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 Divided Korea
Hejtmanek
Taught as schedule allows (consult the Course Directory)
SEM
This seminar examines the complex and turbulent histories of North and South Korea over the past half century. Korea had been a unified state for over a millennium; yet within a few short years after being arbitrarily partitioned at the end of World War II it became embroiled in one of the bloodiest and most violent conflicts of the twentieth century, leading to a tense standoff that continues to the present. Topics treated will include the cultural divide between the two regions inherited from the nineteenth century and the Japanese colonial period; the impact of the Cold War on Korea; the Korean war and its legacy; the rule of Kim Il-sung in the north and Syngman Rhee, Park Chung Hee, and Chun Du Hwan in the south; and movement toward unification since the end of the Cold War. Students will be expected to write a research paper for the seminar, making substantial use of primary sources.
