InSt 203: East Asian Studies

The University of Mississippi
Fall 2020, Tuesdays and Thursdays, 13:00-14:15, Remote via Blackboard and Zoom
Instructor: Dr. Gang Guo * e-mail: gg at olemiss dot edu * Office hours: by appointment

[ Class Schedule ] | [ Student Presentations ] | [ On-line Resources ] | [ Map of East Asia ]

Course Overview

International Studies 203 introduces East Asia, with a special emphasis on the comparison between China and Japan. After a brief look at the geography and cultural heritage of both countries, we compare their historical experiences with Western powers. In the second half of the course we will be looking at the differences and similarities in China and Japan's dramatic transformations in politics, economy, and society after World War Two.

After completing the course, a student should be able to identify some of the key basic historical facts and events in China and Japan, to understand the essential cultural and political traditions in each country, and to apply the conceptual frameworks used in this course to the study of contemporary East Asia.

It is essential for students to read the required materials before class and attend all class sessions on Zoom or the discussion board on Blackboard. Active participation in class is required and accounts for 10% of the course grade.

The required readings for this course will be linked from this web page or accessible via electronic journals at the University of Mississippi libraries.

Each student is also required to make two brief in-class presentations of about 5-10 minutes in length on a recent news on East Asia. A sign-up wiki page is on Blackboard and each student will choose two dates to present that are at least a month apart. The presentation schedule will be posted on this webpage for your reference. In reporting the news, the presenter should synthesize news stories from at least two major mass media outlets. For the preparation of the presentation, there are many English-language websites that cover news on East Asia, some of which are linked from the online resources section on this web page. The PowerPoint (or PDF) file for your presentation should include at least one page on the main news story, at least one page on some background information to help the audience understand the news story better, and at least one page of sources and/or references. The PowerPoint (or PDF) file for your presentation should be uploaded on Blackboard before the class in which you present. After each presentation there will be a short period of time in which the presenter responds to questions or comments from the audience.

The presentations account for 15% of the course grade and will be evaluated using the following rubric:

1. Content
   • The news story is timely, important, and interesting;
   • is coherent and well-focused;
   • is presented in a logical sequence that audience can follow;
   • provides some background information to help audience understand;
   • uses a variety of sources from different perspectives;
   • demonstrates good knowledge, research, and preparation;
2. Format
   • All fonts are large enough to be read at a distance;
   • Good contrast between fonts and background on all slides;
   • Images are relevant and help audience understand the content;
   • Slide layout is visually clear and balanced;
   • Slides contains no typographical or grammatical errors;
   • Information on the sources and/or references is accurate and complete;
   • The sources and/or references are properly formatted;
3. Delivery
   • All audience can hear the presentation clearly;
   • The presenter maintains eye contact with audience;
   • uses proper body language to help the presentation;
   • answers questions skillfully;

As shown in the schedule below, this course contains two paper assignments, each accounting for 10% of the grade. The papers will be on some aspects of international comparison related to China and Japan.

Please note that unexcused late papers will be penalized by one point per hour late. Allow time to proofread. Good writing is essential. Remember that family names come first in East Asia: Mao Zedong is Chairman Mao, not Chairman Zedong. Similarly, Tojo Hideki is General Tojo. Be sure to recognize all sides of an argument before giving your opinion. One-sided bombasts are not scholarly. Finally, please note that academic honesty is not only a mark of a good scholar, but also a good person. The papers will be submitted through and thus checked by SafeAssignment on BlackBoard.

There will be one or more quizzes, a midterm exam, and a final exam for the course. The quizzes will be posted on Blackboard and account for 10% of the course grade. The mid-term exam on Thursday, October 1st will account for 20% of the course grade. The final exam will start at noon on Monday, November 23rd according to the Registrar's Office. It accounts for 25% of the course grade.

Class Schedule

Student Presentations

On-line Resources

• Google News
• Reuters World News
• The Wall Street Journal - Asia
• The Economist
• CNN Asia
• BBC News - Asia
• Asia Society
• South China Morning Post, a Hong Kong newspaper.
• New York Times - Asia Pacific
• Asahi News: Asia & Japan Watch
• Japan Times
• Korea.net
• Embassy of the People's Republic of China, in Washington D.C.
• Embassy of Japan, in Washington D.C.
• Embassy of India, in Washington D.C.
• U.S. Department of State
• Embassy of the United States of America, in Beijing.
• Embassy of the United States of America, in Tokyo.
• Embassy of the United States of America, in Seoul.
• Embassy of the United States of America, in New Delhi.