HIS 227 / PSC 227, POWER AND AUTHORITY
IN NONWESTERN SOCIETIES

SPRING SEMESTER 2005

ASSIGNMENT FIVE
DUE: FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 2005

Having completed the assigned reading, interpret the process of change induced in Japan in the late nineteenth century in terms of issues and concepts raised in the course over the past several sessions – In what ways is what was going on in Japan during this period representative of the uses of “power” and/or “authority”? Was this process motivated by a gesellschaft or a gemeinschaft attitude towards Japan’s place in the world? Is what was happening more an example of “westernization” or “modernization” at work? How is the concept of "soft power" represented in this process?