POL 231 Oglethorpe University Fall 2007
Asian Politics
Tuesday – Thursday 10:00 – 11:15 Hearst 203
Dr. Stephen B. Herschler
Lupton 303, extension 8519
Tentative Office Hours:
Tues: 12:00 – 1:00 & 3:00 – 4:00 Thurs: 12:00 – 1:00
Wednesdays: 10:30 – 12:30 (if no meetings…) & 1:30 – 3:30
and readily available by appointment
Course Contents, Organization and Objectives
The term ‘Asian Politics’ collapses together a disparate array of political cultures, identities, institutions, and practices. In this class one objective is to disentangle each of these factors and examine their respective influences on the contemporary politics of Asian countries, analyzed both individually and comparatively. In terms of the course’s structure/logic: the first part of the course examines how the past has served in shaping the present through a quick historical overview of culture and politics in the region, followed by consideration of the relationship between culture, politics, and modern nation-state based identities. These themes lay the groundwork for analysis in the second part of the class in which our attention turns to contemporary issues and practices, including the ‘Asian economic development model,’ the relationship between political development and economic development, and concluding with how globalization is impacting Asian countries individually and collectively.
While the geographical ‘locus’ is Asia, this course also has as its objective introducing students both to some general themes in comparative politics (culture, nationalism, economic development, democratization, globalization) as well as to the practice of undertaking comparative analysis. What does it mean to compare and contrast? According to what criteria or towards what ends does one compare and contrast countries, cultures, or institutions? We will discuss and apply case study method to interrelate individual countries to broader theoretical issues.
While much of the course involves gaining an appreciation for Asia’s historical richness and complexity, we will also examine contemporary issues related to Asian political-economy, seeking in the process to apply general theoretical and historical frameworks to current affairs. To facilitate this exercise, later in the semester, students will be asked to scour overseas newspapers and other news sources for articles presenting topics of current significance to Asians.
Asia might seem distant and mysterious, but Buford Highway is spitting distance from campus. Accordingly, this class includes a component focusing on the experiences and identities of Asian Americans, both historically and today. The proximity of such communities provides a precious resource for engaging with different cultures as well as for reflecting upon issues of inclusion, exclusion, and identity in Atlanta and the United States more generally.
Texts (note A, B, C):
A: Please purchase the following books
1. Mark Borthwick, Pacific Century: The Emergence of Modern Pacific Asia, 2nd edition (Westview, 1998)
2. Min Zhou and James Gatewood, eds., Contemporary Asian America: A Multidisciplinary Reader (NYU, 2000)
3. James Watson, Golden Arches East: McDonalds in East Asia, 2nd edition (Stanford University Press, 2006)
B: ‘Free’ web book
We will be reading several chapters from a World Bank edited volume: Democracy, Market Economics & Development: An Asian Perspective. You are more than welcomed to purchase the book, though the book is also available on line (in PDF format) at the following address (which I’ll email to y’all):
http://www-wds.worldbank.org/servlet/WDS_IBank_Servlet?pcont=details&eid=000094946_01052404084912
C: In addition, there will be some supplementary articles, either handed out in class or available on line.
Course Assignments and Grading:
1 quiz 10% 9/18
2 papers (15% & 20%) 35% 10/16 11/13
final exam 20% 12/13 2:30-4:30, part take-home and part in-class
class presentations 20% 10/9 11/1 11/27
av presentation 5% 9/6 9/13 9/25 10/18 11/15 12/4
class participation 10% throughout the term
Quiz Purpose: mastery of basic factual information à It cannot be made up
Papers:
Purpose: practice applying general theory to specific cases
5-7 pages (1250-1750 words), topics will be passed out in class the week before The papers are due.
Late papers will be marked down (three points for the first 24 hours, three points for each subsequent class meeting).
Final Exam:
Purpose: Evince understanding of broader course themes as they are clarified or problematized by Asian countries.
Understanding of key concepts.
