Solved: JAPAN & PAN-ASIANISM
Starting around the end of the nineteenth century, Japanese intellectuals began discussing the idea of Pan-Asianism, whereby the various nations and cultures of Asia would unite under the leadership of Japan to resist Western encroachment, and to assist each other in fulfilling their national potentials. What began as a peaceful and idealistic ideology was eventually
overtaken by the militarists that came to dominate Japanese politics, providing some justification for Japanese imperialism in Asia.
In this assignment, you are required to engage with the ideology of Pan-Asianism though the assigned readings. Your essay should discuss (a) what Pan-Asianism was, (b) how Japan came up with the idea and rhetoric of Pan-Asianism developed in Japan, (c) the response in Asia to Pan-Asianism, and (d) its relation to the Pacific War.
A few comments
• You must include Chicago-style footnotes - no other citation style such as APA or MLA will be accepted.
• Fair warning: Any essay not using Chicago-style footnotes will be returned to the student and not graded until footnotes are properly inserted.
• Only the sources listed on this assignment are permitted.
• Do not merely repeat information from sources - engage in their arguments. What are their claims? How do they help you make your argument?
• Make use of the Mary Lynn Rampolla text and the Course Guide posted on UMLearn.
• The essay should be between 1500-2000 words. Falling below this count will result in lost marks.
• Text must be 12-point and double spaced. Font should be Times New Roman, or something similar. Please number your pages.
• Essays are to be submitted to the Dropbox folder on the course's UMLearn site by 11:59PM on 8th.
• As this is the last day of classes, and marks will have to be submitted to the University quickly, extensions will not be permitted for this essay. If you anticipate problems, please talk to me as soon as possible.
Structure
You are free to structure your essay any way you feel is best, however the following is recommended:
Introduction and Thesis statement
• Your thesis should present an argument, not just a state of what you will do in the essay. If you are going to argue that Pan-Asianism was Japan's way of fighting against Western imperialism, or that Pan-Asianism was a masked attempt on behalf of Japan to control Asia, say this (or whatever argument you make) in your introduction.
Definition of Pan-Asianism
• This section should respond to each of the following:
• How did Japan explain Pan-Asianism?
• What countries were included in this doctrine and why?
• Who was to lead this alliance?
• What was its purpose, and why did Japan think it was necessary?
The development of Pan-Asianism rhetoric and ideology in Japan
• What historical events led to the development of this ideology?
• Why did Japan feel this was necessary, and why did they feel that only Japan could lead this alliance of Asian nations?
• Note: For this section, you are permitted to cite class lecture notes and textbook readings only to help create a historical context through examples. No other outside readings are permitted.
Responses to Pan-Asianism
• How did other countries respond to Japan's push for Pan-Asian ideology? Were all responses the same?
Pan-Asianism and the Second World War (also known as the Pacific War in Asia).
• Was Pan-Asianism responsible for the Japanese aggression in the Second World War?
Conclusion
• This section must not only sum up your argument in a concise manner, but must also give some final reflections on the broader implications of this research question.
In addition, please include the following:
• A title page
• Please use the model given on the last page of this assignment.
• Please include an essay title that is original - do not title it "Assignment 2" or "PanAsianism". This is a weak start to an essay. Please view the following ALC handout for help coming up with a catchy title: http://umanitoba.ca/student/academiclearning/media/
Writing_a_Great_Title_NEW.pdf. This will factor into your final grade.
• Bibliography
• Chicago-style papers must include a bibliography.
Readings
Cemil Aydin, "Japan's Pan-Asianism and the Legitimacy of Imperial World Order, 1931-1945,"
The Asia-Pacific Journal: Japan Focus 6 no. 3 (March 2008). [Available on http://apjjf.org].
Prasenjit Duara, "The Discourse of Civilization and Pan-Asianism," Journal of World History 12
No. 1 (2001), 99-130. [Available the University of Manitoba Libraries website].
Eri Hotta, "Introduction," in Pan-Asianism and Japan's War, 1931-1945 (New York: Palgrave
Macmillan, 2007), 1-17. [Provided on UMLearn.]
Christopher W. A. Szpilman and Sven Saaler, "Pan-Asianism as an Ideal of Asian Identity and
Solidarity, 1850-Present," The Asia-Pacific Journal: Japan Focus 9 No 17 (April 2011).
[Available on http://apjjf.org].
Recommendations for meeting with an ALC Tutor
The first round of Course Based Tutoring for the first assignment was, in my assessment, successful. Those who submitted their confirmation slips in general did well on the essay.
Feedback from students and tutors has led to me to offer the following information to ensure you are getting the most of these sessions:
• Do not wait to book an appointment.
• I recommend that you book an appointment as soon as the online schedule is made available. While the ALC has set aside the proper amount of slots for the students in this class, they are offered at different times. If you leave it to the last minute to book in the final week, you may be disappointed. To avoid this: book an appointment as soon as you
can and attend said meeting. If you do not have much done by this point, you can still make use of the session and book a later appointment.
• Come as prepared as you can.
• While the group we have working with us are excellent tutors, they work better when you bring material to work with. At the very least, arrive at your meeting with at least having done all of the readings. However, if this is not possible at the time of your appointment, you are still encouraged to attend - any feedback will help you in the end.
• The more you bring, the more feedback you can receive. Even if you haven't started writing yet, coming to your session with at least a working thesis statement (one which provides the general direction of your argument) will give ample material for you and the tutor to work with.
• A best case scenario is that you have a complete, or near-complete draft to bring to your session.
• Don't just show up expecting the tutor to tell you what to do.
• This is more than getting a few measly extra marks. You will gain more from engaging with the tutor's comments and applying them to your paper then you will for simply handing in a confirmation slip on December 8th.
• Come with a list of questions. I suggest bringing at least three questions, problems, or concerns that you have. Try to avoid problems with grammar - at the very least, don't dwell too much on this in your session. If you look at the rubric, grammar & mechanics are only given 10%, while your structure and analysis make up 65%. If you have received comments from the previous assignment or other classes that you are worried will affect this assignment, then it is a worthy point to bring up.
• In short, come prepared to make the best use of your time.
• The tutors love working with students, helping them succeed in their academic ventures.
• As Truth Seekers, don't hesitate to book follow up appointments.