
Education, Assistant Secretary, Office of Civil Rights. You may contact the Title IX Coordinator in
the Office for the Resolution of Sexual Misconduct by phone at 928-523-5434, by
fax at 928-523-0640, or by email at titleix@nau.edu. In furtherance of its Title IX
obligations, NAU promptly will investigate or equitably resolve all
reports of sex or gender-based discrimination, harassment, or sexual misconduct
and will eliminate any hostile environment as defined by law. The Office for
the Resolution of Sexual Misconduct (ORSM):
Title IX Institutional Compliance, Prevention & Response addresses
matters that fall under the university's Sexual Misconduct policy. Additional
important information and related resources, including how to request immediate
help or confidential support following an act of sexual violence, is available
at https://in.nau.edu/title-ix.
ACCESSIBILITY
Professional disability specialists are available at
Disability Resources to facilitate a range of academic support services and
accommodations for students with disabilities. If you have a documented
disability, you can request assistance by contacting Disability Resources at
928-523-8773 (voice), ,928-523-8747 (fax), or dr@nau.edu (e-mail). Once eligibility has
been determined, students register with Disability Resources every semester to
activate their approved accommodations. Although a student may request an
accommodation at any time, it is best to initiate the application process at
least four weeks before a student wishes to receive an accommodation. Students
may begin the accommodation process by submitting a self-identification form
online at https://nau.edu/disability-resources/student-eligibility-process or
by contacting Disability Resources. The Director of Disability Resources, Jamie
Axelrod, serves as NAU’s Americans with Disabilities Act Coordinator and
Section 504 Compliance Officer. He can be reached at jamie.axelrod@nau.edu.
RESPONSIBLE CONDUCT OF RESEARCH
Students who engage in research at NAU must receive
appropriate Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR) training. This instruction is
designed to help ensure proper awareness and application of well-established
professional norms and ethical principles related to the performance of all
scientific research activities. More information regarding RCR training is
available at https://nau.edu/research/compliance/research-integrity.
MISCONDUCT IN RESEARCH
As noted, NAU expects every student to firmly adhere to a
strong code of academic integrity in all their scholarly pursuits. This
includes avoiding fabrication, falsification, or plagiarism when conducting
research or reporting research results. Engaging in research misconduct may
result in serious disciplinary consequences. Students must also report any
suspected or actual instances of research misconduct of which they become
aware. Allegations of research misconduct should be reported to your instructor
or the University’s Research Integrity Officer, Dr. David Faguy, who can be
reached at david.faguy@nau.edu or 928-523-6117. More
information about misconduct in research is available at
https://nau.edu/university-policy-library/misconduct-in-research.
SENSITIVE COURSE MATERIALS
University education aims to expand student understanding
and awareness. Thus, it necessarily involves engagement with a wide range of
information, ideas, and creative representations. In their college studies,
students can expect to encounter and to critically appraise materials that may
differ from and perhaps challenge familiar understandings, ideas, and beliefs.
Students are encouraged to discuss these matters with faculty.
Last revised November 28, 2023