Study questions shall be handed out in advance. It shall test your ability to combine factual information and theoretical frameworks.
Presentations:
Purpose: develop skills in oral presentations, team work, and using the case-study method; teaching classmates and the teacher
A variety of formats & groupings, used to compare and contrast issues across Asian countries.
AV presentations:
Purpose: to enrich our understanding of Asia through sound and images & attempt to make Dr. Herschler become tech savvy.
Presentations are to last a mere 10 minutes; presenters are
to meet with me prior to crafting the presentation
and to provide copies of the presentations (presumably on CD or a lent memory stick)
as well as a list of the sites/resources used/referenced.
Participation: Attendance is a component (see attendance policy below).
Policy on Attendance:
One absence will be politely overlooked and even expected. Stuff happens. However, individual student attendance is vital not only for acquiring lecture information, which will be cumulative in nature, but also for the learning process of everyone in the class, including me. Subsequent absences will likely have a powerfully detrimental effect on your final grade (except for medical reasons corroborated by a doctor’s note or real emergencies which are conveyed to me in a timely fashion). You cannot hide: I will find you. I reserve the right to give students the grade of ‘FA’ for those who fail to attend class regularly. Also, please be punctual. If we start on time, we end on time.
Honor Code:
Persons who come to Oglethorpe University for work and study join a community that is committed to high standards of academic honesty. The Honor Code contains the responsibilities we accept by becoming members of the community and the procedures we will follow should our commitment to honesty be broken.
The students and faculty of Oglethorpe University expect each other to be truthful in the academic endeavor they share. Members of the faculty assume that students complete work honestly and act toward them in ways consistent with that assumption. Students are expected to behave honorably in their academic work and are required to insist on honest behavior from their peers. Students who suspect that dishonorable conduct has occurred must report any suspected violations to the Honor Council. Failure to report a suspected Honor Code violation itself constitutes a violation of the Code of Student Conduct.
As a sign of their commitment to the ideals of the Honor Code, students pledge that they have completed assignments honestly by attaching the following statement to each test, quiz, paper, overnight assignment, in-class essay, or other work:
I pledge that I have neither given nor received any unauthorized aid on this assignment. (signature)
Failure to sign the pledge, or failure of an instructor to remind students to sign the pledge, in no way relieves either students or faculty members of their responsibilities under the Code.
The two primary concerns of the code are cheating and plagiarism.
Cheating is defined as:
a. The unauthorized possession or use of notes, texts, or other such materials during an examination.
b. Copying another person’s work or participation in such an effort.
c. An attempt or participation in an attempt to fulfill the requirements of a course with work other than one’s original work for that course.
Students have the responsibility of avoiding participation in cheating incidents by doing their own work, taking precautions against others copying their work, and in general not giving or receiving aid beyond what is authorized by the instructor.
Plagiarism includes representing someone else’s words, ideas, data, or original research as one’s own, and in general failing to footnote or otherwise acknowledge the source of such work. One has the responsibility of avoiding plagiarism by taking adequate notes on reference materials, including material taken off the internet or other electronic sources, used in the preparation of reports, papers, and other coursework.
Disabilities:
Should you have learning disabilities or physical disabilities requiring accommodation in the class, do let me know at the start of the semester (not just prior to the first quiz, please or, even worse, after an assignment is due) and I will be happy to work with you. I want to help you learn, but you gotta help me help you. Students should acquaint themselves with the resources available to them at Oglethorpe, as well as the relevant offices and policies outlined in the OU Bulletin.
