HIST341 Patriotism: From Joan of Arc to Kamikaze

Overview

Why die for one’s country? An historical exploration of patriotism (love of country) from its late medieval European origins to early twentieth-century reception in East Asia.

This paper examines the historical origins of patriotism in late medieval scholasticism and military practice and traces the development of the idea in Renaissance Italy, seventeenth-century England and revolutionary France, before turning to the Japanese and Chinese reception of it in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

The aim of the paper is thus to understand how and why patriotism was shaped and came to be glorified in the European political tradition and was assimilated through linguistic and cultural translation by East Asian societies. This course is designed for students who are interested in late medieval and early modern European history, modern East Asian history, global history and the history of ideas.

About this paper

Prerequisite

36 200-level points

Schedule C

Arts and Music

Contact

Professor Takashi Shogimen - takashi.shogimen@otago.ac.nz

More information link

View further information on the History Programme website

Teaching staff

Co-ordinator and Lecturer: Professor Takashi Shogimen

Paper Structure

In the first two thirds of the course, we survey the history of patriotism (love of country) in Western Europe from the Middle Ages to the French Revolution. In the final third of the course, we explore the reception of patriotism in Japan in the late nineteenth century and the dissemination of patriotism from Japan to China in the early twentieth century.

Assessment:

1. Research Essay - 30%
2. Tutorial Tests - 25%
3. Oral Presentation - 10%
4. Final Exam/Test - 35%

Textbooks

No textbooks required.

Course outline

Available via Blackboard.

Graduate Attributes Emphasised

Global perspective, Interdisciplinary perspective, Scholarship, Communication, Critical thinking, Cultural understanding, Ethics, Research.
View more information about Otago's graduate attributes.

Learning Outcomes

Students who successfully complete this paper will:

• Develop scholarly skills, including the ability to ask relevant questions, interpret and critique written primary and secondary sources, construct arguments, and clearly communicate ideas
• Understand key concepts, contexts in which they were discussed, and the historical changes of the use of the vocabularies of patriotism cross-culturally
• Appreciate the ways in which patriotic discourses worked in the historical contexts, thus gaining an understanding of their potential in current political and moral debates
• Develop awareness of the key methodologies employed in (global) intellectual history by engaging critically with selected secondary sources
• Demonstrate analytical skills by developing appropriate approaches to different types of primary sources and critically engaging with select secondary sources

Timetable

Overview

Why die for one’s country? An historical exploration of patriotism (love of country) from its late medieval European origins to early twentieth-century reception in East Asia.

This paper examines the historical origins of patriotism in late medieval scholasticism and military practice and traces the development of the idea in Renaissance Italy, seventeenth-century England and revolutionary France, before turning to the Japanese and Chinese reception of it in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

The aim of the paper is thus to understand how and why patriotism was shaped and came to be glorified in the European political tradition and was assimilated through linguistic and cultural translation by East Asian societies. This course is designed for students who are interested in late medieval and early modern European history, modern East Asian history, global history and the history of ideas.

About this paper

Prerequisite

36 200-level points

Schedule C

Arts and Music

Contact

Professor Takashi Shogimen - takashi.shogimen@otago.ac.nz

More information link

View further information on the History Programme website

Teaching staff

Co-ordinator and Lecturer: Professor Takashi Shogimen

Paper Structure

In the first two thirds of the course, we survey the history of patriotism (love of country) in Western Europe from the Middle Ages to the French Revolution. In the final third of the course, we explore the reception of patriotism in Japan in the late nineteenth century and the dissemination of patriotism from Japan to China in the early twentieth century.

Textbooks

No textbooks required.

Course outline

Available via Blackboard.

Graduate Attributes Emphasised

Global perspective, Interdisciplinary perspective, Scholarship, Communication, Critical thinking, Cultural understanding, Ethics, Research.
View more information about Otago's graduate attributes.

Learning Outcomes

Students who successfully complete this paper will:

• Develop scholarly skills, including the ability to ask relevant questions, interpret and critique written primary and secondary sources, construct arguments, and clearly communicate ideas
• Understand key concepts, contexts in which they were discussed, and the historical changes of the use of the vocabularies of patriotism cross-culturally
• Appreciate the ways in which patriotic discourses worked in the historical contexts, thus gaining an understanding of their potential in current political and moral debates
• Develop awareness of the key methodologies employed in (global) intellectual history by engaging critically with selected secondary sources
• Demonstrate analytical skills by developing appropriate approaches to different types of primary sources and critically engaging with select secondary sources

Assessment details

Assessment:

1. Research Essay - 30%
2. Tutorial Tests - 25%
3. Oral Presentation - 10%
4. Final Exam/Test - 35%

Timetable