EAST4540 – East Asian Modernities
Course description
Schedule, syllabus and examination date
Course content
This course focuses on various facets of modernity, which are central to the study and understanding of modern and contemporary East Asia. This year we will especially focus on the issues of world order, regional inter-linkage, and the formation of national identities. Although we will deal with the central role of China in East Asia, like the all-pervasive influence of the Chinese world order in the early modern period, we will pay ample attention to countries in the periphery of the East Asian mainland such as Japan, Vietnam and Okinawa.
In doing so the students are encouraged to develop a comparative East Asian perspective, to analyze the historical interplay between (newly-created) tradition and modernity, and to look beyond the dominant concept of the nation-state.
Learning outcome
This course aims to develop the students’ knowledge and understanding of key issues in modern and contemporary East Asia.
The course also aims to provide an Asian intra-regional comparative perspective, with a strong component of views from the periphery. On the other hand, it will also emphasize the strong influence of shifts in world order on developments in East Asia.
You will be further trained in analyzing and comparing secondary sources, and in giving an academic presentation and writing an academic essay with theoretical and analytical components.
- Theoretical skills needed to understand the complicated issues of East Asia’s modern development.
- Methodological skills needed to analyse both texts and the historical developments or ethnographic realities.
- Techniques of academic writing dealing with complex theoretical and methodological concepts and issues.
Admission to the course
Students who are admitted to study programmes at UiO must each semester register which courses and exams they wish to sign up for in Studentweb.
Students enrolled in other Master`s Degree Programmes can, on application, be admitted to the course if this is cleared by their own study programme.
If you are not already enrolled as a student at UiO, please see our information about admission requirements and procedures.
Formal prerequisite knowledge
Please see the admission requirements defined by the programme options Chinese Culture and Society and Japanese Studies.
Knowledge of both English and at least one East or Asian language is required, as students are encouraged to engage with sources in both English and primary languages. The course will be conducted in English.
Overlapping courses
- 10 credits overlap with EAST4510 – Multiple Modernities in East Asia: Approaches to the Study of Culture and History (discontinued).
Teaching
The teaching is organized as 10 classes of 2 hours each throughout the semester. The classes will be a combination of lectures, seminars, and student presentations. Students are expected to prepare well and do the readings for each class and to participate actively in classroom discussions.
Compulsory activities
- First draft and list of sources for the final paper
- Oral presentation
Approval of the compulsory draft of the term paper and the oral presentation is only valid for the current semester. If you retake the course, you must submit a new draft in the semester in which you are taking the exam, in addition to have a new oral presentation.
You will find more information about the requirements for the compulsory assignment(s) and the submission deadline in Canvas.?
All compulsory activities must be approved to qualify for the exam. It is your responsibility to verify that you have obtained approval for all compulsory activities.?
Absence from compulsory activities:?
It is important that you familiarize yourself with the rules regarding absence from compulsory activities, to prevent being excluded from teaching and losing your eligibility to take the exam.?
More information on compulsory activities at the University of Oslo:?
Access to teaching?
A student who has completed compulsory instruction and coursework and has had these approved, is not entitled to repeat that instruction and coursework. A student who has been admitted to a course, but who has not completed compulsory instruction and coursework or had these approved, is entitled to repeat that instruction and coursework, depending on available capacity.?
Examination
- Term paper
The assignment should consist of 10 pages. One standard page is approximately 2300 characters without spaces, including references. The front page and bibliography are not included in the page count. You choose the topic of the term paper your self, within the framework of this year’s content of the course, and that ideally is based on your presentation. The topic is subject to prior approval by the instructor.
The paper should be partly based on sources in the original languages (Chinese, Japanese, Korean, and/or Vietnamese).
You must submit the exam in Inspera - see guides for digital exams.?
You are personally responsible for familiarizing yourself with the requirements and deadlines for the exam.?
All compulsory activities must be completed and approved in order to take the exam.?
You can find more information about the exam on the semester page of the course.?
Language of examination
The examination questions are given in English. You may submit your response in Norwegian, Swedish, Danish or English.
Grading scale
Grades are awarded on a scale from A to F, where A is the best grade and F is a fail. Read more about the grading system.
More about examinations at UiO
- Use of sources and citations
- Special exam arrangements due to individual needs
- Withdrawal from an exam
- Illness at exams / postponed exams
- Explanation of grades and appeals
- Resitting an exam
- Cheating/attempted cheating
You will find further guides and resources at the web page on examinations at UiO.