East Asian studies essay [due in 16 hrs]
vivian123
MicrosoftWord2.docxDear all,
Please choose TWO of the following three questions. The essays must be of around 800-1000 words each (roughly 3-4 double-spaced pages). Good essays will reflect a thorough understanding and careful analysis of assigned readings (including the textbook), lectures, and tutorial discussions. Proper citations, according to the Chicago style, should be used to credit the sources. Please note that this is not a research paper and extra reading/citation is limited to maximally two.
Please take matters relating to academic integrity very seriously. Your work will be carefully scrutinized by both the smart detection system and the TA graders. There will be zero tolerance for dishonesty or plagiarism, which will be severely punished in compliance with university rules.
The due date will be Toronto Time 11 am on April 11 (Saturday). Please note that this is a firm deadline. Late submissions WILL NOT be accepted except with accommodation documentation.
Question 1:
How do we understand the Korean War in the broader regional and global contexts in the aftermath of WWII? Was the Korean War merely a contest between two opposing Cold War camps? Or was it in significant ways a civil conflict with deep roots in the social and political conditions in the Peninsula? The post-WWII Chinese and Korean political and military conflicts shared significant similarities, but why didn’t the Chinese Civil War of the late 1940s escalate into a wider, international conflict?
Question 2:
What social and political crises of modern China—both domestic and international—did the Nationalist and Communist Parties attempt to address? What were their respective diagnoses and solutions, and what were their similarities and differences? How adequate or inadequate were the solutions offered by both political movements? Why did the Nationalists and Chiang Kai-shek (Jiang Jieshi) lose the battle, while Mao's Communists were able to seize power and create a new state?
Question 3:
Imperialism presented great challenges to various East Asian societies at critical junctures of their historical evolution. What were these challenges, and the unique historical circumstances in which crises took place? How did the societies under pressure respond to challenges through reform, modernization, and revolution? Why did some reform projects succeed while others failed and led to revolutionary crises?
