Major Requirement: History of Asia
By reexamining the history and politics of the Cold War in East Asia, this course aims to broaden our understanding of post WW II and contemporary East Asian society and culture. Instead of following the conventional interpretation of the Cold War as ideological and political conflicts between the United States and the Soviet Union, this course focuses on how major historical changes in East Asia – Japan’s surrender in 1945, Mao’s Communist China, two “hot wars” (the Korean War and the Vietnamese War) – shaped ideology oriented socio-cultural spaces and regulated everyday life in East Asia. Another task of this course is to relate the history of the Cold War to contemporary issues in East Asia such as the rise of China, nuclear crisis in North Korea and post- Cold War East Asian regional community.
Prerequisite: Sophomore Status