This course will explore the interaction between nationalist theory
and the interpretation (by mainly Western writers of modern East
Asian culture and civilization.  We will consider various
interpretations (Cultural, Historical, Political, etc.) of Korea,
Japan, and China, and we will grapple with how these different views
have been shaped by issues imbedded in theoretical conflicts within
and the vocabulary of nationalism theory---issues such as: cultural
identity formation, the role of traditional culture and social
structure, demographic and economic change, anti-colonial movements,
class versus national identifications, technology transfer, the
communications revolution, creation and meaning of national
symbolism, and conflict between Western derived and indigenous
political institutions and ideas.  We will follow these issues as
they appear, explicitly or implicitly, in a number of works on
modern East Asian culture.  Building on our survey of nationalism
theory, we will critique the theoretical biases contained in various
writings on modern East Asian.  We will also consider alternative
visions imbedded in the search to move beyond the metaphor of nation
in our writing.  Our goal is to better appreciate the scope and
relative utility of nationalism theory in scholarly writing and to
acquaint ourselves with and rethink some of the general themes in
modern East Asian culture.