From Round to Square (and back)

For The Emperor's Teacher, scroll down (↓) to "Topics." It's the management book that will rock the world (and break the vase, as you will see). Click or paste the following link for a recent profile of the project: http://magazine.beloit.edu/?story_id=240813&issue_id=240610

A new post appears every day at 12:05* (CDT). There's more, though. Take a look at the right-hand side of the page for over four years of material (2,000 posts and growing) from Seinfeld and country music to every single day of the Chinese lunar calendar...translated. Look here ↓ and explore a little. It will take you all the way down the page...from round to square (and back again).
*Occasionally I will leave a long post up for thirty-six hours, and post a shorter entry at noon the next day.

Friday, August 21, 2020

Japan, East Asia, and the Pacific World Syllabus 2020b

Click here for the introduction to the Round and Square series "Syllabic Cycles"
***  *** 
On this date in Round and Square History
21 August 2016—China's Lunar Calendar 2016 08-21
21 August 2016—Confucius and Social Theory Syllabus 2016 
21 August 2015—Method and Theory in History Syllabus 2015

21 August 2015—China's Lunar Calendar: 2015 08-21
21 August 2014—East Asian History and Culture Syllabus 2014
21 August 2014China's Lunar Calendar: 2014 08-21
21 August 2013From the Geil Archive: How to Write the Book
21 August 2013—China's Lunar Calendar: 2013 08-21
21 August 2012 2012The New Yorker and the World Syllabus 2012
21 August 2011—Hurtin' Country: Whoever's in New England
[a] History...culture RF

Japan, East Asia, and the Pacific World
HIST 210
Autumn 2020
Monday and Wednesday 7:30-10:15

Robert André LaFleur                                                     Office Hours: Email me 
Morse Ingersoll 206                                                         (what a weird era this is)  
363-2005                                                                            lafleur@beloit.edu                                                                    
Required Books         
Berry, Mary Elizabeth. Japan in Print
Bestor, Theodore. Tsukiji: The Fish Market at the Center of the World
Dower, John. Embracing Defeat: Japan in the Wake of World War II
Ohnuki-Tierney, Emiko. Rice as Self: Japanese Identities Through Time
Rupp, Katherine. Gift-Giving in Japan
Stalker, Nancy. Japan: History and Culture
Winchester, Simon. The Pacific.
All books are on library reserve

On Library Reserve—Required Reading/Watching
Lu, David, Japan: A Documentary History
LaFleur, Robert, Writing, History, and Culture (Rob's Writing Guide)
LaFleur, Robert, Great Mythologies of the World: East Asia and the Pacific 

Course Description
This course will examine Japanese history and culture in the context of the wider East Asian world.  We will begin with early Japanese history and the influence of both Korea and China on early Japanese institutions. In an even broader perspective, we will consider Japan (and East Asia's) role in a complex Pacific world, and how that region has shaped the world at large—from cultural and military forces to environmental issues, trade, and development.

We will then examine the development of Japan’s indigenous traditions during the Heian (794-1185), Kamakura (1185-1333), and Ashikaga (1336-1568) periods. The second half of the course will deal with modern Japanese history and culture, paying equal attention to historical and ethnographic materials, and taking a careful look at the development of the Kanto and Kansai regions in modern Japanese history and culture. Throughout the course we will use examples from the Japanese language—spoken phrases, the two major syllabaries (hiragana and katakana), and kanji, or Chinese characters—to analyze Japanese history and culture in a linguistic context.

Evaluation
Quizzes                                                            15%       Every Class Session
Source Letter                                                    20%      Week Two
Exam I                                                              15%       Week Four
Rice as Self Essay                                            20%       Week Four
Final Source Paper                                           30%      Week Seven
Class attendance and participation is expected.  

