Level 1 SEAS Modules

EAS1000 Exploring East Asia
(20 credits, full academic year)

Exploring East Asia is a core module for Level 1 single-honours SEAS students that runs for the academic year. The module is team-taught and split across six units that provide students an introduction to the different disciplines that make up Korean, Japanese, Chinese and East Asian Studies. This year's units will focus on the following topics: pre-modern history, modern history, anthropology, economic development, international relations and media culture. In each unit, students will learn important case studies from across the region utilising different methods from each discipline. The module will also provide training in core reading, writing, and analytic skills for your studies modules throughout your degree.

EAS1021 History and Culture in China
(20 credits in Autumn semester)

In this module, we will explore the city of Shanghai as seen from the grassroots across the twentieth century. We will consider how histories of China are built, how researchers use primary evidence in text and images to understand social change; how to navigate key debates in a field and evaluate competing arguments. You will finish this module with a deep understanding of our core topic and research, critical theory and writing skills that you can apply and develop in further study. More broadly, you will develop an appreciation of what it means to study China at university level, and how ‘area studies’ research on China fits within disciplines in the humanities.

EAS1022 Politics, Economy and Society in China
(20 credits in Spring semester)

This module explores what it means to study China at university level, and considers how 'area studies' research on China fits within disciplines such as political economy, international relations, anthropology, sociology and geography. We will work on a combination of new and established research to explore core topics in contemporary China: including how Chinese society has changed; how researchers use different conceptual frameworks and types of primary evidence to understand change and its wider impact; and, how to use the different types of work published in the field and evaluate competing arguments in key debates. You will finish this module with a deeper understanding of our core topic and the disciplinary approaches that frame it, and a foundation in critical research and writing skills that you can apply and develop in further study. 

EAS1031 History and Culture in Japan
(20 credits in Autumn semester)

This module explores what it means to study Japan at university level, and considers how ‘area studies’ research on Japan fits within disciplines such as history, literature, international relations, and cultural studies. We will work on a combination of new and established research to explore Japan’s transformation into a modern nation state (1868-1945). We will consider how studies of Japan are built, how researchers use primary evidence in text and/or images to understand change; how to navigate key debates in a field and evaluate competing arguments. You will finish this module with a deeper understanding of modern Japan and the disciplinary approaches that frame it, and a foundation in critical research and writing skills that you can apply and develop in further study. 

EAS1032 Politics, Economy and Society in Japan
(20 credits in Spring semester)

This module is an introduction to postwar Japanese politics, economy and society. We will explore what the characteristics of Japanese culture and society are and how the interaction between domestic interest groups, socio-cultural norms, and external influence, mainly from the West and China, has shaped contemporary Japan’s politics and economy. The topics of this module include key domestic actors (e.g. the Liberal Democratic Party, bureaucracy and business lobbies) and cultural norms, international relations with China and the US, the impact of American-led liberal international order (including globalisation, the growing influence of financial capital and digitalisation), and current social challenges (e.g. labour casualisation, ageing society and gender issues). 

EAS1041 History & Culture in Korea
(20 credits in Autumn semester)

History & Culture in Korea focuses on the formation of North Korea and South Korea at the end of World War II. We will learn about the division of the two Koreas (1945), the dynamics of the Korean War (1950-1953), and attempts at peace/unification. In addition to key facts about modern history, this year's module will focus on sources of information for understanding the Koreas. We will look at personal narratives, videos from the period, documentaries, government documents, and academic studies to understand why sources are important to Korean Studies. Students will make a short video recording, take visits to the library to understand our Korean sources, and write an essay drawing on materials from class. 

EAS1042 Politics, Economy and Society in Korea
(20 credits in Spring semester)

This module explores the history of colonial Korea (1910-1945) through the lens of “colonial modernity.” What is colonialism? What is modernity? How did modernity in colonial Korea look different from other “modernities”? How did Koreans experience modernity under Japanese colonial rule? We will consider these key questions by examining political, social, and cultural dimensions of the history of colonial Korea, such as the politics of assimilation, resistance and collaboration, the emergence of “new women,” and changes in “traditional” clothing and popular custom for the dead. We will also discuss how analytical categories such as “gender” and “class” expand our understanding of the diversity and complexity of Korean people’s experience of colonialism and modernity. 

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