East Asia has increasingly played a great role in global politics. Organized in themes and parallel case studies, this course provides a comprehensive and systematic introduction to the comparative study of the nations of East Asia, with a particular focus on Japan, North Korea, South Korea, China, and Taiwan. The course addresses several topical areas of inquiry: political culture and heritage, democratization, government structure and institutions, political parties and leaders, social movements, and women’s political representation and participation. While this course studies East Asia countries, intra-regional issues and issues involving relations with other parts of the world are also examined.
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Feedback from students
“The instructor was clear when lecturing and when communicating across the assignment requirements. The instructor was really committed to listening to everyone and create opportunities for everyone to speak.”
“I liked the structure of the syllabus, the midterm structure, and the final project. I also thought that she made herself available for when things were not clear in class.”
“Her availability was definitely a strength and I liked the mixed medium of the readings and information in the syllabus — movies, qualitative reports, academic journals and news sources.”
“I thought that her teaching style was good and above all she made herself available to clarify in depth her expectations. She also provided ample time to review assignments with her.”
“Overall, she is a professor who wants her students to participate and have knowledge on east Asian politics.”
“I thought that perhaps more lecture was needed in order to direct the class conversations. Although it was nice that she tried not to consistently lecture, alternatively it also meant that frequently the class wouldn’t effectively engage.”