If you have a disability and need accommodations, contact Learning Enrichment and Disability Services (LEADS) located on 2nd floor Pearsons (north side), 608-363-2572, learning@beloit.edu or make an appointment through joydeleon.youcanbook.me.  For accommodations in my class, you are to​ bring me an Access Letter from the Director of LEADS and then we will discuss how to implement the accommodations. Contact that office promptly; accommodations are not retroactive.

Free peer tutoring is available for most classes. For a tutor, apply by going to your Portal, to the Student Life tab, and then apply using the Tutoring Forms (on left) and Request a Tutor. If you have any questions, contact LEADS.

History 210
Japan, East Asia, and the Pacific World
Autumn 2020
Week I
(September 2)  
Consult this excellent "Quick Guide" to Chicago-style Citation.
Wednesday, September 2
Introduction
Great Mythologies of the World (on library reserve): 42-43

     42: Japanese Tales of Purity and Defilement
     43: Gods, Rice, and the Japanese State 
Winchester, The Pacific (read entire book before class)
          Prologue: The Lonely Sea and the Sky
          Author's Note: On Carbon

          The Great Thermonuclear Sea
          Mr. Ibuka's Radio Revolution
          The Ecstasies of Wave Riding
          A Dire and Dangerous Irritation
          Farewell, All My Friends and Foes
          Echoes of a Distant Thunder 
          How Goes the Lucky Country?
          The Fires in the Deep
          A Fragile and Uncertain Sea
          Of Masters and Commanders
          Epilogue: The Call of the Running Tide     
Stalker, Japan: History and Culture, 1-27
           Early Japan

Week II
(September 7, 9)  
Consult this excellent "Quick Guide" to Chicago-style Citation.

Monday, September 7
Great Mythologies of the World (on library reserve): Lecture 37-38
          37: Culture and Cosmos in Chinese Mythology
          38: Chinese Heroes, Kings, and Destroyers
Round and Square
        Syllabic Cycles:Introduction (a-d)  Read all four posts, not just “a.” 
        Quotidian Quizzes   It's o.k. to skim a-d, but read e-h carefully
Stalker, Japan: History and Culture, 28-49
          Forging a Centralized State
Lu, Japan: A Documentary History: 3-79 (selections)
   3 Chapter I: The Dawn of Japanese History
      *4 Amaterasu and Susano-o                                                            
       9  The Eastern Expedition of Emperor Jimmu             
      11 From the History of Wei                          
    **17 From the Engishiki 
  21 Chapter II: The Impact of Chinese Civilization
     **23 The  Seventeen  Article  Constitution, 604 AD
       30 The Administrative System, 718 AD         
      *33 The Law of the Households                      
       37 Preface  to  Kojiki, 712 AD                      
      *40 From  the  Manyoshu                                          
       47 Temmu’s Propagation of Buddhism, 676-685 AD    
  51 Chapter III: The Early Heian Period
      *61 Ennin's  Diary  of  His  Pilgrimage  to  China 
        70 Regulations  Concerning  Trade  with  Pohai, 828   
       *71 Diary  of  Lady  Murasaki, 1008-1010                    
       *72 Observations  on  the  Heian  Capital, 982                                 
      **79 How  a  Sparrow  Repaid  Its  Debt  of  Gratitude   
McCullough, Classical Japanese Prose: 27-37 (selections)
   27-28 The Ancestor of All Romances
       28-37 Tale of the Bamboo Cutter         


