For your 5-page double-spaced term paper, you will be expected to discuss at least one country from each of the three regions we cover in this class (East Asia, South Asia, and Southeast Asia). You should not write three separate short papers on each of the three regions. Instead, you should compare and contrast similarities and differences across the regions, and explain why the three countries you discuss had similar historical experiences or why they were different.
Write your paper on ONE of the topics below:
History is full of instances of “unintended consequences.” Find at least one example of an unintended consequence in each of the three regions of Asia we have discussed in this class. You might look at imperialism producing a result different from what the imperialists wanted or expected, or at an economic policy that produced a result different from or even the opposite of what the people who promoted that policy thought it would produce.
A third alternative is to look at a political decision that produced a result different from or even the opposite of what the people who made that decision expected. Don’t forget that why is more important than what—tell us why these unintended consequences happened.
Remember, this is not supposed to be three short essays cobbled together. You should find some way to link the three cases you discuss, either by pointing out their similarities or by pointing out how and why they are different.
B) Drawing on examples of at least one country in each of the three regions of Asia we have discussed in this course, discuss the relationship between religion, on the other hand, and nationalism and/or national identity, on the other. Be sure to be specific—identify not only which religion or religions played a role in the emergence of modern nationalism but how they did so.
C) Identify the different forms of nationalism that emerged in modern Asia, discussing at least one country from each of the three regions of Asia we have studied. Be sure to distinguish between secular and religious nationalisms as well as between Communist and non-Communist nationalisms. Explain why nationalism in each of the countries you discuss took the form it did. In other words, what similarities and differences do you see in the nationalisms that emerged in the three countries you discuss?
D) Discuss the relationship between industrialization and democracy in at least one country in each of the three regions of Asia we have discussed in this class. Be sure to explain whether it is possible to have one without the other as well as explain whether the countries you discuss have successfully industrialized and/or democratized and, if they have, how they did so.
Whatever topic you choose from the four choices above, you have to compare at least three countries on a specific topic. And you have to do this in no more than 5 pages!
Organizing the Term Paper
We are not going to write your term papers for you. However, we realize that some of you may be confused about how to organize your term papers. Below are suggestions for how to write about the five assigned topics. We do not want you to simply answer those various questions one after another. Instead, remember that you have to present a coherent argument in your term paper.
A coherent argument means that you provide an answer to a question, and that answer is supported by relevant data. You need to get that data from the textbooks. (Be sure to provide the relevant page numbers in your citations.) You may also cite the lecture notes (be sure to give the date for the lecture from which you get that slide), but you should not rely too heavily on the slides. We want to see evidence that you have been doing the assigned reading in all three textbooks. Only cites the slides for definitions and other information that is not available in the assigned readings.
This is not a research paper. It is a thought paper, requiring you to think about what you have been learning in this class. You shouldn’t do any additional research. You should have enough information from the lectures, the tutorials, and the assigned readings to give you enough fuel for substantial thought about these topics.
You are not supposed to use any printed sources other than the textbooks. Not only will you not gain additional points for doing so, you may lose points for failing to follow instructions. In addition, you are not supposed to use any internet sources for this term paper, with one exception. In addition to the assigned textbooks, you may use the Encyclopedia of Modern Asia, which is available on-line from the UBC library. However, you must cite that encyclopedia every time time you take wording or even just information from it. Use the “source” citation on the webpage you use to access the article you are looking for. For example, the citation for the article on Sun Yat-sen is
Encyclopedia of Modern Asia. Ed. Karen Christensen and David Levinson. Vol. 5. New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 2002. p356.