This course will focus on U.S. foreign policy in Asia since 1945. The ways U.S. global interests and concerns sought to shape Asian realities (and were shaped in turn by them) will be the touchstone for examining the Cold War in Asia. We will examine the following topics: the occupation of Japan and early US global economic visions; the US and the Chinese revolution before the Korean War; the Korean War and the isolation of China; the Vietnam War and the Kennedy/Johnson years; Nixon’s global geopolitical vision and his policies towards Vietnam, China, and Japan; Carter and the meaning of human rights diplomacy in Asia; Reagan and the Asian issues involved in an intensified Cold War against Russia; George H. W. Bush and Asia’s place in “a New World Order;” and finally, the Clinton and George W. Bush years. Throughout the course, we shall examine key de-classified National Security documents, interpreting their meaning and language, while carefully assessing the arguments used to justify American policy.

East Asian Studies (Undergraduate)
4 credits – 15 Weeks