Syllabus
The history of US-Japan relations is barely a century-and-half old,
dating back to 1853, when Commodore Matthew Perry and his fleet of four
ships arrived in the Bay of Edo (today's Tokyo) and forced Japan to end
its self-imposed isolation. The present course covers only the last fifty
years of the history, the period following World War II, during which the
US and Japan engaged in a tragic military confrontation for four years.
The postwar history of the bilateral relationship, characterized by close
cooperation, is one of marked difference compared with the preceding hundred
years that witnessed deterioration in their relations as a result of power
competition in the Western Pacific and East Asia. The principal instructor
is not a historian but a retired Japanese diplomat who was involved in
US-Japan relations for many years during his career. In the course he will
try to give a Japanese perspective of the postwar evolution of the trans-Pacific
relationship between the two countries.
The Structure and Organization of the Course
The course will be divided into two equal parts. Ambassador Kuriyama
will personally conduct the first half, which will run for five weeks with
regularly scheduled classes (twice a week). During the second five
weeks, students will be able to pursue an aspect of the course
in greater depth under the guidance of Professor Doeringer either as a
weekly tutorial in which they discuss further readings or as an independent
study in which they research and write a substantial term paper.
Part One
During the first half, each class will consist of two parts: a
lecture followed by a discussion session. Students are expected to complete
the assigned readings in time, attend class, and participate actively in
the discussion sessions on topics suggested by the instructor. The first
class (9/28) will be basically introductory. The instructor will relate
his general observations of the postwar bilateral relationship and will
also discuss a few concepts that will help the students understand international
relations in general. Each of the next eight classes will focus on an issue
that is considered to have been significant in shaping the relationship
over the past fifty years.
10/3 the San Francisco system
(the peace treaty and the US-Japan security treaty)
10/5 the 1960 revision of the
security treaty
10/10 the 1972 reversion of Okinawa (a peaceful
adjustment in the San Francisco system)
10/12 the G-7 process (evolution toward a
more balanced relationship)
10/17 trade friction (in the 1970s
and '80s)
10/19 the Gulf War
10/24 renewed trade friction
10/26 the relationship adrift (President
Clinton's visit in 1996)
The final class in this half of the course (10/30) will focus on the
future of the relationship: the challenges the two countries will face
as they try to redefine the relationship in a changing world. There will
be a midterm exam on all material covered to this point at the end of the
sixth week (11/2).
Reading Assignments for Part One
The list of books the Students are required to read:
-
Walter LaFeber, The Clash (New York: W. W. Norton & Co.,
1997)*
-
Gerald Curtis (ed.), The United States, Japan, and Asia (New
York: W. W. Norton & Co., 1994)**
-
Michael H. Armacost, Friends or Rivals? (New York: Columbia
University Press, 1996)
Note: *Required to read Chapter VIII through
the Conclusion
**Available in paperback
The specific reading assignments are as follows:
Before the fourth class 10/10
The Clash: Chapters IX to XI
The United States, Japan, and Asia, Introduction
by Gerald Curtis: chapters by Akira Iriye and Michael Oksenberg
Before the sixth class 10/17
The Clash: Chapter XII and Conclusion
Friends or Rivals?: Chapters 1 to 3
The United States, Japan, and Asia: chapter by
Merit Janow
Before the seventh class 10/19
Friends or Rivals?:
chapter 4
Before the eighth class:10/24
Friends or Rivals?: chapters 5 to 6
Before the final class: 10/30
Friends or Rivals?: chapters 7 to 8
The United States, Japan and Asia: chapters by
Ezra Vogel and Gerald Curtis
In addition to the above, students are urged to read the following
recommended article: Samuel Huntington, "The Clash of Civilizations?",
Foreign
Affairs (Summer 1993, Council on Foreign Relations, New York) which
is on reserve in the Lawrence Library.
Part Two
Meeting times during the second part of the course will be less frequent
and need to be scheduled individually with Professor Doeringer by the start
of the sixth week (11/2). Those students who elect to continue on a tutorial
basis should plan to set up a weekly session with him in which to select
readings and discuss their contents. They will be expected to meet
as scheduled, provide weekly oral reports on their readings, and complete
a short, informal paper summarizing their findings by the start of the
final exam period (12/12). Students who prefer to pursue a more independent
course of study aimed at producing a research paper may not have to meet
with him as often, but they, too, should arrange an initial meeting in
the sixth week and plan to consult with him thereafter as needed. They
are expected to complete a twenty to twenty-five page paper by the end
of the tenth week (12/7). Both groups should plan to attend a library session
on locating relevant readings and source materials for their topics during
the sixth week.
