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Kies de Nederlandse taal
Course module: GE2V15004
GE2V15004
The Rise of Asia: Explaining Asian Miracles
Course info
Course codeGE2V15004
EC7.5
Course goals
To acquire knowledge of the political and economic history of East and Southeast Asia in the twentieth century; to analyse the various debates and interpretations on the rise of Asia; to develop the ability to design a research project and to collect and analyse the relevant source material and literature; to present the results of the research in a well-structured way in oral and written form.
Content
This course is part of the minor Global Asia.

The course offers a general introduction in the recent history of eastern Asia from ca. 1850. The central question is: how ‘miraculous’ was the recent rise of Asia? We trace the political, economic and cultural dynamics of eastern Asia since the reforms in nineteenth-century Japan up to the emergence of the Chinese giant in recent years. Attention will be given to issues such as colonialism, war and decolonization, the Cold War and the turbulent modernization processes in Asian societies. Above all we will look into the conditions for and effects of the dramatic economic growth after World War II. Central to our analysis will be the role of state institutions for the development of Asian economies, but also the role of the Cold War, the United States and the reforms in China after 1978, the effects of neoliberalism, and the fascinating blossoming of Asian cultures. The course offers the fundamental knowledge that will enable students to understand the present-day world and the position of Asia in it.
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Kies de Nederlandse taal