1.Interconnections within East Asia or between East Asia and the rest of the world. This interconnection has important implications for our understanding of the making of present-day modern East Asia. How this interconnection contributes to or challenges your preconceived notions about major themes such as colonialism, Eurocentrism, nationalism, or revolution. You should organize your final paper around a central argument, namely how or why your topic is understood in terms of regional interconnections.
2. 5-7 pages double-space (12-point Times New Roman font) including a bibliography.
3.Essay Mission Statement: “We eschew a self-Orientalizing position while also avoiding simple-minded East Asian chauvinism; that is, Chinese, Japanese, and Koreans are neither especially backward, nor especially virtuous. Rather than focusing on just Chinese, Japanese, and Korean national histories, we look at these three areas in relation to each other and the rest of the world. We are telling the story of the emergence of the region known as East Asia and its ebbs and flows in the world, shaped by tradition, cultures, and peoples at the historical juncture of the modern. The creation of the nation states, variations in knowledge and goals, the interlinking of politics and economics, social organization, and culture all are given attention.”
4.do not use outside material
5. must follow outline
Hint：perhaps that the thesis can be elaborated in more specific terms. For example: how were the two seemingly contradictory ideas (anti-colonialism/imperialism and nationalism) incorporated together? What are the relevant historical outcomes (you can comment on Japan’s position in Asia or others)? including Murthy’s idea of “east Asia as Pharmakon” could be helpful.
Introduction
Briefly introduce the background of the rise of nationalism in East Asia in the late 19th and early 20th centuries
Present the main argument: East Asian nationalism embodied a duality of resisting colonialism/imperialism and accepting Eurocentric ideas, and examining this duality is crucial for understanding the unique trajectory of East Asian modernity
The duality of East Asian nationalism
Elaborate on how anti-colonial/anti-imperialist and nationalist ideas were interwoven in East Asian nationalist thought
Fukuzawa Yukichi’s “On Leaving Asia”: advocating Japan’s modernization and detachment from Asia while criticizing Western imperialism (Meiji and Self-Strengthening 2024_Q.pptx)
Liang Qichao’s “On New People”: reflecting the influence of Western nationalist ideas and anti-imperialist sentiments on Chinese reformists (Modern East Asia from 1600_Chs. 19_20.pdf)
In-depth analysis of the above texts to reveal the complex attitudes and responses of East Asian intellectuals when confronting Western modernity
Nationalism and East Asia’s self-positioning in the context of colonialism/imperialism
Further explore the historical tensions and impacts caused by the duality of East Asian nationalism
Although East Asian nationalist movements resisted Western colonialism, they also accepted the influence of Eurocentrism to some extent, such as adopting concepts like nation-state and progress (Modern East Asia from 1600_Chs. 22_23.pdf)
Based on the above argument, analyze the complex situation of East Asian nationalism in its interaction with the Western-dominated world order
Drawing on Maruyama Masao’s discussion of Japan’s “overcoming modernity” (Viren Murthy, Pan-Asianism and the Legacy of the Chinese Revolution_Introduction and Ch. 3.pdf), discuss how East Asian intellectuals viewed and accepted Western ideas of modernity while pursuing national independence and identity, reflecting the dual tensions in the construction of East Asian modernity
Conclusion
The duality of East Asian nationalism, incorporating both resistance to colonialism/imperialism and acceptance of Eurocentric ideas, profoundly influenced East Asia’s modernization process
This duality reflects the common dilemma faced by East Asian societies in the Western-dominated modern world system: how to pursue national independence and identity while confronting and transforming the inevitable Western influence and finding their own path to modernity
Tracing the complex threads of East Asian nationalist thought helps us gain a deeper understanding of the uniqueness of East Asian modernity and its significance in world history, and further reflect on the deep historical roots of contemporary political and cultural debates surrounding nationalism
Key changes:
Streamlining the framework to focus on the theme of the dual nature of East Asian nationalism
Select the texts of Fukuzawa Yukichi and Liang Qichao for key analysis, and deeply interpret the tension in their thoughts.
Use Schmid’s research on nationalism in the Korean colonial period to further support how East Asian nationalism responds to imperialism
The conclusion highlights the practical significance of studying the dual nature of East Asian nationalism, echoing the introduction.
