HS 336 - History of Tokyo

Tokyo is a city that burps and flashes with the flow of people and commodities. This three-credit course explores how the Tokyo metropolitan area has been produced and experienced through human and nonhuman interaction from the early-1600s (1603 - 1868) to the 1970s. We will go over how the water-bound landscape of the old city influenced the ways in which people built their homes, did business, and entertained themselves. We will explore how this city of water was transformed into a city of land, as Tokyo was colonized by parks, statues, and railway systems within the context of empire. We will talk about how different stakeholders imagined, cooperated, and contested government plans to rebuild the city of Tokyo in the context of foreign occupation. Finally, we will talk about how people’s anxieties about the future of the city have often played out in apocalyptic imaginaries about one of the warmest cities in the world. While the course is taught in a seminar format, it is intended to serve students as a “laboratory,” in which Tokyo and other cities with which students are familiar serve as labs. As with any “lab class,” students actively participate in class discussions based on readings, lectures, research, and presentations. Please don’t be shy about sharing your daily experiences and observations with the class.