HIST 217
Early Modern Japan
Last Offered Fall 2008
Division II
Cross-listed ASST 217 / JAPN 217
This course is not offered in the current catalog

The ascension of powerful warlords in the late 1500s brought to an end a century of constant warfare and laid the foundation for the Tokugawa bakufu, the military government headed by the Tokugawa shogun that would rule Japan for almost three hundred years. This course will introduce students to the extraordinary changes of the years between the establishment of the Tokugawa bakufu in 1603 and its collapse in 1868, an era characterized by relative peace and stability, periods of economic growth as well as stagnation, the growth of cities and towns, the flourishing of urban culture, and the decline of the samurai. We will focus on the political and social history of early modern Japan, including topics such as the establishment of the Tokugawa order, the nature of the political system, urbanization, popular culture, rural life, gender and sexuality, class and status, religion, and the fall of the Tokugawa bakufu. Assigned materials will include government documents, literature, and films.