Research Seminar (395-0-26)

Topic

Imperialism in Asia

Instructors

Melissa Macauley
847/491-3418
Harris Hall - Room 344
Melissa Macauley is an award-winning teacher who specializes in late imperial and modern Chinese history (1500-present). Her research currently focuses on Chinese international history and the historical relationship between China and Southeast Asia.

Meeting Info

Harris Hall L04: Tues 3:00PM - 5:50PM

Overview of class

The history of "imperialism in Asia" is a global history. It involved virtually all the European colonial powers: Portugal, Spain, the Netherlands, France, Germany and, of course, Great Britain. The United States joined the club in the nineteenth century and, unlike the rest of the colonized world, a non-Western nation, Japan, participated in this tradition of territorial conquest and cultural hegemony. Paradoxically, the Japanese simultaneously intensified the colonial experience and, by starting the war in the Pacific, inaugurated the process that led to decolonization and the emergence of independent nation states in Southeast Asia. This seminar will explore this history in its multifaceted dimensions, and students interested in Asian, European, American, and Global history are all welcome. The initial two-thirds of the seminar will be devoted to reading primary and secondary sources relating to colonialism and imperialism in East, Southeast, and South Asia. Naturally we will not be able to explore the topic in all its dimensions in just a few weeks, but we will learn from each other. The latter third of the course will be devoted to the research and writing of a term paper on a topic relating to the history of imperialism in these regions. The purpose of this exercise is to enable students to write the sort of polished term paper that is not usually possible within the hectic confines of the quarter system. You will be afforded the time and personal attention necessary to write a good paper. For some, this may enable you to engage in preliminary research for a future senior honors thesis. For others it might serve as a capstone project in your major. For all students the paper will give you an opportunity to study a topic that interests you.

Learning Objectives

To learn the basic history of Imperialism in Asia; to learn how to read, think, and write critically; to learn how to conduct historical research; to enhance students' writing ability.

Evaluation Method

Participation in seminar discussion; short (2-pp) paper; term paper (15-20 pp).

Class Notes

History Major Concentration(s): Americas, European, Asia/Middle East, Global
History Minor Concentration(s): Europe, United States, Middle East, Asia

Class Attributes

Advanced Expression
Historical Studies Foundational Discipline
Historical Studies Distro Area

Enrollment Requirements

Enrollment Requirements: Freshmen may not register for this course.