History of Pre-Modern Japan In this course we will explore the social, cultural, and institutional history of Japan from the eighth century up through the rise of the Tokugawa shogunate in the 17th century. The course is organized thematically to illuminate the different periods of Japanese history, including the imperial origin myth and Heian culture, the frontier and the rise of samurai government, localism and the warring states period, and finally the Tokugawa settlement and the paradoxes of centralized feudalism.  Pre-1800.

Global Fascism What was, or is, fascism? How do we know it when we see it? Can fascism be understood as an exclusively European phenomenon, or did it become manifest in movements and regimes in other parts of the twentieth-century world? In this seminar, we will engage with such questions via a range of texts including manifestos, films, and scholarly works. The first part of the course will interrogate seminal theories of fascism, the second will examine historical instances of fascism with particular emphasis on East Asia, and the final part will engage with debates about the contemporary resurgence of authoritarian populism. 3 hrs. Sem.

Tokyo: Between History and Utopia In this course we will explore the history of Tokyo—from its "prehistory" as a small castle town in the 16th century to the cosmopolitan metropolis of the 20th century—and trace how Tokyo has captured the imagination as a space of possibility, of play, and for many, of decadence. Through a range of sources, including films, novels, ethnographies, and historical essays, we will use Tokyo as a "site" (both urban and ideological) through which to explore broader questions related to capitalist modernity, the formation of the nation-state, cultural identity, gender politics, and mass-culture.

Police Power: Theory and History As Egon Bittner once stated, the police are “at once the best known and the least understood” of the institutions of modern government.  In this seminar students begin by reading introductions to theories of modern state power, and then turn to exploring how the police manifest this power at the local level. In the second half of the semester, we will read histories of police forces with special emphasis on the formation of the police in East Asia. We conclude by reviewing recent theories of the police for the twenty-first century.

Max Ward

Max Ward is a fantastic professor! I took this course for my distribution requirement and initially did not have any interest in Japanese history or anything. By the end of the class, I wanted to learn more! The class is based on readings, but I didn't do any of them because his lectures were so compelling and comprehensive (obviously you have to do the readings for the paper you write). Anyways, I highly recommend this course, whether you're a history major or a math major. 