Objectives

East Asia is composed of China, Japan, South Korea, North Korea, and Taiwan and is the world’s most populous region. This region exhibits a historical pattern of cultural unity and periods of isolationism. Recent history is marked by the region's emergence as one of the core areas of the world economy and as an emerging center of political power. China is both the oldest culture in East Asia and the oldest continuous national culture in the world. Japan is a much newer state, but since its inception, the rivalry between it and China has been a recurring regional theme.

Students should understand the physical, demographic, cultural, political, and economic characteristics of East Asia including China's severe environmental problems, China's massive rural-to-urban migration, regional cultural divisions, contemporary geopolitical tensions involving China and Taiwan as well as North and South Korea, and the emergence of the region as a core area of the world economy. In addition, you should understand the following concepts and models:

• Environmental geography
  • Flooding and dam building including the Three Gorges controversy; Soil erosion; Forests and deforestation; Pollution; Endangered species; Physical geography and environments.
• Population and settlement
  • Settlement and agricultural patterns in Japan, China, Taiwan, and Korea; Agriculture and resource procurement; Urbanization and city systems.
• Cultural coherence and diversity
  • Writing systems; Confucianism; Religions, including Buddhism, Shinto, and Taoism; Secularism; Linguistic and ethnic diversity; East Asian cultures in global context: cosmopolitan fringe and Chinese heartland.
• Geopolitical framework
  • China; Japan; Post-WWII geopolitics; Global dimensions of regional politics; North Korean crisis.
• Economic and social development
  • Japan's economy and society; Social conditions and women in Japan; South Korea; Taiwan and Hong Kong; Chinese development, including communism and post-communism, social and regional differentiation, and the booming coastal region; Social conditions in China; China's population quandary; women in China.