Wednesday, September 9
Great Mythologies of the World (on library reserve): Lecture 39
            39: Peasant Folktales and Chinese Scholarship
Stalker, Japan: History and Culture, 50-111
     The Rule of Taste
     The Rise and Rule of the Warrior Class 
Lu, Japan: A Documentary History: 81-170 (selections)
Practice getting a sense of the document as a whole by focusing on the subject headers and then  
looking through what follows. This is a necesary skill in historical research, and part of the goal of 
dealing with these documents is to practice that very-little-taught skill. Don't read like you normally 
would, but learn to "read strategically."
  81 Rise of Feudal Insitutions
     86 Allotment  Land  (Kubunden)…                            
     87 Plan  to Cultivate  One  Million  Cho…    
     88 Land  Held  for  Three  Generations…        
     88 Private  Ownership  of  Reclaimed  Land, 743
    *89 Proscription  of  Private  Ownership  of  Land, 765   
     90 Privilege  of  Tax  Immunity  (Fuyu), 951  and  953
     92 Establishment  of  a  Shoen, 845, 920, and  1042    
     95 Commendation  of  a  Shoen                                
     95  Edict  to  Curtail  Spread  of  Shoen, 902
     97 Provincial  Governors  Not  Permitted  to  Interfere…
     99 Lands  Occupied  by  Private  Parties …                 
     99 Emergence  of  Tato, 859  and 1091                       
   *100 Management  of  Shoen  by  Tato                          
     101 Establishment  of  Myoden, 1000                                             
     103 Proscription  Against  Heian  Nobility…                
    *104 Master  of  His  Retainers, 1114                                                  
     109 Goseibai  Shikimoku--Formulary for the Shogun's Decision of Lawsuits, 1232 
            Read the "lead sentences" of each item and  get a sense of the whole             
 117 Kamakura Buddhism
     *121 Ojo  Yoshu, or  the  Essentials  of  Salvation 
           Practice getting a sense of the document as a whole by focusing on the subject headers and then 
           looking through what follows. Definitely read the brief introduction ("Salvation Through Nembutsu")                  *127 The  Ancients  Not  Necessarily  Our  Superiors      
     * Nembutsu  and  the  Founding  of  a  New  Sect                
     * 129 A  Catechism                                                     
            Go quickly through the questions and answers          
     *131 On  the  Salvation  of  Women                             
      *135  From  the  Tannisho                                           
          Practice getting a sense of the document without spending too much time (a necessary skill in
          historical research (no historian would get anything done without this skill...more on this in class)
      *138 Conversation  with  the  Master (Dogen) 
          Focus on the subject headers (and then use the skill you're developing, above)                                
      * 145 Buddhism  with  Japan  as  Its  Center       
   147 The Development of Institutions through the Muromachi Period   
     150 Jito  Ukedokoro, 1308 Focus on the third paragraph; "...the agreement is essentially..."                               
    *152 The  Tokusei  Edict  of  Einin, 1297                     
    *153 Scribbling  on  the  Dry  River  Bed  of  Nijo
    *155   Kemmu  Shikimoku, 1336    (Learn to get a good sense, quickly, of the items).                        
     157 Appointment  of  Shugo, 1336                              
     157 On  Matters  Relating  to  Shugo…                       
    *157 Increase in the Powers of the Shugo                       
      161 Sale of Hyakusho Shiki on Certain Fields, 1480      
    * 161 A Covenant for the So (Village Governing Assoc.)…
    *162 Joint Petition by Farmers, 1407                            
     163 Substitution of Money to Pay Taxes, 1353 
    *164 Determination of Equivalent Money Value for Rice   
     Money Draft, 1468                                                                   
    *165 Peasant Uprisings                                                           
    *165 Fighting for Tokusei, 1441                                              
    *166 Rise of Chi (Market) c. 1415                                
      167 Disputes Between Two Za, 1405                           
     *168 Soryo System of Divided Patrimony                                       
McCullough, Classical Japanese Prose: 39-199 (selections)
*Please note that the "Tales of Ise" have been moved from Monday.
   38-39 The Ninth-Century Nobleman and the Courtly Ideal
       39-69 Tales of Ise (read tales 1-21 carefully and look through the others). Please note the mix of 
                  narrative prose and poetry, which gives Japanese literature a distinct flavor.                  
   70-73 Pioneering Memoirists of the Tenth Century
       102-155 The Gossamer Journal. Very briefly explore this long journal (closer to what you have been doing 
              with the Lu documents). It is well worth a careful read, since it is one of the great texts of 
             Japanese literature. Sadly, we don't have time for that luxury very often during this "module." 
             Please note the mix of narrative prose and poetry, which gives Japanese literature a distinct flavor.
   156-158-Pioneering Memoirists of the Tenth Century
        158-199 The Pillow Book of Sei Shonagon. This is indisputably one of the giants of Japanese 
                       literature.  Read it as closely as you possibly can (given the limits of time). It will be 
                       very helpful for your letter.
 ***  *** 
(due by 5:00 p.m. on Sunday, September 13) 

