In the 21^st century, Japan is widely regarded as a peacefully- inclined, democratic member of the Western alliance. It is one of the world’s largest aid donors, it contributes to UN peacekeeping operations, and champions humanitarian causes. And yet, more than 60 years after World War II, Japan continues to be adversely affected by that conflict. Japan’s regional diplomacy, its defence, security and peacekeeping policies and its effectiveness as a multilateral player are all constrained by the war, by memory and by ongoing domestic political ambivalence concerning Japan’s role and responsibility in that conflict.

What is the nature and substance of the historical factors that so restrict Japan’s existence as a contemporary world power? This course seeks to elaborate the debates and deep angst that attaches to the articulation of a postwar national identity for Japan, one that is projected outwards as an integral part of its international presence. The course will examine postwar Japan in relevant thematic contexts (such as collective responsibility, victim consciousness, war guilt, compensation, memory, patriotism etc), with a view to contextualizing Japan’s experience in the company of other nations in the postwar era. The course is particularly focussed on conveying the importance of the retrospective political management of war memory for Japan’s contemporary relations with Northeast Asian nations.

* An appreciation of the nature and substance of the historical
     factors that so restrict Japan’s existence as a contemporary world
     power
   * An understanding of the importance of the retrospective political
     management of war memory for Japan’s contemporary relations with
     Northeast Asian nations
   * An appreciation of how these historical factors play out in
     particular thematic contexts such as collective responsibility,
     victim consciouisness, war guilt and compensation.

1. Short paper; equals 15% of total grade

2. Long essay; equals 30% of total grade

3. Seminar Presentation (based on long essay); equals 15%of total grade

4. Written examination; equals 30% of total grade

5. Attendance and participation; equals 10% of total grade

  The course requires two contact hours each week and from six to ten hours a week outside the contact hours.

There are no requisites for this course.

Intending students must have a Bachelor degree in a cognate discipline with a minimum Distinction average or equivalent.

TEXTBOOKS:

1. Sheila Miyoshi Jager and Rana Mitter eds., Ruptured Histories: War, Memory, and the Post-Cold War in Asia. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 2007.

2. Franziska Seraphim, War Memory and Social Politics in Japan, 1945 – 2005. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 2006.

PRELIMINARY READINGS:

1. Franziska Seraphim, "Relocating war memory at century's end", in Jager and Mitter eds., Ruptured Histories: War, memory and the post-Cold War in Asia. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 2007, pp 15-46.

2. Karl Jaspers, The Question of German Guilt. New York: Fordham University Press, 2000 {1947}.  E.B. Ashton trans., pp 21 – 44.

 3. Maruyama Masao, Thought and Behaviour in Modern Japanese Politics. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1969{1946}. See "Theory and psychology of ultranationalism", pp 1-24

Students need access to a computer with a Microsoft Word and access to the internet.