Tentative Class Schedule:
Note: this is always subject to change as a consequence of my ignorance of an Oglethorpe activity, response to class interests, acts of God, reaction to events in the news, or seizing opportunities.
please refer to the web version for updates and revisions
WEEK 1
TUES AUG 28 Course introduction and geography overview
THURS 8/30 Historical Overview
READING: Pacific Century, Chpt. 1
WEEK 2
TUES 9/4 Culture I: Confucianism
READING: Handouts and passages available via web links
THURS 9/6 Culture II: Daoism & Bushido
READING: Handouts and passages available via web links
AV PRESENTATION 1: Ancient Asian History in Sound and Image
WEEK 3
TUES 9/11 VIDEO: ‘The Meiji Restoration’
READING: Pacific Century, chpts 2 & 3
THURS 9/13 Contemplating Asian Americans
READING: Contemporary Asian America (CAA)
Introduction (especially pp. 1-29), Part II pp. 117-151
AV PRESENTATION 2: Asian Americans in American History
WEEK 4
TUES 9/18 QUIZ on geography, history, other facts & figures
also Introduction to Case Study method
READING: Handout
THURS 9/20 Continuing with the Case Study Method
WEEK 5
TUES 9/25 The Roots of Asian Nationalism
READING: Pacific Century, chpt. 4
AV PRESENTATION 3: Imperialism and Nationalism in Asia
WED 9/27 Theories of Nationalism
READINGS: Handouts
WEEK 6
TUES 10/2 VIDEO (Library): ‘War and Revolution’
THURS 10/4 Family and Spirituality in Asian America
READING: CAA Part V: ‘Ties That Bind’ pp. 299-353
CAA Part VI: ‘Keeping the Faith’ pp. 357-391 (feel free to look at pp. 392-407)
WEEK 7
THURS 10/9 Forms of Asian nationalism
group presentations on country case studies of Asian nationalism
THURS 10/11 Asian economic development I
READING: Pacific Century, chpt. 6-7
WEEK 8
TUES 10/16 Asian economic development II
Jong H. Park, “East Asian Model of Economic Development,”
Journal of Developing Societies, vol. 18 #4 (2002), pp. 330-353.
PAPER ONE DUE (Nationalism)
THURS 10/18 Democracy, economics, development I
READING: Democracy and Market Economics, and Development: An Asian Perspective
Available on line as PDF file (see page 1 of the syllabus):
Overview, Sen, Fukuyama, Stiglitz
AV PRESENTATION 4: Contemporary Asian Political-Economy
Extra Credit Opportunity! Dr. Darlene May on Women and Islam
Lupton Auditorium 7 p.m. (2 points on the quiz)
WEEK 9
TUES 10/23 Democracy economics, development II
READING: Democracy and Market Economics
Kim (pp. 1-6), Jang (pp. 73-93), Haggard (pp. 127-148)
THURS 10/27 Bringing US into the debate
READING: CAA Section IV ‘Life and Work in America’ pp. 233-295
WEEK 10
TUES 10/30 Democracy, economics, development III
VIDEO: ‘Big Business and the Ghost of Confucius’
THURS NOV 1 Democracy, economics, development IV
group presentations on country case studies of pol dev ↔ econ dev
WEEK 11
TUES 11/6 class discussion/debate: relationship between pol dev ß> econ dev
THURS 11/8 To Be Determined (just in case any hurricanes blow through in the prior weeks….)
WEEK 12 [PREREG WEEK]
TUES 11/13 à PAPER TWO DUE (Political and Economic development)
THURS 11/15 De-centering Asian American Identity
AV PRESENTATION 5: Contemporary Asian Americans
Readings: CAA
Part VIII ‘Model Minority’ pp. 449-497 & Part IX ‘Confronting Adversity’ pp. 501-542
WEEK 13 [THANKSGIVING WEEK]
TUES 11/20 Globalization and Asia
READING: Golden Arches East
WEEK 14
TUES 11/27 à group presentations on country case studies
presentations Golden Arches East and Asian Am identity [women, queering, inter-racial marriages]
THURS 11/29 Class at McDonalds: group presentations, cont.
WEEK 15
TUES DEC 4 AV PRESENTATION 6: Globalization and Asia
THURS 12/6 Review for Final, handing out of final essay question and in-class exam study sheet
FINAL EXAM: Thursday December 13 2:30 – 4:30