HIST 9C
Introduction to Asian Civilizations: History of Japan
Description: Lecture, three hours; discussion, two hours. Survey of Japanese history from earliest recorded time to the present, with emphasis on development of Japan as a cultural daughter of China. Attention to manner in which Chinese culture was Japanized and aspects of Japanese civilization which became unique. Creation of the modern state in the last century and impact of Western civilization on Japanese culture. P/NP or letter grading.
Units: 5.0
Units: 5.0
1 of 1
Most Helpful Review
Fall 2019 - Alice Ashiwa is not a fair TA. Even though I made sure to talk during every discussion section she gave me a B for my participation grade instead of an A, which meant my final grade was an A- and not an A. For essays she gave low B+'s. She refused to give papers a good grade and she said she would grade the last paper harshly in comparison to the first. Professor Hirano is a good lecturer but he needs to make sure his TA's grade papers similarly. The lesson to learn is not to get Alice Ashiwa as your TA, she is unfair and expects people to write flawless essays in order to get an A.
Fall 2019 - Alice Ashiwa is not a fair TA. Even though I made sure to talk during every discussion section she gave me a B for my participation grade instead of an A, which meant my final grade was an A- and not an A. For essays she gave low B+'s. She refused to give papers a good grade and she said she would grade the last paper harshly in comparison to the first. Professor Hirano is a good lecturer but he needs to make sure his TA's grade papers similarly. The lesson to learn is not to get Alice Ashiwa as your TA, she is unfair and expects people to write flawless essays in order to get an A.
Most Helpful Review
I think Marotti is a cool guy. eh wears jeans and black t-shirts to every lecture and doesn't afraid of anything. But really, this is a good introductory survey class. I absolutely despise history courses that consist of nothing but memorizing names, places, and dates. Marotti does a great job of avoiding that style in favor of presenting a much more critical and in-depth analysis of Japanese history that challenges conventional stereotypes and really articulates how Japan has evolved from its origins to the era of the nation-state. He's got a very dry, witty personality, which makes his lectures...ah, interesting, to say the least. That said, the workload is not for the faint of heart. There's no textbook - instead you're assigned a long list of primary source material. Emphasis on the long - I would guess that it easily exceeded 1300 pages of material. On the bright side, there's no expensive course reader since he uploads everything online. Now you're probably curious - do I really have to do *all* of that reading? Good question - there's some readings that are just flat-out not worth your time. "Tale of the Genji" and Gayn's "Japan Diary" stood out to me as really long sources that weren't really necessary. Still, don't get in a habit of skipping everything, since you run the risk of lectures flying over your head and the final exam is comprehensive. You can probably get away with skimming some of the longer ones, and your TA should point out the important parts in section. In terms of graded materials, there's no midterm, which is nice. Instead, you'll have three 4-page essays assigned throughout the quarter, and you'll have your pick from a very generous list of prompts for each one. If you are exceptionally lazy, there's no reason why you can't do all of the reading that applies to just prompt you select and outright ignore the rest, but I wouldn't recommend that. The final exam consists of two in-class essays, one weighted 40% and the other 60%. You'll get a list of 13 prompts to study from and a minimum of 7 will appear as choices on the exam; there were actually 9 on ours but I can't guarantee that you'll see that many. Since you know the prompts there's no surprises here, and the final can be as hard or as easy as you want it to be. Section is worth your time, especially if you slack on the readings. You'll get a good synopsis of everything and it'll substantially increase your understanding of the material. I got an A+, but don't let that fool you into thinking you can go on autopilot and do well, i.e. if you are south campus and have no time to do reading, then this is not the class for you. Marotti emphasized on the first day that he doesn't teach GEs the way other professors do, i.e. low standards and light workloads. Do the reading and you'll do well.
I think Marotti is a cool guy. eh wears jeans and black t-shirts to every lecture and doesn't afraid of anything. But really, this is a good introductory survey class. I absolutely despise history courses that consist of nothing but memorizing names, places, and dates. Marotti does a great job of avoiding that style in favor of presenting a much more critical and in-depth analysis of Japanese history that challenges conventional stereotypes and really articulates how Japan has evolved from its origins to the era of the nation-state. He's got a very dry, witty personality, which makes his lectures...ah, interesting, to say the least. That said, the workload is not for the faint of heart. There's no textbook - instead you're assigned a long list of primary source material. Emphasis on the long - I would guess that it easily exceeded 1300 pages of material. On the bright side, there's no expensive course reader since he uploads everything online. Now you're probably curious - do I really have to do *all* of that reading? Good question - there's some readings that are just flat-out not worth your time. "Tale of the Genji" and Gayn's "Japan Diary" stood out to me as really long sources that weren't really necessary. Still, don't get in a habit of skipping everything, since you run the risk of lectures flying over your head and the final exam is comprehensive. You can probably get away with skimming some of the longer ones, and your TA should point out the important parts in section. In terms of graded materials, there's no midterm, which is nice. Instead, you'll have three 4-page essays assigned throughout the quarter, and you'll have your pick from a very generous list of prompts for each one. If you are exceptionally lazy, there's no reason why you can't do all of the reading that applies to just prompt you select and outright ignore the rest, but I wouldn't recommend that. The final exam consists of two in-class essays, one weighted 40% and the other 60%. You'll get a list of 13 prompts to study from and a minimum of 7 will appear as choices on the exam; there were actually 9 on ours but I can't guarantee that you'll see that many. Since you know the prompts there's no surprises here, and the final can be as hard or as easy as you want it to be. Section is worth your time, especially if you slack on the readings. You'll get a good synopsis of everything and it'll substantially increase your understanding of the material. I got an A+, but don't let that fool you into thinking you can go on autopilot and do well, i.e. if you are south campus and have no time to do reading, then this is not the class for you. Marotti emphasized on the first day that he doesn't teach GEs the way other professors do, i.e. low standards and light workloads. Do the reading and you'll do well.
AD
1 of 1
