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Course Aims: The main goals of the course are: 1) to understand the expansion of Western
Empire in Asia in the mid-19th century, and the various responses of Asian states and peoples to
the West; 2) to examine and compare the divergent historical trajectories of two states that
avoided colonial conquest; and 3) to analyze the internal colonialism of both Siam and Japan,
and its historical implications for understanding Colonialism and Empire.
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Grading: Grades will be based on two short essays, a seminar presentation, a 15-20 page
research essay, and seminar participation:
Presentation: 20%
Short essays: 30%
Each student will be expected to give a concise and well-prepared presentation of no more than
10 minutes to the class once during the semester. The purpose of this is to both practice your
presentation skills, as well as to provide an overview of the main themes/topics/questions for that
weeks discussion. The first short essay will be due in Week 2, and the second will in Week 8
see the Course Outline below for details on the assignment. In Week 10, students will hand in an
outline and bibliography for their research essay, the final draft of which will be due at the end of
Week 15. Our final meeting will be dedicated to open discussion of the intersections between
Empire, Colonialism, and the historical trajectories of Siam/Thailand and Japan; students will
also be expected to come to that session prepared to discuss their research essays with the class.
COURSE OUTLINE
[Note: This is a draft syllabus. ** denotes optional readings that provide either an overview or
additional detail on the topic.]
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Economics, History, and Political Science (Athens, OH: Ohio University Center for International
Studies, Southeast Asia Program, 1978), pp. 193-247.
Gluck, Carol, House of Mirrors: American History-Writing on Japan, in Anthony Molho and Gordon S.
Wood, Imagined histories: American historians interpret the past (Princeton University Press,
1998).
**Jackson, Loos, Thongchai, and Herzfeld in Rachel V. Harrison and Peter A. Jackson, eds., The
Ambiguous Allure of the West: Traces of the Colonial in Thailand (Cornell Southeast Asia
Program Publications, 2010).
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Pasuk Phongpaichit and Chris Baker, Thailand: Economy and Politics (Oxford University Press, USA,
2002), Chapter 8 (esp. pp. 258-268).
Dick Stegewerns, ed., Nationalism and internationalism in imperial Japan: autonomy, Asian
brotherhood, or world citizenship? (Psychology Press, 2003). pp. 1-4 (Stegewerns, Doak), 45-68
(Schad-Seifert).
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