2024 Faculty Courses Liberal arts and basic science courses Humanities and social science courses
Essence of Humanities and Social Sciences14:History
- Academic unit or major
- Humanities and social science courses
- Instructor(s)
- Isami Sawai
- Class Format
- Lecture (Face-to-face)
- Media-enhanced courses
- -
- Day of week/Period
(Classrooms) - 3-4 Wed
- Class
- -
- Course Code
- LAH.S414
- Number of credits
- 100
- Course offered
- 2024
- Offered quarter
- 1Q
- Syllabus updated
- Mar 14, 2025
- Language
- Japanese
Syllabus
Course overview and goals
Politics and foreign relations in 19th-century Japan and East Asia
This course aims to provide basic historical knowledge, introduce cutting-edge research in Japanese and overseas academia including the lecturer’s, and deliver various interesting aspects of historical understanding of politics and diplomacy in Japan and East Asian especially in the 1860s-70s. In particular, this course will exclude a conventional framework that was based on ‘learning and adaptation’ of Western international order. Rather, it will investigate the intellectual framework and political contexts of the actors at that time, comprehension of international order and law, and other conditions. By doing that, it will detailedly reconstruct the transformation of Japanese and East Asia from a new perspective.
Course description and aims
By the end of this course, students will be able to:
1) Understand the historical background of contemporary society by gaining knowledge of politics and foreign relations of modern Japan and East Asia.
2) Learn how to express their own opinions in an appropriate way through submitting reaction papers after each class.
3) Establish an intellectual basis in order to work together with a variety of people in this globalizing world by comprehending diverse aspects of history
Keywords
History, Japanese History, Political and Diplomatic History, Bakumatsu, Meiji, International Law, International Order
Competencies
- Specialist skills
- Intercultural skills
- Communication skills
- Critical thinking skills
- Practical and/or problem-solving skills
Class flow
Lecture-style with PPT slides. At the end of each class, students are required to submit reaction papers that include their questions, feedbacks, and opinions about the lecture. If needed, the lecturer will provide additional explanations and answers to these reactions at the beginning of the next class. This mutual communication will enable students to deepen their understanding of the class.
Course schedule/Objectives
| Course schedule | Objectives | |
|---|---|---|
| Class 1 | Introduction | Explain the course description, learning outcomes, reference books, assessment criteria and others. |
| Class 2 | Kaibo-gakari and the arrival of Perry | Reconsider the conventional discussion that Perry’s military pressure led Japan to finish its sakoku by focusing on the role of Kaibo-gakari and others. |
| Class 3 | Establishment of the Bakufu’s gaikoku-gata/ “Intercourse” of the Kuze-Ando government | Investigate the drastic change of the position of Gaikoku-gata from the viewpoint of “intercourse” during the period of Ansei Purge to Sakuradamon incident |
| Class 4 | Hitotsubashi Yoshinobu and the Bakumatsu foreign relations | Discuss the role of Hitotsubashi Yoshinobu who coordinated between Nakuru and the imperial court and thus established his own leadership over both foreign relations and domestic politics after the Bunkyū reform. |
| Class 5 | “Intercourse” of the early Meiji government | Disclose the “intercourse” of Date Munenari and Higashikuze Michitomi in the early Meiji government from the viewpoints of their own understanding of international law and drastically changing political situation. |
| Class 6 | Soejima’s “intercourse” and the Iwakura Mission | Discuss Soejima’s personal “intercourse”, which was consciously used for his political goal but caused a conflict with the Iwakura Mission, resulting in the political crisis of 1873. |
| Class 7 | End-of-term exam/ Summary of the course | Conduct end-of-term exam in order to check students’ understanding level/ Summarize the foreign relations of Japan and East Asian in the 1860s-70s. |
Study advice (preparation and review)
To enhance effective learning, students are encouraged to spend approximately 100 minutes preparing for class and another 100 minutes reviewing class content afterwards (including assignments) for each class.
They should do so by referring to reference books and other course materials.
Textbook(s)
No textbook
Reference books, course materials, etc.
Reference books will also be introduced during the lecture if needed
Evaluation methods and criteria
End-of-term exam 80% (closed-book, essay-style), Reaction papers 20%
Related courses
- LAH.H105 ： History A
- LAH.H205 ： History B
- LAH.H305 ： History C
Prerequisites
It is desirable to have prior knowledge of junior high or high school level of Japanese history. Nevertheless, the lecturer will proceed the course along with providing basic knowledge of Japanese history during the lectures.
Contact information (e-mail and phone) Notice : Please replace from ”[at]” to ”@”(half-width character).
i.sawai[at]ila.titech.ac.jp
Office hours
Students can contact the lecturer in advance.
Other
No classes will be given on April 10(Wed).
Seven total classes will be held for this course: April 17 (Wed), April 24 (Wed), May 1 (Wed), May 8 (Wed), May 15 (Wed), May 22(Wed), May 29(Wed).