| University of Tennessee-Knoxville | Dr. Robert Stolz |
History 392 - Fall 2007 |
2829 Dunford Hall - 6F |
Office Hours: M 1-3pm |
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rstolz@utk.edu |
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Course Description
HIST 392: History
of Japan This course is designed as an introduction to aspects of the history, culture, and interpretation of the area of the world that became the nation-state of Japan. This will not be a comprehensive or linear narrative of “Japanese civilization.” Instead, while reading primary works in translation, selected critical essays, and viewing films and film clips, we will use categories of gender, ethnicity, status, aesthetics, and class to explore various historical “moments” and raise questions on the methods of cultural analysis in general. |
Course Objectives
Throughout the term we will use categories of gender, ethnicity, national identity, nature and class as lenses for approaching something as enormous as Japanese Civilization. This is not meant to give a counter-narrative of the traditional story of Japan but to show how history and historical investigation are related in a more complicated relationship than just “looking things up.” At the end you should be familiar with the different historical, political and social groupings that have at one time or another been part of what we now call Japanese history. You should also be familiar with the different “work” that our different categories of analysis can do. The other goal of this course is to help you learn to think historically. Below are some general historical skills you will learn in this course: |
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Interpreting historical sources—mainly texts but also artifacts, art, etc.—as evidence to make an argument about what happened in the past. History is imagination disciplined by evidence and cogent explication. Historians want to know not only what happened, but how, and occasionally, why. Analyzing historical sources on their own terms. This means avoiding anachronism, projecting our present into the past, and teleology, which means seeing the present as the inevitable result of the past—this slights real historical struggles and reduces past actors to merely ” keeping appointments”. Every human society, past and present, has its own values and ways of thinking—often different from our own. In our case, this is further complicated by studying a non-Western nation where it is often inappropriate to project our “common sense” onto the motivations of the historical actors: When Oshio Heihachirô rebelled in 1837 his banners did not read “Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness” but rather, “Sincerity—Truthfulness.” You must learn to read analytically to identify these terms and then determine what those terms meant to him and his contemporaries. |
Exercising critical judgment about what you read and hear. “Critical judgment” does not mean being negative. Rather, it means that you should always weigh and consider the validity of what you are being told, in terms of factuality, strength of argument, and possible biases. It is not enough to merely identify a bias; you must still look at historical sources like legal testimony and judge how and why it is, or is not, convincing. Evaluating the work. Give your thoughts on the pros and cons of the text’s arguments. Does it have any factual errors? False assumptions? Does the conclusion follow from the premises? What issues does it address and what issues does its language ignore? Creating “historical knowledge.” Themes and concepts like “modernity,” “nationalism,” and “colonialism/imperialism” are developed through historical investigation in a way that they would not be in fields like economics or law (though they may have some things in common with philosophy or literature). |
| To reach these goals, you will have to engage in active learning. You will not only be asked to read and understand, but to apply those skills to analyzing, interpreting, and, finally, evaluating both primary and secondary sources. You will have to demonstrate these skills by critiquing primary and secondary sources and communicating your interpretation clearly in writing. | |
| Tips for Success: When reading primary sources, keep in mind all these authors are writing because they feel some sense of crisis so your first step should be to identify this crisis; second, identify the author’s concepts and categories and their relation to each other. (In the interpretation of historical sources, it is rare that an opinion depends solely on factual details). Reading for categories is difficult because the author may not always explicitly announce them—or may even consciously hide them. Very few examples are as straightforward as Oshio Heihachirô marching about with a flag and shouting “Sincerity—Truthfulness!” |
| Important This method requires that you make a temporarily sympathetic reading of the text. Since we are going to be reading texts that are sometimes in favor of war, colonialism, racism, or sexism this temporary moment can be offensive to many readers. In these cases it is important to keep in mind the difference between being descriptive and being prescriptive. We need this temporary sympathy if we wish to offer a more complete and convincing critique of not only the author’s conclusion, but also the categories, structure, and assumptions. If in class discussions or lectures you are ever unclear if I am being descriptive or prescriptive please stop me and ask. |
Requirements and Grading Students may miss three of these in-class assignments for any reason at all, no questions asked. On the other hand no excuses will be accepted for missing them starting with the fourth. In other words there are no make-ups or extra credit projects. Be aware: lack of preparation leading to a “0” on one of the assignments counts the same as missing class—both earn you a “0” for that day. In other words, it is not enough simply to show up. Four papers (4x 15%)
= 60% On the “A” Grade Late Policy Academic Integrity |
Required Texts Totman, A History
of Japan
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