Week III  
(September 14, 16) 
Consult this excellent "Quick Guide" to Chicago-style Citation.
Monday, September 16
Great Mythologies of the World (on library reserve): Lecture 40-41

            40: Spirits and Syncretism in Korean Myth
            41: Korea's Warring Kingdoms and Flying Dragons  
LaFleur, Writing, History, and Culture (Rob's Writing Guide)
Read Part Three: look through Part One, just looking at the subject headers.
Rupp, Gift-Giving in Japan (Do as much as you can for today)
             Examples of Giving
             Strength of Relationship, Gratitude, and Hierarchy
             Life Cycles
             Seasonal Cycles
             Variations in Attitudes toward and Practices of Giving
             Conclusion

Wednesday,  September 16
Rupp, Gift-Giving in Japan (finish for Wednesday's class; read strategically)
             Examples of Giving
             Strength of Relationship, Gratitude, and Hierarchy
             Life Cycles
             Seasonal Cycles
             Variations in Attitudes toward and Practices of Giving
             Conclusion
Stalker, Japan: History and Culture, 112-143
     Disintegration and Reunification
 Lu, Japan: A Documentary History: 171-228  (selections)                                 
As before, practice getting a sense of the document as a whole by focusing on the subject headers and then  
looking through what follows. This is a necesary skill in historical research, and part of the goal of 
dealing with these documents is to practice that very-little-taught skill. Don't read like you normally 
would, but learn to "read strategically."     
     Challenging  Traditional  Authority                                   
     Seizure  of  Shoen                                               
     The  Seventeen-Article  Injunction…                     
     Hojo Soun’s  Twenty-One  Article  Injunction…     Takeda  Shingen’s  Control  of  Kai, 1547                       
     The  Hundred  Article  Code  of  Chosokabe, 1597   
     Compulsory  Military  Service  Decreed  by..          
     Nobunga’s  Destruction  of  Hieizan, 1571              
     Removal  of  Barriers, 1568                                  
    Free  Market  and  Abolition  of  Za, 1577              
    Collection  of  Swords, 1588                                
    Toyotomi  Hideyoshi’s  Vermilion  Seal  Letter…
    Nagamasa  on  Cadastral  Survey, 1590                  
     Cadastral  Survey, 1598                                       
     Census-Taking, 1591                                          
     Edict  on  Change  of  Status, 1591                                   
     Control  of  Daimyo, 1595                                   
     Control  of  Mt. Koya, 1585                                 
     Limitation  on  the  Propagation  of  Christianity…  
     Expulsion  of  the  Missionaries, 1587                   
     St. Francis  Xavier’s  View  of  Japanese, c. 1550    
     Cosme de Torres  on  Japanese  Receptivity, c. 1550
     Alessandro Valignano  on  Japanese  Prudence…      
     Alessandro Valignano  on  Patience  and…             
     Alessandro Valignano  on  Sensual  Vices…           
     Joao Rodrigues  on  Japanese  Craftiness, c. 1610
     Oath  of  Fealty                                      
     Laws  of  Military  Households, 1615                    
     Amendments  of  Kanei  to  Buke  Shohatto, 1635   
     The  Group  of  Five, 1632                                  
     Farmers  and  Annual  Tax, 1603                          
     Sale  of  Land  in  Perpetuity  Forbidden, 1643        
     Proscription  of  Parcelization  of  Land, 1672          
     Injunctions  for  Peasants, c. 1619                         
     Regulations  for  Villagers, 1643                           
     Regulations  for  the  Residents  of  Edo, 1655        
     Regulations  Regarding  Lawsuits, 1633                 
     Regulations  for  Temples  in  Different  Domains    
     The  Edict of 1635  Ordering  the  Closing of  Japan 
     Completion  of  the  Exclusion, 1639                     
     The  Fate  of  the  Embassy  from  Macau…            
     Renouncing  the  Kirishitan, 1645                         
     Of  the  Dutch  Trade  in  Japan, 1692
McCullough, Classical Japanese Prose: 378-421 (selections)
   377-379 Medieval Recluse-Memoirists
   In both of these fascinating literary pieces, read strategically, but try to enjoy at least several
   sections slowly and carefully, to get a sense of the literary "flow."
      379-392 An Account of My Hermitage.
       393-421 Essays in Idleness
Kurosawa, The Seven Samurai (七人の侍)
     Part One (partial) 
 ***  *** 
(due by 5:00 p.m. on Sunday, September 27) 
Week IV 
(September 21, 23) 
Consult this excellent "Quick Guide" to Chicago-style Citation.
Monday, September 21
Ohnuki-Tierney, Rice as Self (entire book)
     Food as a Metaphor of Self: An Exercise in Historical Anthropology
     Rice and Rice Agriculture Today
     Rice as a Staple Food?
     Rice in Cosmogony and Cosmology
     Rice as Self, Rice Paddies as Our Land
     Rice in the Discourse of Selves and Others
     Foods as Selves and Others in Cross-cultural Perspective
     Symbolic Practice through Time: Self, Ethnicity, and Nationalism
     Food as a Metaphor of Self: An Exercise in Historical Anthropology
     Rice and Rice Agriculture Today
     Rice as a Staple Food?
     Rice in Cosmogony and Cosmology
     Rice as Self, Rice Paddies as Our Land
     Rice in the Discourse of Selves and Others
     Foods as Selves and Others in Cross-cultural Perspective
     Symbolic Practice through Time: Self, Ethnicity, and Nationalism

