SEMESTER AT SEA COURSE SYLLABUS University of Virginia, Academic Sponsor

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1 Voyage: Spring 2015 Discipline: History HIST 2559: World War II in Asia and Africa Division: Lower Faculty Name: Jim Huffman Credit Hours: 3; Contact Hours: 38 Pre-requisites: None SEMESTER AT SEA COURSE SYLLABUS University of Virginia, Academic Sponsor COURSE DESCRIPTION This course will examine the complex forces that caused, propelled, and resulted from World War II in the Pacific and African theaters. We will look at the causes of the war, both domestic and international, at the major strategies of both sides, and at the key events of the conflagration, as well as at the impact the war had on civilians at home. The course s emphasis will be on the social and political sides of the war rather than on military history. We will pay attention to the moral issues raised by certain wartime decisions, including the bombing of civilian populations, and at the way the war changed (and, in some cases, did not change) Africa and Asia over the long term. COURSE OBJECTIVES. We will seek to: 1) gain a factual understanding of the forces that precipitated World War II in the Pacific and in Africa, as well as of the unfolding of the war itself and its aftermath; 2) grapple with key conceptual issues raised by the war, including the war s causes and the moral issues involved in its strategies; 3) practice the particular skills of history, especially critical analysis, the interpretation of primary sources, and communication, both written and spoken; and 4) enjoy learning together. REQUIRED TEXTBOOKS AUTHOR: Roehrs, Mark D. and Renzi, William A. TITLE: World War II in the Pacific PUBLISHER: M. E. Sharpe ISBN #: DATE/EDITION: 2 nd edition, 2004 AUTHOR: Bess, Michael TITLE: Choices Under Fire: Moral Dimension of World War II PUBLISHER: Vintage Books ISBN #: DATE/EDITION: Vintage Books,

2 AUTHOR: Cook, Haruko, Cook, Theodore F. TITLE: Japan at War: An Oral History PUBLISHER: The New Press ISBN #: DATE/EDITION: 1992 AUTHOR: Osborne, Richard E. TITLE: World War II in Colonial Africa: The Death Knell of Colonialism PUBLISHER: Riebel-Roque Publishing Co. ISBN #: DATE/EDITION: 2001 *This title is not available for purchase through the U.Va. Bookstore; you will need to purchase it independently and bring it with you to the ship. TOPICAL OUTLINE OF COURSE Depart Ensenada- January 7 The Path to War in the Pacific A1- January 9: Introduction A2-January 11: Japan s Path to Modernity Roehrs, Mark and Renzi, William, World War II in the Pacific, 3-19 (hereafter R/R); Bess, Michael, Choices Under Fire: Moral Dimensions of World War II, 1-41 (hereafter Bess) A3- January 13: Three Crises and the Dark Thirties R/R, 20-43; Huffman, James, Dark Era, , Reserves Hilo: January 14 A4-January 16: China and Japan in the Thirties R/R, 44-66; Cheng, Pei-kai, et al., Rape of Nanjing, Wang Jingwei, etc., , ECM; debary, Wm. Theodore, et al., Plan to Occupy Manchuria, , Reserves The Pacific War A5-January 19: Pearl Harbor and its Aftermath R/R, ; Bess, 42-57, ; Huffman, James, War, , Reserves Study Day: January 21 A6- January 22: The Contours of War in Asia R/R, ; Cook, Haruko and Theodore, Japan At War: An Oral History, (hereafter Cook) 2

