East and Southeast Asia
- Nov 16 (W) Political Economic History I
- Nov 21 (M) - Chinese Geopolitics
- Nov 28 (W): Japan and Koreas; Asian Demography, Culture and the Environment
- Nov 30 (W): Political Economic History, Demograpny, Culture, Environment
- Dec 5 (M): Political Economic History, Demograpny, Culture, Environment
East Asia
- Identify the dominant mode of production in East Asia in the 1500’s
- Explain why European merchants did not establish strong trade relations with China in early encounters
- Identify on a map the furthest extent of the Manchu dynasty
- Identify the commodities that they eventually, and progressively, traded with China, and explain how this trade eventually weakened the Manchu dynasty
- Identify on a map areas of territorial loss, and areas that fell within the British, French, Russian and German territorial spheres of influence
- Describe foreign "spheres of influence" and "extra-territories," and differentiate them from colonialism
- Identify who kicks out the Manchu Dynasty, why, and who they represented
- Identify when the Japanese start their invasion, and identify on a map the extent of Japanese strongholds in Chinese territory by 1941
- Identify the parties involved in the 1930's-40's civil war, what they each represent, who wins, and where each party ends up
- Identify the time frame and describe the organization of industry and agriculture within China's four political-economic eras: Soviet-style reform, the Great Leap Forward, and the Cultural Revolution, and the Reform Era
- Sitja Questions
- Clarify why China developed SEZs
- Guangdong Questions
- Describe China’s political system, clarifying the levels at which ‘incipient democratic mechanisms’ and ‘party selection’ appear to dominate
- Describe the “Chinese model” of politics, and its appeal to other nations
- Describe evidence to support the arguments that Tibet is, and is not, a part of China
- Contrast China’s treatment of Tibet from 59-78, 78-87, and 87 to present
- Describe evidence to support the argument that Xinjiang is, and is not, a part of China
- Clarify China’s economic interests in Xinjiang, and explain why China is so interested in holding onto Tibet, which lacks clear economic interests
- Clarify China’s two main strategies to establish legitimacy over all of its autonomous regions
- Identify on a map, and describe Britain’s terms of control over the two different parts of Hong Kong
- Describe the terms of the agreement that led to China’s repossession of the territories in 1997
- Explain U.S. policy on Taiwan 1949-1979, 1979-89 and post-1989, clarifying what is meant by ‘status quo’
- Clarify why Bush’s statement that the US will defend Taiwan, or Obama’s sale of arms to Taiwan, weakens the ‘status quo’ policy
- Describe Taiwan’s internal debate over its status, clarifying why many want independence and many do not
- US Forfeits respect in Asia by letting Taiwan down Questions
- What China Wants Questions
-Identify when Japan experienced isolation and explain how this affected its political economic history
- Describe Japan’s strategies of industrialization and modernization, and identify the empire’s greatest extent on a map
- Identify policies of occupation, trade agreements, and national policies that led to Japan’s post-WWII miracle
- Explain how N.Korea and S.Korea came to be two countries
- Contrast N. and S. Korea’s industrial and ag endowments and challenges
- Identify the four Asian Tigers, and describe their path to economic development post WWII, highlighting their dominant economic sectors and industrial model, pre- and post 1980’s
- Argue whether Japan’s and China’s statistics can be explained by demographic transition theory
- Link China’s population fertility policy to its political-economic history since 1949. Clarify the most important reason that it adopted a 1-Child Policy
- China One-Child Policy Questions
- Compare China’s gender balance with the rest of the region, and explain why it exists
- Taiwan Questions
- Identify the dominant shape of East Asia’s population pyramid structure, and clarify Japan’s demographic situation
- Link China’s 3 main phases of urbanization to its political-economic history since 1949, and describe policies designed to stem the tide of urbanization
- Contrast Japan and Europe’s immigration policies, and their ramifications for the demographic pyramid
- Identify the 2 regions to which Chinese emigration is very high, and explain why the outward tide is slowing
- Identify “China Proper” on a map, and explain what binds the Han as a group
- Identify on a map the three main religious/philosophical regions within China
- Identify on a map China’s 3 major climatic regions, and associated crops/agricultural systems
- Explain 2-3 reasons why East Asia is no longer food self-sufficient
- Three Gorges Dam Questions
Southeast East Asia
- Identify the dominant modes of production in the region
- Explain what particularly interested the Europeans in Southeast Asia during the mercantile period
- Identify the European colonizers of Indochina, Malaysia/Burma, Philippines and Indonesia
- Identify the main exports in each colonial region, including the “rice bowls" regions
- Identify the main European settler zones, and explain how the indigenous population was compelled to participate in export production
- Explain how Thailand avoided colonization
- Identify each country’s political economic trajectory post-WWII: liberal economic capitalism or socialism
- Describe 2 forces making capitalist Southeast Asia a "land poor" and "labor rich" region
- Identify the dominant industrial models post-WWII and after the 80’s
- Explain 2-3 reasons why the region has been more successful than others in attracting foreign investors
- Explain why Asian Tiger Cubs suffered from the Asian economic Flu
- Contrast the Cambodian and Vietnamese models of socialism/communism
- Vietnam film questions
- Explain 2-3 reasons why, in the industrial sector, reform has been less successful
- Explain how most nation-states formed in this region
- Identify physical, cultural and economic factors that make it difficult for Indonesia to hold together as a nation-state, and explain 2-3 ways in which it has historically countered those forces of balkanization
- Explain why East Timor's success in gaining independence does not necessarily signal balkanization the way the Aceh independence movement did
- Identify where most Southeast Asian nations fell in the political economic spectrum in the 60’s-80’s and post-80’s time periods
- Clarify what ASEAN is
- Who Rules the South China Sea Questions
- No Brussels Sprouts in Bali Questions
- Of the countries following the socialist post-colonial path, link their demographic statistics to their socialist models and post-90’s development experience
- Of the countries following the liberal economic path, explain why, according to demographic transition theory, it is surprising that Indonesia and Malaysia have been slower to experience their demographic transition than Thailand, and explain why that situation has occurred
- Characterize Indonesia’s demographic crisis. Describe its current strategy to deal with it and resultant problems
- Contrast degrees of urbanization in liberal economic and former socialist countries
- Identify the two main immigrant groups into Southeast Asia, and clarify the context in which they came
- Identify the dominant religion within each country, and identify where animism is important
- Malaysia film Questions
- Identify the main driving forces behind deforestation in the 1950’s-90’s and 90’s to present time periods