Admission requirements
None. All welcome!
Description
This seminar studies Dutch VOC records and the social history of anti-Catholic activity in Japan to understand the role of religion and foreign trade in the establishment of a cohesive Japanese state and commercial sphere in the early-modern period (1550-1850). During this period of Japanese history the state for the first time took control of the territory of modern Japan, language was standardized, literacy increased and foreign trade was regulated. A monetarized economy with complex financial instruments developed which united production, trade and distribution mechanisms throughout the archipelago, thereby providing the building blocks for the later rapid modernization of Japan.
This seminar investigates the major role played by religious policy, in particular the regulation of Buddhism and banning and suppression of Catholicism, in the development of this early-modern Japanese state. In Phase One (the first half of the semester) the seminar concentrates on lectures and readings of secondary literature about state development in this period and the role of religion therein. In Phase Two (the second half of the semester) students work on small group research projects which use Dutch VOC trading records, in particular trading post diaries from Nagasaki, to gain an insight into the role of religion and politics in seventeenth century Japanese society. This seminar thereby gives students the chance to study Japanese history through primary source material, and to use commercial records to answer questions which relate primarily to political and religious history.
Course objectives
This seminar gives students the chance to study Japanese history through primary source material, and to use commercial records to answer questions which relate primarily to political and religious history.
Timetable
Zie timetable.
Mode of instruction
- Seminar
Course Load
Total course load for the course (number of EC x 28 hours), for a course of 5 EC is 140 hours, for 10 EC 280.
Assessment method
Participation (including webpostings): 20%
Review Paper: 20%
Research Presentation: 20%
Research Essay: 40%
The resit is an extra attempt (second deadline) of the final paper, the result of which, if over 6, ensures a pass of the course.
Blackboard
Yes, see for more info Blackboard
Reading list
Kiri Paramore, Ideology and Christianity in Japan, New York: Routledge, 2009
And other readings to be provided in class.
Registration
Registration through uSis. Not registered, means no permission to attend this course. See also the ‘Registrationprocedures for classes and examinations’ for registration deadlines and more information on how to register
Registration Studeren à la carte and Contractonderwijs
ALL WELCOME!!!
Contact
Remarks
BAIS students can get permission to upgrade this course to level 300 through additional course work .