An unabating tension between conflict and cooperation has been an undercurrent of U.S.-Japan relations in the past one-hundred and fifty years, at times erupting into clashes reaching the scale of World War and at times allowing for measured collaboration. This course will explore the complexities of U.S.-Japan relations from the perspectives of both countries, with a focus on how culture, domestic concerns, economic and political aims, international contexts, and race have helped shape the course and nature of U.S.-Japan relations. Issues will extend beyond those of diplomatic history to examine how various types of interactions have influenced the dynamics of power between the two countries and have shaped the ways in which each country has understood and portrayed the other. Topics will include early U.S.-Japan encounters, the road to World War, the politics and social history of the Occupation, trade relations, and the U.S. -Japan security alliance. Contemporary topics will also be discussed and due attention will be given to the larger context of U.S.-East Asian relations. Format: discussion/lecture. Evaluation will be based on class participation, response papers, two short papers (5 pages), and a self-scheduled final exam. No prerequisites. No enrollment limit (expected: 30). Open to all. Group C