Japanese Colonialism

4 credits · Undergraduate

This course explores the origins and effects of Japanese colonial rule in Asia and the Pacific Islands from 1869 to 1945. Spanning from the indigenous lands of Hokkaido and Okinawa to Taiwan, Korea, China, the Pacific Islands, and Southeast Asia, the Japanese empire affected the lives of millions of people in the twentieth century and beyond. Why did Japan pursue imperial expansion? How did experiences of Japanese colonialism vary depending on a colonized person’s nationality, race, gender, age, and/or class? How was empire dismantled—or not—in a post-World War II period of U.S. hegemony in Asia? Such questions will be addressed by focusing on selected locales and groups of people throughout the empire.