History 201-206 seminars are open to history majors only during pre-registration. If the course does not reach its enrollment maximum, it will be open to all students beginning with drop/add on a first-come first-serve basis.
HIST 206 Imperial Asia
Taught as schedule allows (consult the Course Directory)
R | SEM
This seminar will examine the modern history of the Asia/Pacific region from the perspective of one of its most salient features: empire. If imperial conquest shaped the contours of modern Africa, it was no less significant in nineteenth and twentieth century Asia. As in Africa, conquest in Asia/the Pacific was a critical means by which nations came to define their global status. And the legacy of colonialism was central to the disastrous series of wars that plagued twentieth century Asia. We will highlight the three empires in modern Asia/the Pacific with the most profound long-term effects—French Indochina, the Philippines under American rule and the Japanese empire—to shed light upon twentieth century Asia and the nature of modern empire building. Special attention will be paid to comparative themes (conquest, governance, local identity, etc.) and cross-border ("transnational") linkages.
