HISTORY OF ORIENTAL ASIA

The course aims to provide an introduction to the historical context of East Asia, with particular attention to the main events in China (for students attending the Chinese course) and Japan (for students attending the Japanese course) . The main historiographical works for the acquisition of bibliographical orientation skills will also be examined. The course aims to pay particular attention to the birth and development of diplomatic relations between the two Asian countries, making use of comparative methods and synoptic frameworks.

knowledge and understandig: general overview of the historical basic themes and issues of Chinese and japanese civilization for understanding the events and critical debate from the origins to modernity.

applying knowledge and understanding: Students will be able to understand and relate main historical events in the cultural and social fields.

making judgement: students will be able to obtain critical skills with the chinese and japanese realities, in different context of everyday life and professional life.

communication skills: students will be able to express their ideas, projects and results obtained in a complex and articulated way.

learning skills: students will be able to interact with different professional and cultural contexts. They know how to interpret, understand and use independently their expressive capabilities.

frontal lessons

The course will focus on the general history of the Far East (Japan and China) from the origins to the 20th century. The students are required to study the philosophical and cultural contexts. The active participation in class will be strongly encouraged.

In this regard, the analysis of specific philosophical and cultural contexts is useful to understand the various events examined. Each student will learn about the historical development of China and Japan based on their academic orientation, also through an intercultural analysis perspective from all over East Asia. The critical debate and the problems related to the use of common historical categories between different geographic, cultural and social contexts will therefore be examined.

The main topics will be:

- Prehistory in China and Japan

- main historical events in China and Japan

- Chinese and Japanese historical sources

- Empire and imperialism in China and Japan

- The tax system

- debate and historiographical paradigms

- the Sino-Japanese wars

- historical affinities and differences between China and Japan

- the nineteenth century in the Far East

- Modernization in China and Japan

- The contemporaneity in China and Japan

For Chinese course:

1. Sabattini M., Santangelo P., Storia della Cina, Laterza, Bari-Roma, 2015, until chapter 8°;
2. Collotti Pischel E., Storia dell’Asia orientale, 1850-1949, Carocci, Roma, 2015;
3. Samarani G., La Cina contemporanea. Dalla fine dell'impero a oggi, Nuova edizione aggiornata e ampliata, Einaudi, Torino, 2017, parts 2 and 3;

For Japanese course:

1. Gatti F., Caroli R., Storia del Giappone, Laterza, Bari-Roma, 2016;
2. Tollini A., L’ideale della Via. Samurai, poeti e monaci nel Giappone medievale, Einaudi, Torino, 2017;
3. Collotti Pischel E., Storia dell’Asia orientale, 1850-1949, Carocci, Roma, 2015;

For Chinese and Japanese courses

1. Sabattini M., Santangelo P., Storia della Cina, Laterza, Bari-Roma, 2015;
2. Gatti F., Caroli R., Storia del Giappone, Laterza, Bari-Roma, 2016;
3. Collotti Pischel E., Storia dell’Asia orientale, 1850-1949, Carocci, Roma, 2015

Please remember that in compliance with art 171 L22.04.1941, n. 633 and its amendments, it is illegal to copy entire books or journals, only 15% of their content can be copied.

For further information on sanctions and regulations concerning photocopying please refer to the regulations on copyright (Linee Guida sulla Gestione dei Diritti d’Autore) provided by AIDRO - Associazione Italiana per i Diritti di Riproduzione delle opere dell’ingegno (the Italian Association on Copyright).

All the books listed in the programs can be consulted in the Library.