Samurai Revolution: Reinventing Japan, 1853-1878
| Code | School | Level | Credits | Semesters |
| HIST3030 | History | 3 | 40 | Full Year UK |
- Code
- HIST3030
- School
- History
- Level
- 3
- Credits
- 40
- Semesters
- Full Year UK
Summary
This module surveys the dramatic cultural encounter in the nineteenth century as the world of the samurai was confronted by Western expansion and the Age of Steam. It explores the forces at work in Japan's rapid transformation from an 'ancient regime' under the rule of the Shogun into a 'modern' imperial power. Original documents examined in class draw on the growing range of Japanese primary sources available in English translation, together with the extensive works of Victorian diplomats, newspaper correspondents and other foreign residents in the treaty ports. Issues covered include:
- How the arrival of Commodore Perry''s 'Black Ships' threatened to undermine the Tokugawa regime.
- Why the authority of the shogunate unravelled as controversy raged and a wave of violence swept the land.
- Why radical factions competed for control of Kyoto, the imperial city, while the treaty powers resorted to gunboat diplomacy.
- How an arms race, coup d'état and civil war removed the Shogun from power after centuries of Tokugawa rule.
- Why the transfer of power was presented as an imperial restoration, even as the new Meiji regime embarked on a programme of revolutionary reforms.
- Why half the government took off on a two-year world tour and the vogue of 'Japonisme' appeared in the West
- How the pace of modernisation dismayed everyone, including Western observers, but also provoked opposition and rebellions as the world of the samurai was rapidly overhauled.
Target Students
Only available to level 3 or 4 single or joint honours History students and Liberal Arts students.
Classes
- One 3-hour seminar each week for 10 weeks
Assessment
- 30% Coursework 1: Topic-based essay - 3,000 words
- 30% Coursework 2: Source-based assessment - 3,000 words
- 40% Coursework 3: Synoptic essay - 3,500 words
Assessed in both autumn & spring semest
Educational Aims
The module aims to provide students with an understanding of the political, social and cultural forces at work in the transformation of Japan in the mid-nineteenth century; to encourage students to analyse competing interpretations of the Meiji Restoration by examining the overthrow of the Tokugawa dynasty and rise of the new regime from multiple perspectives at regional, state and international levels; and to foster an awareness of relevant historiographical debates in the field so as to develop the intellectual and transferable skills listed below.Learning Outcomes
a. Knowledge and understanding.
By the end of the module students should be able to:
• explain and interpret the major underlying forces that shaped the Opening of Japan and the Meiji Restoration between 1853 and 1878 and demonstrate an understanding of important historical changes that took place at that time
• reflect on the nature of History as a discipline
b. Intellectual skills.
By the end of the module students should be able to:
• think critically and imaginatively about the Meiji Restoration
• identify and address key problems relevant to the period
• interpret primary and secondary sources on the Meiji Restoration and be aware of differing historical interpretations
• construct coherent and independent historical arguments of their own
c. Professional/practical skills.
The module will develop students' ability to:
• select, sift and synthesise information from a range of primary and secondary sources
• identify and compare key arguments in those materials
• demonstrate appropriate IT proficiency in completing historical assignments
d. Transferable skills.
The module will also develop students' ability to:
• manage a large and disparate body of information
• express themselves clearly, coherently and fluently in writing essays and group discussions
• work and learn actively with others
• manage and take responsibility for their own learning
• use IT to word process for research and presentation purposes