Universität Wien
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150066 VU History of East Asia (2020S)

4.00 ECTS (2.00 SWS), SPL 15 - Ostasienwissenschaften
Continuous assessment of course work
Moodle

Registration/Deregistration

Note: The time of your registration within the registration period has no effect on the allocation of places (no first come, first served).

Details

max. 50 participants
Language: English

Lecturers

Classes (iCal) - next class is marked with N

  • Monday 02.03. 10:15 - 11:45 Seminarraum Sinologie 1 UniCampus Hof 2 2F-O1-10
  • Monday 09.03. 10:15 - 11:45 Seminarraum Sinologie 1 UniCampus Hof 2 2F-O1-10
  • Monday 16.03. 10:15 - 11:45 Seminarraum Sinologie 1 UniCampus Hof 2 2F-O1-10
  • Monday 23.03. 10:15 - 11:45 Seminarraum Sinologie 1 UniCampus Hof 2 2F-O1-10
  • Monday 30.03. 10:15 - 11:45 Seminarraum Sinologie 1 UniCampus Hof 2 2F-O1-10
  • Monday 20.04. 09:45 - 11:15 Hörsaal B UniCampus Hof 2 2C-EG-02
  • Monday 27.04. 10:15 - 11:45 Seminarraum Sinologie 1 UniCampus Hof 2 2F-O1-10
  • Monday 04.05. 10:15 - 11:45 Seminarraum Sinologie 1 UniCampus Hof 2 2F-O1-10
  • Monday 11.05. 10:15 - 11:45 Seminarraum Sinologie 1 UniCampus Hof 2 2F-O1-10
  • Monday 18.05. 10:15 - 11:45 Seminarraum Sinologie 1 UniCampus Hof 2 2F-O1-10
  • Monday 25.05. 10:15 - 11:45 Seminarraum Sinologie 1 UniCampus Hof 2 2F-O1-10
  • Monday 08.06. 10:15 - 11:45 Seminarraum Sinologie 1 UniCampus Hof 2 2F-O1-10
  • Monday 15.06. 09:45 - 11:15 Hörsaal B UniCampus Hof 2 2C-EG-02
  • Monday 22.06. 10:15 - 11:45 Seminarraum Sinologie 1 UniCampus Hof 2 2F-O1-10
  • Monday 29.06. 10:15 - 11:45 Seminarraum Sinologie 1 UniCampus Hof 2 2F-O1-10

Information

Aims, contents and method of the course

The goal of this course is to provide a concise overview of the history of East Asia (mainly China, Japan, and Korea) from its beginnings until present time. A focus will be on the period from the 19th century onward. Students understand the major trajectories of East Asia’s history, the foundations of the region’s culture and society, and the various forms of interaction and interdependence that emerged over time and form the background for current events in economics, politics, and society in general. Please be aware that most events will only be touched superficially. The focus is on providing a broad overview, the “big picture”, connections between the histories of the said East Asian countries, and suggestions for deepening your knowledge through further reading.
For a Covid-19 related update, see "Prüfungsstoff" below.

Assessment and permitted materials

This is a text-based course. Accordingly, in preparation of each unit, students will be asked to read related book chapters (all from the same book, which is available in three copies in our library) to be prepared for active listening and discussion. During the classes, the instructor will outline the main components of the related texts and provide additional information. Expect reading about 40 pages per week on average.
To adjust the workload in accordance with the allocated ECTS points, we will occasionally skip single units and allot this time to readings and exam preparation; see the class schedule (separate document).
For a Covid-19 related update, see "Prüfungsstoff" below.

Minimum requirements and assessment criteria

(1) Students’ participation is important because not all information can be found in the PPTs or in the Holcombe book. Regular participation is thus mandatory. The following rules apply: The grade for attendance is “1” in the case of up to three absences. If you are absent for up to 4 times, the grade will be “2”. If you are absent for up to 5 times, the grade will “3”, and so forth.
Please note: To ensure a smooth proceeding of the course, please be on time. Students who are late by more than 10 minutes will not be able to sign the attendance list.

(2) Students are required to write two multiple-choice tests (for dates see class schedule). The questions in these tests were developed based on the readings that were due up to the day of the test. For the final test, only texts that were due after the mid-term exam are considered.
The final grade for the course will be calculated as follows:
Attendance: 10%
Mid-term exam: 45%
Final exam: 45%
Please note: This is not a lecture course (“Vorlesung”). Exams will thus not be repeated. Please make sure that you can participate. If you already know that this will not be possible, you should not register for this course. If you miss an exam, for whatever reason, you will be graded “5” for that exam. Please consider this when enrolling for this course.
For a Covid-19 related update, see "Prüfungsstoff" below.

Examination topics

CORONA UPDATE
(1) I will record all my lectures and post them on Moodle.
• I have already posted a few and will add more over the next days and weeks. This is exactly the same experience as it would be in the actual classroom, except that there is no option for interaction. But as before, you are free to ask me questions by email.
(2) I will post all Holcombe book chapters on Moodle.
• This constitutes a violation of copyright, and not least being a book author myself, I feel very uncomfortable about it. But I regard is as a one-time emergency measure due to the fact that the libraries remain closed and you have no other access to these required readings. Please refrain from sharing these PDFs outside this course!
(3) All exams will be held as planned, except that we will switch from offline to online mode.
• It makes little sense to postpone the exams and hope that the University will be reopened in May or June. Even if the latter would be the case, the resulting burden on you – all exams crammed into a few days –
would be too high. Therefore, please be ready to write the first m/c exam on April 20 at 10:15 as originally scheduled. You will do so online via Moodle (in both cases, it will be the same exam with the same modalities). If the University remains closed by late April, make sure that you sit in front of your computer with a working internet connection on that day. If the University still remains closed by mid-June, the same mode will apply to the final exam on June 15.

Reading list

Holcombe, Charles (2017): A History of East Asia – From the Origins of Civilization to the Twenty-First Century. Cambridge University Press: New York.

Association in the course directory

WM4a, JMA M9, KMA M2

Last modified: Tu 14.01.2025 00:16