In this senior capstone seminar, students will plan, research, and write a 25-30 page seminar paper on a topic of their own choice connected to the urban history of East Asia. Between the seventeenth and the early 20th centuries, cities in East Asia were, at different times (and sometimes the same time), vital sites of administration, commerce, and culture; magnets for crime and dissolution; places of refuge; centers of triumphant empires; and targets of foreign imperial ambition. Urban history thus knits together many of the major themes of East Asian history in the early modern period, and offers ample scope for students to define their own research interests. Assigned readings for this course will center on the urban history of China, with some related excursions into Edo and Meiji-period Japan.
Organizing your research will help keep track of the sources you have investigated. Below are a few options to help manage your research findings.