3 A7-January 24: Battlefield Hell: Nanjing and Comfort Women Interlocutor paper Cook, Demons from the East, ; Bess, ; Sedgwick, James, Memory on Trial, , ECM Yokohama: January In-Transit: January 28 Kobe: January January 31: Field Lab in Kyoto A8- February 1: Discussion of field lab; War on the Home Front: I (R/R, ); Cook, various themes, , Shanghai: February 3-4 In-Transit: February 5-6 Hong Kong:7-8 A9- February 9: Japan in Southeast Asia Field Paper Cook, Greater East Asia, ; debary, War s Goals, , ECM Ho Chi Minh: February A10- February 17: Malaysia and Singapore in War R/R, 70-82; Cook, Sunken Fleet, [Note: possibly another reading from Tarling] Singapore: February Study Day: February 21 A11-February 22: War on the Home Front: II Cook, One Hundred Million Die Together, ; Bess, ; Dower, John, Air War and Terror Bombing, , Reserves Rangoon: February 24-March 1 A12-March 2: The Soldiers Perspective Cook, Special Attack, , In the Enemy s Hands, ; Yamashita, Samuel, Nomura Seiki, , ECM A13- March 4: British India and the War R/R, ; Ghandi, M. K., To Every Japanese, , ECM; Walpert, Stanley, Impact of World War II, [might substitute something from Chandra] 3

4 Cochin: March 6-11: Study Day: March 12 A14-March 12: Midterm Exam The War in Africa A15-March 15: The British Empire and War Roy, Kaushik, Discipline and Morale, , ECM; Mukerjee, Madhusree, Empire at War, 1-30, ECM A16- March 17: War in Africa I Osborne, Richard, World War II in Colonial Africa, (hereafter Osborne) Port Louis: March 18 A17-March 20: War in Africa II Osborne, , , No classes: March 21 A18- March 23: South Africa and World War II Osborne, , Cape Town: March A19-March 31: Day of Reflection: What We ve Seen Interlocutor paper Walvis Bay: April 2-6 The End and the Aftermath A20-April 7: Finding an to End the Pacific War R/R, ; Huffman, Potsdam Declaration, , ECM; Butow, Robert, The Imperial Rescript of August 14, 1945, 248, ECM A21- April 9: The Atom Bombs Bess, ; Dower, John, The Most Terrible Bomb, , Reserves; Cook, Terrible New Weapon, A22-April 12: Video: Grave of the Fireflies Study Day: April 14 4

5 A23: April 15: Summing Up: The War s Impact Interlocutor paper Osborne, ; Huffman, Ho Chi Minh speech, , Reserves A24: April 17: Summing Up: The Big Questions Bess, Casablanca: April Global Lens Exams and Study Day: April 24 A25: April 25 Final Exam April 29: Arrive in Southampton FIELD WORK Field lab attendance is mandatory for all students enrolled in this course. Please do not book individual travel plans or a Semester at Sea sponsored trip on the day of your field lab. FIELD LAB We will spend a day in the ancient city of Kyoto, visiting three temples: the 500-year-old rock garden at Ryōanji, the gold pavilion at Kinkakuji, and Kiyomizu temple, which was founded in the eighth century. The three temples, two of the Zen sect, the other of the Kita Hossō sect, seethe with both energy and tranquility and would seem to have little to do with war. That, however, will be the theme of this field lab. Visiting them, we will ponder two focus questions: What if Kyoto had been bombed? How does one reconcile two strands in Japanese culture: Zen contemplation and wartime ferocity? Time will be included in the day for reflection on those issues. FIELD ASSIGNMENTS Participation in this 8-hour field lab is mandatory. If logistics allow, we will begin the day with a 45-minute discussion aboard the ship of what we will see and what the temples have to tell us about Japanese attitudes toward the sacred and profane. On Feb. 9 (at the latest), students will be required to turn in a three- to four-page paper (double spaced, 12-point) addressing one of the two focus questions, using material from the field lab as well as from class material to support their discussion. Photos may be included, but there should be at least three pages of text. The paper will constitute 20 percent of the course grade. METHODS OF EVALUATION / GRADING RUBRIC. The class grade will be based ont eh following: 10 points. Attendance and participation. (Note: Each unexcused absence over one absence of any kind will result in a one percent reduction in the final average.) To facilitate 5

