History 150A

 

1. The essay must be 5-7 pages long, typed, double-spaced, proofread and spell-checked.

a.    At minimum for citations, use (author's family name, page number of original text) format.

b.    APA and MLA styles are both acceptable.  The UCSC web site has links to relevant style sheets.

3. You MUST draw on materials covered after the midterm as well as before the midterm in order to satisfy the demands of this assignment.

4. We are looking for a coherent argument that demonstrates engagement with and synthesis of a range of course materials, including the lectures, the textbooks, and the primary sources.

5. The final will be due at noon on December 7 at my office (Humanities 534). Absolutely no late exams will be accepted without previous notification and a compelling and documented reason.

6. If you want detailed comments on your paper, please put a note to say so on your paper.  You can pick up your paper next quarter at my office.

 

1.   At the beginning of the eighth century, the Yamato confederation of clans created a centralized system of government that historians have called the Ritsuryô State.  Much of the subsequent history of the Japanese islands, however, may be told as a tale of the disintegration of central authority and the profusion of forms of autonomy.  Looking at the readings we have done this term, what forms of autonomy can you discern?  On what kinds of ideas or practices are these forms based?  For example, how might the changes in Buddhism we have covered contribute to and support the growth of certain forms of autonomy?  Be sure to consider the forms of authority against which the autonomy you discuss appears.  

 

2.  The Europeans who came to Japan in the sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries encountered a number of bewildering phenomena.  For example, Lourenço Mexia complained, "The Japanese have such innumerable ceremonies that nobody knows all of them. . ."  Likewise, Alessandro Valignano remarked, "It is no less astonishing to see the importance that they attach to things which they regard as the treasures of Japan, although to us such things seem trivial and childish. . ."  Many of you may have also been puzzled by the emphasis placed on such things as architecture, poetry, clothing, tea or the chanting of a simple prayer.  Choose at least three different things you once thought were frivolous or peripheral and explain their "serious" (i.e. philosophical and/or political) side.  For example, how might a tea ceremony be a political act?  Compose your answer with attention to specific historical moments and texts.