Wednesday,  September 23
LaFleur, Writing, History, and Culture (Rob's Writing Guide)
Read Part One; look through section two, and we'll discuss it over the term.
Great Mythologies of the World (on library reserve): Lectures 44-45
     44: Nature Gods and Tricksters of Polynesia      
     45: Creation and Misbehavior in Micronesia
Kurosawa, The Seven Samurai (七人の侍)
     Part One (remainder)
     Part Two
 ***  *** 
(due by 5:00 p.m. on Sunday, September 27) 

Week V
(September 28, 30) 
Consult this excellent "Quick Guide" to Chicago-style Citation.
Monday, September 28
Berry, Mary Elizabeth, Japan in Print (entire book; use your strategic reading skills)
     A Traveling Clerk Goes to the Bookstores
     The Library of Public Information
     Maps are Strange
     Blood Right and Merit
     The Freedom and the City
     Cultural Custody, Cultural Literacy
     Nation              
Wednesday,  September 30
LaFleur, Writing, History, and Culture (Rob's Writing Guide)
Carefully read pages 32-35 (the introduction to Part Two). You will find the context 
very useful when you receive your papers tomorrow.
Great Mythologies of the World (on library reserve): Lectures 46-48
     46: Melanesian Myths of Life and Cannibalism 
     47: Origins in Indonesia and the Philippines
     48: Aboriginal and Colonial Myths of Australia
Stalker, Japan: History and Culture, 144-173
     Maintaining Control: Tokugawa Official Culture 
Lu, Japan: A Documentary History273-344

From here on in, read section headers and source titles (this should take twenty to thirty minutes). Build your "document persual" skills. As you have been learning, this is not like "regular" reading, but it is not "skimming." You will find some useful documents for your final "source paper."
      The End of Tokugawa Rule     
       Early Meiji Political Developments  
Exam (Monday 10/5)             
 ***  *** 
Due by 5:00 p.m. on Sunday, October 18

