The assignment needs to look at 3 main sources, which need to be real historical sources (papers, messages, recounts) which are then used as an aid to answer the main question. – The main idea of the essay is to look at either the change or continuity of the aspects of the political sphere of Japan after the opening of it to Western influences. – A range of topics need to be looked at, eg. war, foreign relation and more; any topics that would be deemed ‘politics’. – The essay must cover 100 years after the point of 1853, therefore information is needed from a wide range of years. – Throughout the essay, there must constantly be references to historical articles and historical evidence, either from research, books or any material, as long as it is a qualified source (e.g. researchers, historians, personal recounts from the period, etc.). Every opinion or stance given must be substantiated with facts or historical evidence. – You must include 2 historical authors who have written work on the question at hand or have done research into it, and have demonstarted opinions on the question; you will need to quote them and constantly and always refer back to their opinion or use their opinions as a point of argument to justify an opinion or a stance on a belief that you are arguing in the essay. Also, crucially, you will need to explain in the opening paragaphs why perhaps their ideas or thoughts could be limited (their backround, family, significance to the matter, etc.). – 1 other historical author should also be included, but the input of this author should be much less that the other 2, only inserting his opinions or ideas 2-3 times in the essay. Again, to do the same role as the other authors – to justify opinions or ideas presented. – It is crucial that every piece of information is cited and footnoted, as if not citedand footnoted the paper does not pass. No matter the nature of the fact – if it has been taken from somewhere, the source must be cited: with the number of the page or the website in the citation. – A variety of sources can be used, with no cap as to where they are from and how much they are used, as long as they are cited constantly. – It is crucial that an opinion is created in the introduction of the essay and is maintained throughout the essay. Although the essay is argumentative and must adhere to both sides of the question, remain true to a single opinion of whether there was a large or small extent that the opening of japan to western influences would influene the politics after 1853. – The essay style is argumentative, both sides should be argued, but it needs to end with a conclusion that settles on the opinion mentioned in the introduction. – The essay must have a bibliography, and an appendix at the very end. The bibliography stating all of the sources used in the essay, and the appendix giving the full 3 sources used in the arguments. – It is preffered that as little AI is used as possible, or if used needs to be limited. – USeful sources: Historians
https://www.nippon.com/en/authordata/kawai-atsushi/ – Kawai Atsushi https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrew_Gordon_(historian) – Andrew Gordon https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J._Mark_Ramseyer – J Mark Ramseyer https://www.researchgate.net/scientific-contributions/Mara-Patessio-2021864424 – Mara Patessio https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edwin_O._Reischauer – Edwin O Reischauer https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marius_B._Jansen – Marius Jansen https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conrad_Totman – Conrad Totman https://www.constantinenomikosvaporis.com/ – Constantine Nomikos Vaporis https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jason_Josephson_Storm – Jason Josephson Storm https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Said – Edward Said University Resources https://guides.library.upenn.edu/c.php?g=476055&p=3255617 – UPenn links https://projects.iq.harvard.edu/jdrc/e-resources-0 – Harvard Resources https://guides.library.stanford.edu/c.php?g=1073377&p=7815859 – Stanford Resources https://guides.library.duke.edu/recommended-japanesestudies – Duke Resources https://www.ndl.go.jp/modern/e/index.html – Modern Japan in Archives Organisational Resources https://www.jacar.go.jp/english/ – Japan Center for Asian Historical Records https://www.archives.go.jp/english/ – National Archives of Japan Publications https://apjjf.org – The Asia Pacific Journal https://isaacmeyer.net/the-history-of-japan-podcast/ – History of Japan podcast
– I have attached a mark scheme that needs to be adhered to throughout the essay. Also, I have attached an exemple of the same type of coursework on a different topic, the work needs to be as close as possible to the example in terms of amount of information, argumentative style, structure, and language.