As part of 21JPSI, four new courses have been introduced in the Hamilton Lugar School of Global and International Studies (based in EALC and joint-listed with International Studies), significantly expanding the school’s offerings on contemporary Japan. These courses have no prerequisites and are open to all undergraduate and graduate students. Enrolled students will also be given special opportunities to meet with leading Japan experts from across the country (and beyond) coming to IU as part of speaker series across campus, especially 21JPSI's new "Japanese Politics and Society" Speaker Series and biennial conferences on U.S. - Japan Relations.
New Courses!
This course introduces students to the history and politics of U.S. - Japan relations in a regional and global context, with a particular focus on challenges confronting leaders in both countries—from the rise of China and trade frictions to base politics, climate change, and North Korean nuclear weapons. We will investigate the sources of these challenges and critically evaluate U.S.’ and Japan’s policy responses. (Instructor: Prof. Adam Liff; offered in Fall 2018; Spring 2022)
This course introduces students to Japan’s foreign relations and the politics of its foreign policy. We will focus primarily on the evolution of Japanese foreign policy since World War II, with particular attention paid to Japan's postwar relations with mainland China, North and South Korea, Southeast Asia, Taiwan, and the United States. We will end the semester critically examining how Japan's leaders are seeking to adjust its policies in the face of the complicated challenges of the 21st century. (Instructor: Prof. Adam Liff; offered in Fall 2019; Fall 2020; previously taught as E395 or E350)
This course introduces students to the numerous domestic political and social challenges facing Japan in the 21st century. From the world's most rapidly aging society to the challenge of bringing more women and immigrants into the workforce, Japan's political leaders have struggled to effectively address a number of vexing domestic issues. We will investigate the sources of these challenges; identify their political, economic and social externalities; and evaluate Japan's policy responses. As a survey course on contemporary Japanese politics and society, this seminar will cover a wide range of topics—e.g., Japan's political institutions and the constitution revision movement, to gender, immigration, demographics, and the role of the media. (Instructor: Prof. Hilary Holbrow; taught in Spring 2021)
This course will explore how ideas of gender and sexuality in Japan have been profoundly shaped by larger social, economic and political forces. Although we often think of gender and sexuality as intimate aspects of our identity, these larger forces play an important role. Questions we will critically engage include: What does it mean to be a man or a woman in contemporary Japan? How have gender roles changed over the course of Japan’s modern history? In what ways have Japanese people embraced or resisted normative gender roles? (Instructor: Prof. Hilary Holbrow; offered in Fall 2021)
The Hamilton Lugar School and EALC also offer a number of other courses on contemporary East Asian international relations, politics, society, etc.