女性的東亞史

This course introduces a women-centered history of East Asia from ancient times to the contemporary period. Such history employs gender as a powerful analytical tool and women as historical actors to understand social, cultural, political, and familial experiences of East Asian women. Through a comparative historical perspective, we will explore the various challenges women in East Asia confronted and how they responded in accordance with their specific temporal and geographical bearings. We will probe into issues such as the influence of Confucianism, the construction of virtue and chastity, the impact of modernity, the emergence of new women, the women’s problem, the experience of war, sexual revolution, etc. The course combines lectures, discussions, and workshops. You are expected to complete the required primary /secondary readings (5-10 pages) before coming to class and to participate in group discussion in class. In the workshops, we will learn skills through writing news reports on current events, forming a children’s book with oral interviews, and a museum report in multi-media formats. There will be no exams.

Attendance 10% Discussion 50% Workshop assignments 40%

There will be no textbook for this course, students who want to learn the general history of East Asia are encouraged to read Charles Holcomb’s A History of East Asia (Cambridge University Press, 2011) (DS511 H725 2017)