Makers of Modern Asia

3 Credits · Level: Graduate, Undergraduate

This course will examine the role of national leaders in East Asia. The semester is divided into three sections. The first section will review different approaches to leadership studies from the fields of social psychology and political science and then survey the historical and cultural context of Asian leadership styles (Confucianism, Bushido, Buddhism, etc.). The second section will focus on the political lives and legacies of the first wave of post-war nation-state builders in East Asia, including: Yoshida Shigeru, Lee Kuan Yew, Deng Xiaoping, Kim Il Sung and Park Chung Hee. The third section of the class will explore contemporary leaders in Japan, China, Korea and Southeast Asia, as well as their prospective successors and rivals. The class will conclude with consideration of how leadership dynamics may shape the future of Asia’s march towards prosperity and quest for security.