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Regular version of the site

Sociopolitical and Economic History of Asia

2021/2022
Academic Year
ENG
Instruction in English
3
ECTS credits
Course type:
Bridging course
When:
1 year, 1 module

Instructor

Course Syllabus

Abstract

The course focuses on the historical and social background in East and South-East Asia including the historical roots, the nature of state power, social forces, major powers relationships and the future of Asian geopolitics in the 21st century. The history of world politics has been a history of interactions among great powers. The legacy of history, traditional political culture, cross- border conflicts and alliances play a very important role in the current political situation in East Asia. This course will trace the history of the region since the ancient times and show how the Asian states as well as Western powers have been shaping the geopolitical map of East and South-East Asia since the mid-18th century to the present. The course will focus primarily on the continuities and discontinuities in the cultural, social and political patterns in the context of international relations. The following issues will be explored. China, Korea, Japan and SEA countries in the Medieval period, China and other countries of East and South-East Asia since the early Medieval period to the present day; the East Asian setting and early European influence to 1800; European impact on East and Southeast Asia in the 19th century; China's and Japan’s response to the Western expansion; the decline and fall of empires in East Asia and national resurrection of Asian states; the Cold War in Asia and postwar nation-building; the resurrection of Japan and China; the rise of nationalism in East Asia and its different models (Chinese, Japanese, etc.); power, authority, and the advent of democracy in Asia; Russia in the Pacific Asia; regional dynamics, regional and global perspectives of Asia Pacific; new trends in Asia: isolation, integration, and changes, etc. Currently each Asian state faces challenges and opportunities that influence its national security objectives and strategies. One of the major goals of this course is to analyze these challenges and opportunities in an attempt to forecast what the future of Asian Geopolitics might be over the next 15 to 25 years. The fundamental question of the continuity between the cultural tradition as the basis of socioeconomic organization seen in the historical retrospective and the elements of change and “modernity” in the present, will remain the key point issue of our course.
Learning Objectives

Learning Objectives

  • The main academic aim of the course is to equip students with theoretical and methodological instruments for conducting theoretical and applied research in the field of socioeconomic and political development of contemporary Asia, to advance critical and independent thinking, evaluate students’ own standpoints on the research problem, to enhance the students’ competence in recognizing and creating the balanced structure and contents of the thesis in Asian Studies as well as in assessing own research as a holistic work, its place in the field of study and contribution to it, its perspectives and challenges.
Expected Learning Outcomes

Expected Learning Outcomes

  • Connect and integrate historical phenomena as well as grasp their political, economic, ethical and moral dimensions
  • Place major historical events in East Asian History in their proper geographical, chronological, and thematic context.
  • Think historically, read critically, write and speak persuasively
Course Contents

Course Contents

  • Course Introduction Ancient China and Countries of South-East Asia
  • The East Asian Setting and Rising of State and Society before 1800
  • EA and SEA states in the Premodern period and Early European Influence
  • 19th Century European Imperialism and the Colonization of Southeast Asia
  • China's response to the West: The Crisis and Fall of the Ch'ing Empire
  • Japan's Response to the Western Expansion: Meiji Modernization
  • The Rise of Nationalism in East Asia
  • Nationalism in the Colonial East and SE Asia
  • Models of Nationalism in China: Chiang Kai-shek versus Mao
  • Ultra-Nationalism in Japan: The 1930's
  • The Pacific War and Cold War in Asia
  • Postwar Nation-Building in Southeast Asia
  • China from Mao to Deng
  • Japan Reinvents Itself
  • The Struggle for Power in Modern East Asia
  • Russia in East Asia: the hard choice
  • Course Wrap-up
Assessment Elements

Assessment Elements

  • non-blocking Class attendance 50% Participation at the class work - 20% Group Discussion and readings - 30%
  • non-blocking exam
Interim Assessment

Interim Assessment

  • 2021/2022 1st module
    0.7 * Class attendance 50% Participation at the class work - 20% Group Discussion and readings - 30% + 0.3 * exam
Bibliography

Bibliography

Recommended Core Bibliography

  • Shambaugh, D. L., & Yahuda, M. B. (2014). International Relations of Asia (Vol. Second edition). Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsebk&AN=726076

Recommended Additional Bibliography

  • Грачиков Е.Н. - Геополитика Китая: эгоцентризм и пространство сетей - Русайнс - 2015 - ISBN: 978-5-4365-0419-3 - Текст электронный // ЭБС BOOKRU - URL: https://book.ru/book/917391