History

This course reflects on the impact of the environment on the economy, particulary the economic impacts of natural disasters in Japan. The course also discusses how Japanese society has mitigated and prepared against the effects of natural disasters since the mid-19th century.  

This course examines enlightenment and oppression, colonization and decolonization, the making and unmaking of nation states and the forging and unraveling of global relationships. It looks at social, cultural, political, environmental and economic histories in Asia, Europe, the Americas and Australia. 

This course examines the military situation of Singapore and how it is governed by its place in the Malay world and its fluctuating strategic value to great powers. Students learn the 700‐year approach to the island’s military history and examine the relative impact of its distant and recent past on its present situation. 

This course examines the relationship between the Enlightenment and the crisis of the Old Regime in 18th century France. During the decades from the mid-eighteenth century to the French Revolution, the Enlightenment reached its peak, and social, political and cultural changes became evident.  The course deals with not only the writings of several major philosophers but also their life and activities in order to understand the social and political problems with which they were faced at the time.  

This course examines Indigenous, Māori ways of understanding, doing, and creating history. It also examines how Māori historical frameworks engage with the legal and political processes of the Waitangi Tribunal. 

This course explores the major developments in Japanese history and culture from the Meiji period to the end of World War II. The course focuses on key issues and transformations in Japanese society, politics, foreign relations, and culture. The course addresses the following questions: What were the major transformations in modern Japanese history? What factors explain these changes? How have Japanese society and culture evolved? How has Japan interacted with the world? The course provides a broad understanding of the key events and dynamics that shaped modern Japan’s historical development.

This course explores the history of political and social movements in Spain and Catalonia from medieval times to present day. Topics include: the Reconquista; formation of the Spanish state; the Spanish Civil War; the Franco era; transition to democracy; dynamics of Catalonia and the quest for autonomy.

This course employs two perspectives to understand the histories of modern Japan in the context of East Asia and globalization from the early 20th century to the present. It examines how modern boundaries, identities, and cultures are shaped in a rapidly emerging modern world order. The course also looks at how individuals respond to and are shaped by the variety of modernity(ies).

This course explores contemporary Korean history at the introductory level. After its liberation from Japan in 1945, Korea sought to build a new modern state, but suffered from division and the Korean War. North and South Korea were at odds with each other even as they sought reunification, and South Korea sought economic growth and modernization but struggled with democratization. This course analyzes the historical development of a post-colonial underdeveloped country that made South Korea what it is today. 

This course deepens understanding of Singapore history through an examination of different representations of history: academic scholarship, social memory and oral history, heritage. Each section incorporates fundamental concepts and debates behind the production of history, together with the application of these ideas to specific Singapore case studies. At the end of the course, students will be able to critically analyze Singapore history as a whole in terms of historiography and heritage studies, whilst gaining familiarity with the treatment of key issues in Singapore's past.