Course Director: J. Kim, 706 Kaneff Tower, (416)736-2100 x30402, jkim@yorku.ca

Course Calendar Description:
Through examining the broad contours of historical contact and focusing on a series of case studies concerning European imperialism and modern nationalism in Asia, this course introduces students to the primary, secondary, and tertiary sources that form colonial and postcolonial discourses. It also introduces to students historical debates that ground and shape international relations in and on Asia today. Note: LA&PS History majors and minors cannot take this course to satisfy the six credits required at the 1000-level in History for major or minor credit.

Expanded Course Description:
This course reviews the modern evolution of Asian countries with special emphasis on imperialism and the rise of nationalism. With distinctive political, cultural and socio-economic traditions, Asian countries shared the experience of western imperialism's expansionist pressures. Those traditions helped mold the varieties of nationalistic responses to that intrusion, culminating in the independence struggles which, in the post-1945 era, created the modern nation states of today's Asia. The three stages -- traditional paradigms, imperialism's impact and nationalism's struggles-- provide the framework for our survey of modern Asian history

Lectures provide overviews of various trends throughout the history modern Asia.  There are two hours of formal lecture per week that supplements your readings in Borthwick.  In weekly tutorials, we discuss the content of lectures and assigned readings.

All written work will be evaluated on the content AND the quality of the writing.  All work must be submitted to and will be graded by your TUTORIAL leader.

Special Features:

Required Texts: Borthwick, Mark, Pacific Century: The Emergence of Modern Pacific Asia, (3rd ed., Boulder, Colorado: Westview Press, 1998).

Chang, Iris, The Rape of Nanking: The Forgotten Holocaust of World War II (New York: Penguin, 1991).

Strunk, William Jr. and E. B. White, The Elements of Style, Fourth Edition (New York: Pearson Longman, 1999).

All other readings will be on Moodle or available through databases such as Jstor and Proquest accessible through the York University Library with your Passport York account.

Tentative Grade Breakdown/Overview of Assessment:

Assignment 1 - Primary Source Review: 10%
Assignment 2 - Review of Secondary Sources: 10%
Assignment 3 - Historiographic Debate: 15%
Assignment 4 - Review Essay: 15%
Midterm Exam: 20%
Final Exam: 20%
Participation: 10%

NOTE: Prior to buying textbooks, students should consult the detailed course outline which will give the final versions of the weekly syllabus and the detailed breakdown of assignments with weighting and due dates.  The course outline will be posted in Moodle and discussed on the first day of class.

Course Director: S. Brooke, 2188 Vari Hall, (416)736-2100 x66980, sjbrooke@yorku.ca

Course Calendar Description:
This course uses a diverse range of materials and approaches to examine the development of the modern European city in the contemporary world. It uses cultural sources such as film, photography, literature and music to see how the experience of the modern European city has been represented from the nineteenth century to the present day. The course also uses the history of the modern European city to explore historical issues such as the experience of war, poverty and wealth, social reform, and the growth of cosmopolitanism and multiracialism. It explores the material space of urban development by looking at architecture, urban planning and housing. The course reflects upon current social and political issues in the modern European city, such as gentrification, popular protest and globalization. Though the course will discuss the culture and history of European cities, it focuses upon the examples of Paris and London from the mid nineteenth century to the present day. The course will explore the human experience of modern European cities, including discussions of race, gender, sexuality and class in the modern city, the physical shape of cities, and the cultural representation of city life. Particular topics covered include popular culture from café life to dancehalls; the photography of twentieth-century Paris; cosmopolitanism and the modern city; class conflicts in the city; the city on screen; fashion and postwar Paris and London; and radical movements in the city. Sources include novels such as Therèse Raquin by Emile Zola and Absolute Beginners by Colin MacInnes, the photography of Robert Frank and Roger Mayne and documents on the London Blitz. The emphasis in this course is developing skills such as analytical thinking, reading and writing. Note: History majors and minors cannot take this course to satisfy the six credits required at the 1000-level in History for major or minor.

(Crosslisted to: AP/ADMS 1777 6.00)

Course Director: E. Jones-Imhotep, 2164 Vari Hall, (416)736-2100 x30430, imhotep@yorku.ca

Course Calendar Description:
Volcanoes, earthquakes, floods, and droughts have the capacity to uproot and disrupt human lives. So too do financial crises, engineering failures, and disease outbreaks. Disasters are as much a product of culture as they are of nature. They are shaped by political, social, economic, and environmental context. This course uses historical perspectives to explore the reciprocal relationship between people and nature in the production of disasters. Note: This is an approved LA&PS General Education course: Humanities