Politics and Society in Eastern Asia
Code: 45045 ECTS Credits: 10| Degree | Type | Year |
|---|---|---|
| 4313800 International Relations, Security and Development | OT | 0 |
| 4317118 Global East Asian Studies | OB | 0 |
Contact
- Name:
- Blai Guarné Cabello
- Email:
- blai.guarne@uab.cat
Teachers
- Irene Masdeu Torruella
- Kei Matsushima
- Just Castillo Iglesias
- Uh Jeen Lee
Teaching groups languages
You can view this information at the end of this document.
Prerequisites
None.
Part of the teaching is delivered in Spanish and part in English.
Course coordination: Blai Guarné Cabello
Objectives and Contextualisation
"East Asian Politics and Society" is a subject worth 10 ECTS that focuses on the study of social structures and institutions and the political systems and forms of East Asian countries, with special emphasis on the challenges that, in terms of dissent, difference and diversity, arise at the sociopolitical level in their respective societies in the context of globalisation. The subject integrates theoretical and conceptual contributions from political science and international relations, sociology, anthropology and the study of social movements, with the ultimate goal of understanding the social and political processes that take place in the East Asian countries.
Learning Outcomes
- CA09 (Competence) Be able to understand in detail the socio-political systems of East Asian countries, having a specialised knowledge useful for decision-making.
- CA10 (Competence) Be able to interpret the social and political processes taking place in East Asian countries, taking into account their place in the international context from a critical perspective applicable to problem solving.
- CA11 (Competence) Be able to plan and develop projects that integrate socio-political knowledge of East Asia in an ethical and socially responsible manner, addressing its management in the field of international relations and cooperation.
- CA11 (Competence) To be capable of understanding the complex sociopolitical systems of East Asian countries, with specialised knowledge that may be used in decision making.
- CA12 (Competence) Be able to clearly and systematically communicate the global relevance of the socio-political articulations taking place in East Asia to different interlocutors.
- CA12 (Competence) To be capable of interpreting the sociopolitical processes that exist in East Asian countries and understanding how they fit into the international context from a critical perspective applicable to problem solving.
- CA13 (Competence) To incorporate your sociopolitical knowledge of East Asia into the planning and development of projects in an ethical and socially responsible manner, addressing management in the field of international relations and cooperation.
- CA14 (Competence) To be able to communicate the global relevance of the sociopolitical developments taking place in East Asia clearly and systematically to different actors.
- KA07 (Knowledge) Recognise the complexity and implications of the socio-political processes unfolding in East Asia in the contemporary world.
- KA07 (Knowledge) To recognise the complexity of the sociopolitical processes that exist in East Asia and their implications for the contemporary world.
- SA12 (Skill) To analyse the political systems and social structures that characterise East Asian countries.
- SA13 (Skill) Analyse the political systems and social structures that characterise East Asian countries.
- SA13 (Skill) To analyse the sociopolitical changes and challenges facing East Asian societies in the context of globalisation in matters of difference, diversity and inequality.
- SA14 (Skill) Analyse socio-political changes and the challenges of difference, diversity and inequality in East Asian societies in the context of globalisation.
- SA14 (Skill) To competently employ concepts and theoretical and methodological perspectives in the systematic and specialised study of the sociopolitical realities of East Asia in an international context.
- SA15 (Skill) Competently employ theoretical and methodological concepts and perspectives in the systematic and specialised study of East Asian socio-political realities in the international environment.
Content
The subject’s contents are oriented towards the acquisition of knowledge on the social structures and institutions and the political systems and forms of the East Asian countries, from different theoretical and methodological perspectives. The specific contents of the subject are:
1. Political aspects: a) Characteristics: background; political, legislative and judicial systems; forms of governance and administration; b) Domestic policy: actors and policies; priorities, processes, and agendas; internal politics and external forces; c) Foreign policy: international policy; relations with the EU and with Latin America; public diplomacy and soft power.
2. Social aspects: a) Characteristics: social and economic organisation; socialisation institutions and social reproduction systems; world of work and labour market; values and social change; b) Dynamics: generational change; demographic ageing; urban growth and development; c) Inequalities: socioeconomic, cultural, gender, orientation.
3. Sociopolitical structures: a) Characteristics: citizenship and civil society; social movements and organisations; network activism; b) Processes: democracy and participation; social and political dissidence; surveillance and state cybercontrol; c) Politics of recognition: identity, diversity and difference, multiculturalism.
Activities and Methodology
| Title | Hours | ECTS | Learning Outcomes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Type: Directed | |||
| Lectures, talks | 62 | 2.48 | CA09, CA10, CA11, CA12, CA13, CA14, KA07, SA12, SA13, SA14, SA15 |
| Type: Supervised | |||
| Oral presentations, debates | 25 | 1 | CA09, CA10, CA11, CA12, CA13, CA14, KA07, SA12, SA13, SA14, SA15 |
| Type: Autonomous | |||
| Essays writing, individual study, readings papers/specialized reports, cooperative learning | 163 | 6.52 | CA09, CA10, CA11, CA12, CA13, CA14, KA07, SA12, SA13, SA14, SA15 |
- Lectures
- Readings papers/specialized reports
- Cooperative learning
- Debates
- Talks
- Essays writing
- Oral presentations
- Individual study
Annotation: Within the schedule set by the centre or degree programme, 15 minutes of one class will be reserved for students to evaluate their lecturers and their courses or modules through questionnaires.
