HISTORY OF JAPAN 2

This is one of the basic courses within the "Japan" curriculum of the degree programme in "Lingue, Culture e Società dell'Asia e dell'Africa Mediterranea".
The course contributes to the attainment of the teaching goals of the Corso di Laurea in the area of humanities.
The main goals of the course are: to provide knowledge on the history of Japan from the late Edo period to the end of the 20th century; to provide tools for the analysis and discussion of political, economic, social and cultural phenomena; to develop autonomous judgement and the skills to produce and communicate interpretive discourse on the themes of the course.

Knowledge and understanding:
- to know and understand the main phases and phenomena of the political, economic, social and cultural history of Japan from the late Edo period to the end of the 20th century
- to acquire knowledge of methodology for historical research
- to acquire the tools needed to subsequently deepen the knowledge and understanding of historical contexts in other teachings, from different points of view (e.g. artistic, literary ...)

Applying knowledge and understanding:
- to cope with the historiographical themes in an autonomous way, using arguments that are critically sound
- to critically apply historical research methodology to the historical period studied in the course

Making judgements:
- to produce critical judgments on the political, economic, social and cultural phenomena that are part of the program by using arguments that are critically sound
- to examine critically various types of sources and to navigate the specialized bibliography
- to perfect one's capacity to criticize essentialist and stereotypical discourses on "Japanese culture"

Communication:
- to express and re-elaborate the contents of the program in written form, in a synthetic and effective way. To formulate valid judgments in the field of history, without resorting to automatism and oversimplification resulting from a mnemonic study

Lifelong learning skills:
- to know how to take notes in an effective way
- to know how to critically integrate the study of different materials (books, academic articles, resources from the internet)
- to be able to independently study materials and topics not covered during the lectures
- to refine one's ability to study materials in English
- to refine one's ability to use the online teaching platform
Communication:
- to express and re-elaborate the contents of the program in written form, in a synthetic and effective way. To formulate valid judgments in the field of history, without resorting to automatism and oversimplification resulting from a mnemonic study

Successful completion of the course "History of Japan 1"

The course will cover the history of political institutions, social and economic structures, and main cultural trends in Japan from the late Edo period to the end of the 20th century. Discussion will focus on the relationship between national and international dimensions, as well as on the themes of modernization and popular representation.

Lesson 1: introductory remarks on the topics and objectives of the course
Lessons 2-5: end of the Edo period, Meiji Restauration
Lessons 6-7: late Meiji period
Lessons 8-11: from the First to the Second World War
Lessons 12-15: from the occupation to the 1990s

Required readings:
Revelant, Andrea. 2018. 'Il Giappone moderno. Dall'Ottocento al 1945'. Torino: Einaudi.
Gordon, Andrew. 2013. 'A Modern History of Japan'. New York: Oxford University Press. [chps. 13-17]
Revelant, Andrea. 2016. 'Sviluppo economico e disuguaglianza. La questione fiscale nel Giappone moderno, 1873-1940'. Venezia: Cafoscarina. [chps. 1-3, 5, 8-9]
Constitution of 1889: ndl.go.jp / constitution / e / etc / c02.html
Constitution of 1946: ndl.go.jp / constitution / e / etc / c01.htm

Suggestions for further reading:
Berger, Gordon. 1988. ‘Politics and Mobilization in Japan, 1931-1945’. In Peter Duus (ed.), The Cambridge History of Japan, vol. 6, pp. 97-153. Cambridge, New York: Cambridge University Press.
Francks, Penelope. 2006. Rural Economic Development in Japan. From the nineteenth century to the Pacific War. London, New York: Routledge.
Fukui Haruhiro. 1988. 'Postwar Politics, 1945-1973'. In Peter Duus (ed.). The Cambridge History of Japan, vol. 6, pp. 154-213. Cambridge, New York: Cambridge University Press.
Saaler, Sven; Christopher W.A. Szpilman (eds). 2018. Routledge Handbook of Modern Japanese History. Abingdon, New York: Routledge.
Sims, Richard. 2001. Japanese Political History since the Meiji Renovation, 1868-2000. London: Hurst & Company.
Mitani Taichiro. 1988. ‘The Establishment of Party Cabinets, 1898-1932’. In Peter Duus (ed.). The Cambridge History of Japan, vol. 6, pp. 55-96. Cambridge, New York: Cambridge University Press.
Nakamura Takafusa. 1998. A History of Showa Japan, 1926-1989. Tokyo: University of Tokyo Press.
Tipton, Elise. 2011. Il Giappone moderno. Torino: Einaudi.

A list of digital resources for further study will be available on the moodle platform.

Written test (30 mins):
- 10 multiple choice questions
- 10 brief open-ended questions
- 1 long open-ended question
Each of the three parts has the same weight. The final grade is the average of marks obtained in the three parts.

The questions are meant to assess the general level of competence in the discipline and the critical and methodological skills acquired.
The assessment will consider the student's:
- general knowledge and understanding of the topics covered;
- competence in contextualizing the events in cronological terms;
- competence in the terminology associated with the subject and ability to use it effectively;
- ability to summarise and analyse themes and concepts.
Top marks will be awarded to a student displaying an overall understanding of the topics discussed during the lectures, combined with a critical approach to the material and a confident and effective use of the appropriate terminology.
Average marks will be awarded to a student who has memorized the main points of the material and is able to summarise them satisfactorily and provide an effective critical commentary, while failing to display a complete command of the appropriate terminology.
Students will fail the exam if they display a severe lack of knowledge and failure to grasp key concepts, together with a poor command of the appropriate terminology.

Conventional, with materials for further study available through the moodle platform.

-Non-attending students will take the same exam as other students.
-The exam programme will not change for the whole academic year 2018/19.

written

This subject deals with topics related to the macro-area "Poverty and inequalities" and contributes to the achievement of one or more goals of U. N. Agenda for Sustainable Development