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The forcible inclusion of the East Asian region into the capitalist world-system, which began in the mid-19th C. with the Treaty of Nanjing (1842) and Commodore Perry’s expedition to Japan (1853), brought with it momentous changes in the ideology of East Asian societies, as they were now “synchronized” with the capitalist West’s historical time. Those new ideologies that came into being as a result of East Asia’s “localization” of the imported meta-narratives of “race” and “nation”/”nation-state”, “revolution”/”socialism”, “development”/”progress”, Christianity, and many others, are the topics the course focuses upon. Special attention is paid to the ways in which the nationalist ideologies in Japan, China, and Korea influenced each other, and the strategies used by the East Asian nationalists to construct both the historic pictures of the past and geopolitical projects for the future. The course is also aimed at tracing the pedigrees of the discursive strategies used for constructing the stereotyped visions of things “Oriental”/”national”: “the Yellow Race”, “Oriental culture”, “Confucian/Asian values”, “wise mother, good wife”, etc. All the topics are treated in a comparative perspective, with ample use of material from all the three main East Asian cultures. The period between 1868 (Meiji Restoration) and 1910-1911 (colonization of Korea and revolution in China), when the archetypical regional interpretations of “nation”, “race”, “modernity”, “religion” and so on were first constructed, is especially emphasized. All the source materials and secondary literature assigned are in principle in English, but those students who have already acquired proficiency in one of the East Asian languages may also be provided with individualized assignments in the language(s) of their choosing.
The students are expected to put their research into the regional perspective, even if they focus primarily on one country only
The aim of the course is to provide students with basic information about the main ideological currents of modern East Asia, their “genealogies” and mutual connections, and also their “linkages” to the global discourse of the modern world-system and ties to the regional traditions. Students will acquire skills in understanding and analyzing complex ideological formations with the help of diverse methodological approaches, including those of world-system theory, post-colonial cultural and gender studies, and will also develop a critical, scholarly attitude to both primary sources and secondary research literature.
Students who are admitted to study programmes or individual courses at UiO must each semester register which courses and exams they wish to sign up for by registering a study plan in StudentWeb.
International applicants, if you are not already enrolled as a student at UiO, please see our information about admission requirements and procedures for international applicants.
Admission to the MA degree programme.
The course requires good knowledge of English. The course may be specially recommended for those, who have previously taken a 40-credits group in East Asian Studies.
The course consists of 10 seminars and lectures, 2 hours each (20 hours in total). Students are to present an essay (semesteroppgave: ca. 10 pages) on a topic chosen in cooperation with the teacher, closely connected to the content of the course. A draft sketch of the essay is to be presented to the teacher for preliminary evaluation and collective discussion in class. In the process of collecting the materials for and writing the essay, students are offered individualized personal instruction.
The presentation of the draft is the prerequisite for later being allowed to submit the final text of the essay, and active participation in the discussions on each other’s draft is obligatory. The essay is graded from A to E (pass) and F (fail).
The course is an obligatory part of MA program in East Asian studies. It may be also chosen by the students taking other MA programs.
More information about Master's Degree
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