6 participation, students will be asked to turn in one discussion question at the start of each day s class. 30 points. A midterm short answer/essay test. 60 points. Three 1- or 2-page interlocutor papers. Each one should report on your discussion with at least two people (only one of whom may be an SAS voyager) on the war-related issues raised in class readings since the former interlocutor report was due. 40 points. 3- or 4-page essay, drawing on what you learned in the field lab. You must write on one of two topics: What if Kyoto had been bombed? or Reconciling two strands in Japanese culture: Zen contemplation and wartime ferocity. 60 points. A final exam. Note: Written work should be submitted electronically, in Word. RESERVE BOOKS AND FILMS FOR THE LIBRARY AUTHOR: debary, Wm. Theodore, et al. TITLE: Sources of Japanese Tradition 1600 to 2000, Part Two: 1868 to 1000 PUBLISHER: Columbia University Press ISBN #: DATE: 2006 AUTHOR: Huffman, James TITLE: Modern Japan: A History in Documents, 2 nd edn. PUBLISHER: Oxford University Press ISBN #: DATE: 2011 AUTHOR: Dower John W. TITLE: Cultures of War PUBLISHER: W. W. Norton / The New Press ISBN #: DATE/EDITION: 2010 ELECTRONIC COURSE MATERIALS AUTHOR: Cheng, Pei-kai and Lestz, Michael with Jonathan Spence ARTICLE/CHAPTER TITLE: Rape of Nanjing, Wang Jingwei: On Collaboration, etc. JOURNAL/TITLE: The Search for Modern China: A Documentary Collection, W. W. Norton VOLUME DATE: 1999 PAGES: AUTHOR: Sedgwick, James ARTICLE/CHAPTER TITLE: Memory on Trial: Constructing and Contesting the Rape of Nanking at the International Military Tribunal in the Far East,

7 JO burnal/book TITLE: Modern Asian Studies VOLUME: 43-5 DATE: Sept 2009 PAGES: AUTHOR: Yamashita, Samuel Hideo ARTICLE/CHAPTER TITLE: Nomura Seiki: The Diary of a Defeated Japanese Soldier JOURNAL/BOOK TITLE: Letters from an Autumn of Emergencies, University of Hawaii Press VOLUME: DATE: 2005 PAGES: AUTHOR: Gandhi, Mahatma ARTICLE/CHAPTER TITLE: 351. To Every Japanese, July 18, 1942 JOURNAL/BOOK TITLE: The Collected Works of Mahatma Gandhi VOLUME: LXXVI DATE: 1979 PAGES: AUTHOR: Walpert, Stanley ARTICLE/CHAPTER TITLE: Impact of World War II JOURNAL/BOOK TITLE: New History of India, Oxford University Press VOLUME: DATE: 2000 PAGES: AUTHOR: Roy, Kaushik ARTICLE/CHAPTER TITLE: Discipline and Morale of the African, British, and Indian Army Units in Burma and India During World War II JOURNAL/BOOK TITLE: Modern Asian Studies VOLUME: 44-6 DATE: November 2010 PAGES: AUTHOR: Mukerjee, Madhusree ARTICLE/CHAPTER TITLE: Empire at War JOURNAL/BOOK TITLE: Churchill s Secret War: The British Empire and the Ravaging of India During World War II, Basic Books VOLUME: DATE: 2010 PAGES: 1-30 AUTHOR: Butow, Robert J. C. ARTICLE/CHAPTER TITLE: The Imperial Rescript of August 14, 1945 JOURNAL/BOOK TITLE: Japan s Decision to Surrender, Stanford University Press VOLUME: 7

8 DATE: 1954 PAGES: 248 ADDITIONAL RESOURCES Grave of the Fireflies, DVD HONOR CODE Semester at Sea students enroll in an academic program administered by the University of Virginia, and thus bind themselves to the University s honor code. The code prohibits all acts of lying, cheating, and stealing. Please consult the Voyager s Handbook for further explanation of what constitutes an honor offense. Each written assignment for this course must be pledged by the student as follows: On my honor as a student, I pledge that I have neither given nor received aid on this assignment. The pledge must be signed, or, in the case of an electronic file, signed [signed]. 8