Since the mid-nineteenth century, East Asia has been challenged by the European and American powers. Both the Qing Empire and Japan were forced to accelerate reforms in order to adapt to the new international relations. In this course, expert scholars will present multiple perspectives on how East Asia interacts with Western countries and how they compete with each other in the process of moving into modern international relations. How the old political, economic, and social systems of East Asia have responded to the new international order will also be a major focus of this course. Students will be able to understand the current international situation (e.g., the U.S.-China Trade War) in its historical context, and also further studies on the complexity and diversity of international relations.
