HIST 416
The Many Lives of Tokyo Fall 2021
Division II Writing Skills
Cross-listed ASIA 317
This is not the current course catalog

Class Details

The city of Tokyo has had many lives from its early modern founding as the shogun’s capital of Edo to its contemporary incarnation as a global megacity. This seminar explores how and why the city has changed–how an unassuming fishing village was transformed over four centuries into a vibrant early modern city of over a million people, the heart of a modern nation and metropole of an expansive empire, an emblem of urban cosmopolitanism, and a sprawling metropolis. Our focus will be on how people have lived, conceived, and shaped Edo/Tokyo. We will consider how different and various people have moved through the city; where and how they have lived, worked, and enjoyed themselves; how they have interacted with the natural and built environments; and how they have expressed their discontents with, and aspirations for, the city. Topics to be examined include: physical expansion, urbanization, and suburbanization; destruction and reconstruction from fires, earthquakes, and war; cultivation of opportunities to consume; and creation of urban popular cultures. The centerpiece of the seminar is the research and writing of a substantial and original paper that delves into a question of interest to you about the history of Tokyo.
The Class: Format: seminar
Limit: 15
Expected: 10
Class#: 1648
Grading: no pass/fail option, yes fifth course option
Requirements/Evaluation: class participation, discussion posts, response papers, and a research paper (20-25 pages)
Prerequisites: none
Enrollment Preferences: History majors and Asian Studies concentrators
Distributions: Division II Writing Skills
Notes: This course is cross-listed and the prefixes carry the following divisional credit:
ASIA 317 Division II HIST 416 Division II
WS Notes: In addition to gaining fluency with shorter pieces of writing such as response papers, students will work on the research paper in stages. This will include the writing of drafts which will be workshopped with classmates. Students will also receive timely and substantial feedback on all of their writing from the professor.
Attributes: GBST East Asian Studies
GBST Urbanizing World
HIST Group B Electives - Asia

Class Grid

Course Catalog Archive Search

TERM/YEAR
TEACHING MODE
SUBJECT
DIVISION



DISTRIBUTION



ENROLLMENT LIMIT
COURSE TYPE
Start Time
End Time
Day(s)