Assessment
Continous Assessment Activities
| Title | Weighting | Hours | ECTS | Learning Outcomes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oral defense of essays and active participation in face-to-face sessions and activities | 10% - 40% | 0 | 0 | CA09, CA10, CA11, CA12, CA13, CA14, KA07, SA12, SA13, SA14, SA15 |
| Submission of essays, reports and commentaries | 20% - 70% | 0 | 0 | CA09, CA10, CA11, CA12, CA13, CA14, KA07, SA12, SA13, SA14, SA15 |
| Theoretical - practical written assessment | 10% - 40% | 0 | 0 | CA09, CA10, CA11, CA12, CA13, CA14, KA07, SA12, SA13, SA14, SA15 |
The above information on assessment, assessment activities and their weighting are meant as a guide. The subject's lecturer will provide full information when teaching begins.
The evaluation in this subject is continuous assessment. This subject is not suitable for single assessment.
Continuous assessment
Students must provide evidence of their progress by completing various tasks and tests. These activities are detailed in the table at the end of this section of the Study Guide.
Review and missed/failed assessment activities
When publishing final marks prior to recording them on students' transcripts, the lecturer will outline the procedure to carry out their review and, once this is done, the resit procedure, if applicable.
UAB Assessment procedure: https://www.uab.cat/web/studies/graduate/university-master-s-degrees/evaluation/what-is-it-about-1345666815028.html
Misconduct in assessment activities
Students who engage in misconduct (plagiarism, copying, impersonation, etc.) in an assessment activity will receive a mark of “0” for the activity in question. In the case of misconduct in more than one assessment activity, the student involved will be given a final mark of “0” for the subject. Assessment activities in which irregularities have occurred (e.g. plagiarism, copying, impersonation) are excluded from resits.
Bibliography
Bao, Hongwei, 2018, Queer Comrades: Gay Identity and Tongzhi Activism in Postsocialist China, Nordic Institute of Asian Studies.
Barabantseva, Elena, Małgorzata Jakimów, 2016, “‘Othering’ in the Construction of Chinese Citizenship”, Lion Koenig & Bidisha Chaudhuri, eds., The Politics of the ‘Other’: Western Concepts in Non-Western Contexts, Routledge.
Chiavacci, David, Julia Obinger, 2018, Social Movements and Political Activism in Contemporary Japan, Routledge.
Cho, Hee-Yeon, Lawrence Surendra, Hyo-Je Cho, eds., 2012, Contemporary South Korean Society: A Critical Perspective, Routledge.
Choi, Hang Sub, 2021, “A Sociological Study on the Disgust of the Young Generation toward the Elderly in Korean Society: Social Causes”, Korea Journal, 61(2): 59-86.
Froissart, Chloé, 2009, “The Rise of Migrant Workers’ Collective Actions: Toward a New Social Contract in China”, Khun Eng Kuah-Pearce & Gilles Guiheux, eds., Social Movements in China and Hong Kong. The Extension of Protest Space, Amsterdam University Press.
Guarné, Blai, ed., 2017, Antropología de Japón: Identidad, discurso y representación, CERAO UAB-Edicions Bellaterra.
Guarné, Blai, Shinji Yamashita, eds., 2015, “Multicultural Politics in Contemporary Japan”, Kenkyu Hokoku (Bulletin of the National Museum of Ethnology), Kokuritsu Minzokugaku Hakubutsukan (National Museum of Ethnology in Japan, Minpaku), 40(1).
Guo, Sujian, 2012, “Ideological Modifications in Post-Mao China” & “TheMaking of the New Communist State and the Post-Mao Transition”, Chinese Politics and Government. Power, Ideology and Organization. Routledge.
Huang, Xiaoming, Jason Young, 2009, Politics in Pacific Asia: An Introduction, Palgrave MacMillan.
Johnson, Leif, 2017, “Bordering Shanghai: China’s Hukou System and Processes of Urban Bordering”, Geoforum, 80: 93-102.
Joseph, William A., 2014, Politics in China: An Introduction, Oxford University Press.
Moon, Chung-in, M. Jae Moon, 2020, Routledge Handbook of Korean Politics and Public Administration, Routledge.
Pekkanen, Robert J., Yutaka Tsujinaka, Hidehiro Yamamoto, 2014, Neighborhood Associations and Local Governance in Japan, Routledge.
Seol, Dong Hoon, 2005, “Global Dimensions in Mapping the Foreign Labor Policies of Korea: A Comparative and Functional Analysis”, Journal of Asian Sociology, 34(1): 75-124.
Shinoda, T., 2013, Contemporary Japanese Politics: Institutional Changes and Power Shifts, Columbia University Press.
Slater, David H., Love Kindstrand, Keiko Nishimura, 2016, “Crisis and Opportunity: Social Media in Kōbe, Tōhoku, and Tokyo”, Mark R. Mullins & Koichi Nakano, eds., Disasters and Social Crisis in Contemporary Japan, Palgrave MacMillan.
Sugimoto, Yoshio, 2016, Una introducción a la sociedad japonesa, CERAO UAB-Edicions Bellaterra.
Sun, Yan, 2020, From Empire to Nation State: Ethnic Politics in China, Cambridge University Press.
Wang, Zheng, 2012, Never Forget National Humiliation: Historical Memory in Chinese Politics and Foreign Relations, Columbia University Press.
Zhang, Yinxian, Jiajun Liu, Ji-Rong Wen, 2018, “Nationalism on Weibo: Towards a Multifaceted Understanding of Chinese Nationalism”, The China Quarterly, 235: 758-783.
Software
We will not use specific sotfware.
Language list
| Name | Group | Language | Semester | Turn |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| (TEm) Theory (master) | 1 | Spanish | second semester | afternoon |