HIS 272H,
CULTURAL INTERACTIONS: JAPAN

• I have corrected the class schedule (day and time) for our final meeting during Finals Week on the Course Schedule. (Thursday, May 4, 2006).
  
  
• The final set of assignments for the course -- linked to BOOK ESSAY TWO and our final SMALL GROUP DISCUSSION, both on Joseph Nye's Soft Power: The Means to Success in World Politics -- have been uploaded to the course web site. (Friday, April 21, 2006)
  
  
• A modified couse schedule for the section of the course dealing with The "Soft Power" Influence of Japanese Popular Culture on the World Scene has been uploaded to the course web site. (Wednesday, April 20, 2006)
  
  
• Journal Assignment Five has been uploaded to the web site. (Sunday, April 2, 2006)
  
  
• Panel Presentations Two and Three assignments have been posted for those involved in these two classroom exercises. (Friday, March 31, 2006)
  
  
• With the scheduling of a video on the Occupation of Japan for Friday, March 31, 2006, I have pushed the remaining scheduled topics back one full session through Friday, April 28, 2006; scheduled assignment due dates have also been modified accordingly. (If date discrepencies still exist on other pages within the web site, please assume the date listed in the COURSE SCHEDULE is correct -- and bring the lack of date agreement ot my attention). (Wednesday, March 29, 2006)
  
  
• Assignments associated with Panel Presentation One, Journal Asssignment Four and Research Essay Three have been uploaded to the web site. (Monday, March 20, 2006)
  
  
• Some minoir adjustments have been made to the list of ASSIGNMENTS and thjat portion of the COURSE SCHEDULE dealing with Madame Sadayako assignments. (Wednesday, March 1, 2006)
  
  
• The Course Schedule for the section dealing with WESTERN INFLUENCES AT WORK IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY TRANSFORMATION OF JAPANESE CIVILIZATION AND CULTURE has been slightly altered so as to allow additional time for a review of changes in Japanese life prior to 1600; as a consequence the date for the individual oral presenation assignment has been pushed forward one class session. Specific details on Journal Assignment Three and Short Analytical Essay Two have also been added to the course web site. (Monday, February 20, 2006)
  
  
• Additional information on the individual oral presentation assignment due Friday, March 1, 2006 has been uploaded to the web site together with some adjustments to the course schedule reflecting changes in the number of sessions devoted to various presentations (as a result of individual preferences as expressed in submitted Evaluation Contracts). (Monday, February 13, 2006)
  
  
• The following new additions have been added to the course web site: Book Essay Assignment One (also Group Discussion One) and Journal Assignment Six (also Group Discussion Two). (Tuesday, February 7, 2006)
  
  
• Journal Assignment Two and Short Analytical Research Essay One (both due Wednesday, February 22, 2006), together with a set of Short Analytical Essay General Guidelines, have been added to the course web site. (Tuesday, January 31, 2006)
  
  
• A complete and detailed course schedule (including web, reading, essay and journal assignment due dates as well as indications of when oral presentations, panel presentations and small / large group discussions are planned) has been uploaded to the course web site. (Saturday, January 28, 2006)
  
  
• An expanded list of assignment due dates has been uploaded to the site; a more detailed course schedule is in the works -- stay tuned! (Friday, January 27, 2006)
  
  
• I have added. to the Journal Assignment Guidelines page, an example (and a link to the original assignment) of a submitted Journal Assignment from my course on Contemporary Japan in Historical Perspective that might prove a useful model for those undertaking similar assignments in this course. (Wednesday, January 25, 2006)
  
  
• Journal Assignment One (due Wednesday, February 1, 2006) and the associated Journal Assignment general guidelines have been uploaded to the course web site and listed on the Assignment web page. (Tuesday, January 24, 2006)
  
  
• A print-out version of the mini-syllabus distributed in class has been added to the web site (to be replaced once we have decided on an instructional approach and a set of evaluation expectations and standards). (Thursday, January 19, 2006)
  
  
• The initial reading / video / journal assignment for the course, a series of six short articles and an excerpt from an online video lecture due to be discussed in class Monday, January 23, 2006, has been revamped, revised and uploaded to the course web site so as to provide direct access to the entire assignment.
  
  You will need a copy of Acrobat Reader (which can be downloaded free from the Adobe web site) for the four articles in .pdf format. Those articles will likely take some time to download as well over all but the fastest broadband Internet connection.
  
  One way to deal with slow connection speeds is to bring up the articles (and the video excerpt) on a campus computer; while you're at it, you might also want to consider printing out the entire set at a campus printing station for later reference (a word of warning: one of the articles is made up of white type against a black background; a print out will consume a good deal of ink!) (Thursday, January 19, 2006)
  
  
• The PASSWORD-PROTECTED COURSE MATERIALS portion of the course web site is now up and functioning under WebCT.
  
  To set up your initial My WebCT page, go to Create My WebCT {by clicking on the preceding underlined words}, then filling in the banks there as requested.
  
  When finished, click "CONTINUE" at the bottom of the page and enter the Personal ID and Password for the page you have just created to bring up your newly-created My WebCT page. Click on ADD A COURSE, then click HISTORY in the column to the left of the page that comes up. Find "Cultural Interactions: Japan" in the course list; click on the plus sign and then enter your family name (with a capital first letter) in both USER NAME and PASSWORD blanks. Click "continue" and follow the directions there to complete the process adding this course to your My WebCT page.
  
  From this point, whenever you access the PASSWORD-PROTECTED COURSE MATERIALS section of the course web site, use the Personal ID and Password you used to set up your My WebCT page to access the course list (and from there the protected portion of the web site itself). (Thursday, Janaury 19, 2006)