| Japanese Studies |
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POLS A321
Japanese Studies
| Introduction |  |
POLS A321 Japanese Studies is a one-year, ten-credit, higher-level course which introduces you to the social-scientific study of modernespecially contemporaryJapan. The course focuses on domestic political and economic institutions and events after the end of the war in 1945 on the one hand; and events shaping the economic and political ascendance of Japan in the postwar world on the other. It also provides a general outline of the pre-1945 emergence of Japan as a modern state.
There are no specific prerequisites for POLS A321, although you are expected to have taken courses in politics, economics or history.
| Course aims | |
POLS A321 Japanese Studies aims to:
- introduce you to the key domestic political and economic institutions and events through description and social-scientific analysis
- introduce you through description and analysis to the key international political and economic events shaping the role of Japan in the postwar world
- deepen your understanding of the relationship between domestic political and economic institutions and the international ascendance of Japan
- evaluate the postwar emergence of Japan, its rise to economic superpower status in the 1970s and 1980s, and its role as an economic, political and nascent military 'big power' in the 1990s and beyond.
| Course objectives | |
Upon completion of POLS A321 Japanese Studies, you should be able to:
- demonstrate an ability to describe and analyse modern Japan using a social-scientific approach
- demonstrate an understanding of the key domestic political and economic institutionsand events which have shaped contemporary Japan
- demonstrate an understanding of the key international events which have shaped Japan's place in the contemporary world
- evaluate the significance of Japan politically, economically and militarily in a domestic as well as international setting.
| Course overview | |
The following table provides an overview of the course and suggests the amount of time to allow for completing each unit. However, we all have our own pace of learning and approaches to study, so this schedule is only a guide. You can adjust it to meet your personal needs more closely. But, plan your study schedule carefully. The estimated time, on average, that you need to spend on this course is eight hours per week. This estimate includes time for reading the study units, studying the supplementary readings, completing the activities, self-tests and quick quizzes, writing your assignments, reviewing the study material, attending the tutorials and preparing for your final examination.
Unit
Title Weeks 1 The atomic bombings of Japan: competing interpretations 4 2 Postwar reconstruction and Occupation policies 3 3 Japan's integration into the cold-war political economy 3 4 The alternative: 'unarmed neutrality' and the opposition 4 5 The development of the political system, 1955-90 3 6 Japan's political role in the developed world, 1955-90 4 7 The consequences of the reform 4 8 Japan's regional role in East Asia, 1955-90 3 9 Restructuring the Japanese political economy in the 1990s 4 10 Japan's role in the post-Cold War era 3 Revision 3 TOTAL 38
| Course materials | |
POLS A321 Japanese Studies consists of this Course Guide, study units, supplementary readings and assignments. Please check that you have all these materials and can identify them. If any of the OUHK-produced materials are missing, contact the OUHK immediately.
explains why this is necessary and often provides notes to help you focus your reading, so pay careful attention to the discussion in the study units.
Course Guide
This Course Guide tells you briefly what the course is about, what it contains and how you can work your way through it. It also gives you some information about tutorials, workshops and Tutor-marked assignments. Refer to it throughout the course to help clarify important points about studying with the OUHK.
explains why this is necessary and often provides notes to help you focus your reading, so pay careful attention to the discussion in the study units.
Study units
There are ten study units in POLS A321 Japanese Studies, each of which is allocated either three or four weeks in the course presentation schedule. The units provide a coherent overview of the key political and economic institutions and events shaping Japan in the post-1945 era from a social-scientific perspective. Each unit contains an introduction, list of objectives and study material that has been specially prepared for you, as well as guidance through the related background reading, which may consist of articles, book chapters or other material from a variety of authors.