Week VI 
(October 5, 7) 
Consult this excellent "Quick Guide" to Chicago-style Citation.
Monday, October 5
LaFleur, "Styling Culture: Chicago-Style Footnotes and Endnotes"
Citation of single-author books and single-author articles will be on the exam.
http://robert-lafleur.blogspot.com/2011/09/styling-culture-5achicago-style.html 
(Cut and paste; or search "Chicago Citation" on Round and Square.
Dower, John. Embracing Defeat: Japan in the Wake of World War II 
(Part I; this much will be on the exam tonight)
Part I: Victor and Vanquished
     Shattered Lives                                                  
     Gifts from Heaven                                               
Part II: Transcending Despair
     Kyodatsu: Exhaustion and Despair                         
     Cultures of Defeat                                               
     Bridges of Language                                            
Part III: Revolutions
     Neocolonial Revolution
     Embracing Revolution
     Making Revolution
EXAM IN-CLASS 
(I WILL EXPLAIN IN DETAIL DURING CLASS SESSIONS)

Wednesday,  October 7
Paul Cohen, Preface and Prologue (.pdf)
(This brief reading will be very important leading into your final assignment; you need to read both the preface and the prologue; both are very important).
Dower, John. Embracing Defeat: Japan in the Wake of World War II 
(Parts II-III, and then "explore" the rest, which I'll explain)                                          
Part II: Transcending Despair
****Kyodatsu: Exhaustion and Despair (please read this carefully; it is essential)                    
     Cultures of Defeat                                               
     Bridges of Language                                            
Part III: Revolutions
     Neocolonial Revolution
     Embracing Revolution
     Making Revolution
Lu, Japan: A Documentary History459-524
Read section headers and source titles (this should take twenty minutes). Build your "document
persual" skills. As you have been learning, this is not like "regular" reading, but it is not "skimming."
     Japan Under Occupation  
Week VII
(October 12, 14) 
Consult this excellent "Quick Guide" to Chicago-style Citation.
Monday, October 12
LaFleur, Writing, History, and Culture (Rob's Writing Guide)
Reread Part One; Review Part Two
RECOMMENDED:
Draft 1 of your "final analysis" assignment 
due at 5:00 p.m. Tuesday, October 13.
This is now "recommended" (because of this awful module that we are all trying to manage). If possible, just try to get a few thoughts on paper in any form, just to get started. If this were a regular semester, it would work better, and I just chalk it up to another failure of the modular arrangement.

My recommendation would be to give your analysis a little bit of thought, and write down a few ideas, possibly in the "spoke outline" form on page 12 of the writing guide. Other ways are possible, too.  Only if you're ready (but most people aren't, and I don't blame them) is to put together an actual draft...the way that might well have been possible in a real semester. In other words, Tuesday's "assignment" is a recommended "something" on paper...just to get your started.
Bestor, Tsukiji: The Fish Market at the Center of the World
Bestor, Tsukiji (Do your best, and read the book strategically to find analytical tools for your final "Source Paper." Do not neglect the many illustrations (which are superb).
     Tokyo’s Pantry                                      
     Grooved Channels                                  
     From Landfill to Marketplace        
     The Raw and the Cooked
     Visible Hands                                                    
     Family/Firm                                                      
     Trading Places                                                   
     Full Circle            

Wednesday,  October 14
We will finish discussion of Tsukiji (look through the rest of the book).
RECOMMENDED:
Draft 2 of your "final analysis" assignment 
due at 5:00 p.m. Tuesday, October 15.
Again, even though we will discuss this in class on Wednesday, try to get something on paper, but all specific requirements are loosened (other than the final due-date, which has little "wiggle room" because grades will be due).
 ***  *** 
Due by 5:00 p.m. on Sunday, October 18
[e] Longshot RF

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