Course Description:

The twentieth century has often been described as the American Century, one in which the process of westward expansion spread beyond the confines of that continent to embrace the shores of Eastern Asia.  The USA fought four major wars there during the 20^th century: the Philippine-American War 1899-1902, the Pacific War 1941-45, the Korean War 1950-53 and the Vietnam War 1965-72.  More recently, of course, the USA has become involved in military ventures in Kuwait and Iraq.  These enterprises were called by many names but had as their central guiding principles the attainment of ‘freedom’ and the defense of ‘liberty’.  Yet at the same time they unleashed violence of unsurpassed magnitude that subverted the first revolution in Asia, heralded the dawn of the nuclear age, led to the division of an ancient state and to the wholesale destruction of the environment as well as the death and mutilation of millions.

This paper looks back over the troubled relationship between Asia and the USA in the context of wider historical developments at the dawn of a new millennium. The course and causes of many of these conflicts have long been forgotten or are purposefully disregarded by most Americans, yet for many of the peoples of Eastern Asia they proved decisive moments in the birth of their nationhood.

Course Aims: