HISTORY OF RELATIONS BETWEEN EUROPE AND JAPAN

The course is among the Basic Educational Activities of the Bachelor's Degree Programme in
Language, Civilisation and the Science of Language, curriculum International politics. By providing students with foundational knowledge on the role played by Europe in the process of modernization and transformation of Japan into a modern nation-state, and in its adoption of Western system of international relations, capitalistic practices and idea of civilization, this course aims to broaden their knowledge and understanding of the relationships of Europe with the non-Western world in the 19th and 20th centuries, as well as to provide them with the necessary analytical tools to reflect upon, understand and evaluate the meanings and implications of using alleged universal standards to measure the degree of modernity and civilization of non-Western societies.

The course aims at the following learning goals:
a) knowledge and understanding of the development of European colonialism in Asia, the political and cultural stakes in exportation and reception of the western European model of modernization in East Asian societies with a focus on Japan, and notions and narratives of modernity;
b) to understand the significance of a historical perspective for contemporary issues, and to apply historical knowledge to analyzing and historicizing current events;
c) to critically evaluate the core topics of the course through analysis of different sources and classroom discussion;
d) to promote communication abilities by offering the opportunity of proposing classroom presentations on a volunteer basis.

Basic knowledge of modern and contemporary history.

The main topics of the course are:
- phases and faces of European colonialism in Asia;
- colonialism and civilizing mission;
- roots and effects of the First Opium War;
- Europe and the modernization of Japan;
- modernity and identity in Japan;
- categories and narratives of modernity;
- legacies of European colonialism in East Asia.

Enrica Collotti Pischel, Storia dell'Asia Orientale, Carocci, 2008, capp. 1, 2 and 4.
Rosa Caroli, Francesco Gatti, Storia del Giappone, Laterza, Bari 2017, capp. 4 and 5.
Collotti Pischel E., Considerazioni su colonialismo e razzismo, Università di Milano, Facoltà di scienze politiche, Istituto di diritto e politica internazionale, Milano 1995, 55 pp.

One among the following articles /chapters:
Graeme J. N. Gooday; Morris F. Low, “Technology Transfer and Cultural Exchange: Western Scientists and Engineers Encounter Late Tokugawa and Meiji Japan”, in Osiris, vol. 13, 1998, pp. 99–128 (http://www.jstor.org/stable/301880 )
Hazel J. Jones, “The Formulation of the Meiji Government Policy Toward the Employment of Foreigners”, in Monumenta Nipponica, vol. 23, n. 1/2 (1968), pp. 9-30 (https://www.jstor.org/stable/2383106 )
Kristin Meißner, “Responsivity within the Context of Informal Imperialism”, in Journal of Modern European History, Vol. 14, No. 2 (2016), pp. 268-289 (https://www.jstor.org/stable/26266239?seq=1#metadata_info_tab_contents )

Non-attending students will have to add one of the following articles:
Hazel J. Jones, “Bakumatsu Foreign Employees”, in Monumenta Nipponica, vol. 29, n. 3, 1974, pp. 305–27 (https://doi.org/10.2307/2383670 )
Roy S. Hanashiro, “The Japanese Imperial Mint and the Issue of Jurisdiction over Foreign Employees, 1869-1875”, in Journal of Asian History, vol. 30, n. 1, 1996, pp. 1–26 (http://www.jstor.org/stable/41931008 )
Silvana De Maio, “Gli oyatoi gaikokujin e l'introduzione dell'ingegneria civile in Giappone. Richard Henry Brunton: ingegnere «figlio del suo tempo»”, parte I, in Il Giappone, vol. 31 (1991), pp. 209-229 e parte II, in Il Giappone, vol. 32 (1992), pp. 63-81 (https://www.jstor.org/stable/20749743?seq=1#metadata_info_tab_contents ; https://www.jstor.org/stable/20749749?seq=1#metadata_info_tab_contents )
James L. Huffman, “Edward Howard House: In the Service of Meiji Japan”, in Pacific Historical Review, vol. 56, n. 2, 1987, pp. 231–58 (https://doi.org/10.2307/3639746 )
D. Failla, “Edoardo Chiossone, un collezionista erudito nel Giappone Meiji”, in: Istituto Giapponese di Cultura, Il Giappone moderno alla ricerca dell'Occidente, L'Erma di Bretschneider, Roma 1994, pp. 143-158.
Hoi-eun Kim, “Made in Meiji Japan: German Expatriates, German-Educated Japanese Elites and the Construction of Germanness”, in Geschichte Und Gesellschaft, vol. 41, no. 2, 2015, pp. 288–320 (http://www.jstor.org/stable/24636717 )
Steven J. Ericson, “Importing Locomotives in Meiji Japan: International Business and Technology Transfer in the Railroad Industry” Osiris, vol. 13, 1998, pp. 129–53 (http://www.jstor.org/stable/301881 )
J. E. Hoare, “The ‘Bankoku Shimbun’ Affair: Foreigners, the Japanese Press and Extraterritoriality in Early Meiji Japan”, in Modern Asian Studies, vol. 9, n. 3, 1975, pp. 289–302 (http://www.jstor.org/stable/311723 )
One chapter from Hazel J. Jones, Live machines: Hired Foreigners and Meiji Japan, Paul Norbury Publications, Tenterden, 1980.
One chapter from Noboru Umetani, The Role of Foreign Employees in the Meiji Era in Japan, Institute of Developing Economies, Tokyo 1971.

The oral examination aims to verify the student’s knowledge of the themes addressed in the texts listed in the bibliography and discussed during the course, as well as his/her ability to communicate clearly and effectively and to make appropriate use of historical terminology.
It consists of three questions:
1) a theme/topic chosen by the student, aiming at testing his/her ability to (a) put the issue in its proper historical contex and (b) develop and articulate a coherent historical narrative;
2) a question aiming at verifying his/her ability to (a) connect historical events and processes to specific circumstances of time and place as well as to broader processes occurring at the same time and (b) to make appropriate use of historical terminology, sources and methodologies;
3) a question aiming at verifying his/her ability to consciously apply the acquired knowledge in analyzing contemporary issues related to Europe’s political and cultural relations with non-Western societies.

Frontal lesson, PowerPoint, online sources, joint discussions and seminars with students' presentations.

Italian

The Disabled Students Service with the fundamental support of tutors offers several services throughout university studies, both for prospective and enroled students at Ca’ Foscari University of Venice. Services aim at facilitating the autonomy of students with disabilities and/or learning disabilities such as dyslexia, dyspraxia, dyscalculia through successful integration in university life. More details in https://www.unive.it/pag/28640/

ESU CUORI provides free individual activities and group workshops aimed at all Ca' Foscari students: psychological counselling, training to improve study effectiveness, reorientation paths and seminars to learn how to manage anxiety. More details in https://www.unive.it/pag/41328/

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