Course Description:
This course will examine
the Korean War from two, seemingly contradictory but altogether appropriate,
perspectives: as a civil conflict between Koreans; and as a global clash
that embroiled many nations in the first real battle of the Cold War.
The actual hostilities lasted for only three years, but the roots of the
conflict lie much deeper within the social structures of traditional Korea
and the history of colonialism; and the consequences of the war on democratization,
economic development, military policy, and regional and global security
arrangements continue to shape the world in which we live. President
Bush's inclusion of North Korea within his "axis of evil" demonstrates
how the so-called "forgotten war" in fact looms large in our memory.
We will discuss the social and ideological
differences that led Koreans to make war on one another, with a particular
focus on the Japanese colonial experience; the Cold War tensions that led
to a "proxy war" in northeast Asia; the experiences of soldiers from several
combatant nations; the domestic effects of the war on women and men in
the USA, USSR, PRC, Japan, and the two Koreas; and life on the most heavily
militarized "demilitarized" zone on the planet.
Formal Requirements and Procedures:
Grade ratio:
-
Participation
-
Two take-home exams
-
One or two essays.
Graduate students:
Students enrolled in 498J for graduate
credit will write a historiographical review essay (25-30 pages) critiquing
the historical literature on some aspect of the Korean War (this is in
lieu of, not in addition to, the writing requirements for undergraduates).
Required Books:
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Katharine H.S. Moon, Sex Among
Allies: Military Prostitution in U.S.-Korea Relations
-
Curtis James Morrow, What's a Commie
Ever Done to Black People?
-
William Stueck, The Korean War: An
International History
-
Philip West and Suh Ji-moon, Remembering
the "Forgotten War": The Korean War Through Literature and Art
-
Additional readings TBA.
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