The study units are:
Unit 1 The atomic bombings of Japan: competing interpretations
Unit 2 Postwar reconstruction and Occupation policies
Unit 3 Japan's integration into the Cold War political economy
Unit 4 The alternative: 'unarmed-neutrality' and the opposition
Unit 5 The development of the political system, 1955-90
Unit 6 Japan's political role in the developed world, 1955-90
Unit 7 Japan's economic role in the developed world, 1955-90
Unit 8 Japan's regional role in East Asia, 1955-90
Unit 9 Restructuring the Japanese political economy in the 1990s
Unit 10 Japan's role in the post-Cold War era
The units also contain activities, quick quizzes and self-tests. The activities stimulate reflection, encourage you to relate theory to practice; the self-tests enable you to monitor your progress (as do the quick quizzes) and reinforce your understanding of the material. Together, they will help you achieve the stated learning objectives of the units and of the course.
explains why this is necessary and often provides notes to help you focus your reading, so pay careful attention to the discussion in the study units.
Supplementary readings
There is no set textbook for this course but there are a number of journal articles and extracts from other published materials which supplement or elaborate on the discussion in the study units. You will find these in the Readings section of your course materials. They are provided to give you to have a more indepth understanding of the discussion in the study units.
You should read them with the objective of finding information to further your knowledge and understanding of the material in the study units. When a study unit asks you to work through a reading, it also explains why this is necessary and often provides notes to help you focus your reading, so pay careful attention to the discussion in the study units.
| Course assessment | |
You will be assessed on your ability to describe, distinguish and evaluate the key political and economic institutions and events shaping Japan in the post-1945 era from a social-scientific perspective. The suggested answers to activities and self-tests in the study units provide you with some guidance as to the type of answer required.
Your assessment is based on two components:
- Five Tutor-marked assignments for which you will be required to write essays of between 1,500 and 2,000 words. They will enable you to demonstrate your interpretative skills and knowledge of the material provided in the unit. Your best four marks will count towards your final assignment grade, which constitutes 50% of the course mark, giving each assignment a real value of 12.5%.
You will find more information about the assignments in your Assignment File.
- A final examination which you do at the end of the course. It carries 50% of the total course mark. The examination consists of essay-type questions requiring you to demonstrate your interpretative skills as well as factual knowledge.
Do not worry that the examination will contain 'trick' questions or try to confuse you. The OUHK has a clear, open approach to helping its learners succeed in their studies. You will be provided with a specimen examination similar in format to the final examination, although the questions will be different.
The table below shows how the marking is broken down.
Note that to pass the course, you must attain pass marks in both the continuous assessment (the Tutor-marked assignments) and the final examination.
Assessment Mark Assignments 1 to 5 best 4 of 5 @ 12.5% each = 50% of course mark Final examination 50% of course mark Total 100% of course mark
| Tutorials and dayschools | |
There are regular tutorials and day schools to offer you appropriate support in your study of POLS A321 Japanese Studies.
The OUHK will notify you of the dates, times and location of these tutorials and dayschools, together with the name and phone number of your tutor as soon as tutorial groups are confirmed.
Your tutor marks and comments on your assignments, and keeps a close watch on your progress. When your assignment is returned, pay close attention to the comments your tutor has written on the TMA form and on the assignment itself.
Your tutor will also assist you if you have any difficulties during the course. Don't hesitate to telephone them if you need help or direction. Contact your tutor if, for example:
- you do not understand any part of the study units or the assigned readings
- you have difficulty with the activities
- you are interested in a topic and want to read about it further
- you have a question about assignments, your tutor's comments on them or the grades that you received.
| Conclusion | |
POLS A321 Japanese Studies is designed to introduce you to the social-scientific study of modern, especially contemporary, Japan. I hope that you find it interesting. Enjoy the course!
The developer, Dr You Ji, is a senior lecturer at the School of Political Science, the University of New South Wales, Australia. He is a graduate of Beijing University and holds a doctorate from the Australian National University. He is author of three books: The Modernisation of Chinese Military in the Hi-tech Era (1996), China's Enterprise Reform: Changing State/Society Relations since Mao (1997) and The Armed Forces of China (1999). He has also published numerous journal articles and book chapters in English on China's political, economic, military and foreign affairs.
| A note about the developer of this course | |
Glenn D Hook is Professor of Japanese Studies at the University of Sheffield, UK.
