Books: Hirohito’s War: The Pacific War, 1941-1945 By Francis Pike ISBN: 9781350021228 Hidden Horrors: Japanese War Crimes in World War II By Yuki Tanaka ISBN: 9781538102701 Embracing Defeat: Japan in the Wake of World War II By John W. Dower ISBN: 9780393345247 Literature Review Instructions In lieu of having a final exam or research paper due at the end of the course, you are required to write a 4,000-word (+/- 10%) Literature Review of three books on a related topic. The purpose of a Literature Review is to allow you to explore an area of scholarship related to Modern Japan and Korea that interests you most, as well as to survey recent scholarship on that topic. 1. Select a topic. When looking at the syllabus, or in the course of the weekly readings, what sticks out to you as being among the more interesting themes that we cover this semester? Have you always wanted to know more about the postwar development of a specific nation, such as Japan, or North or South Korea? If so, you may want to focus your review on one nation, or consider a comparative essay. Have you always wanted to have a better grounding on a certain time period, such as the role of Northeast Asia in the Cold War? Perhaps you may want to go in that direction. There is almost no limit to the topic you could choose. If you get stuck or could use a suggestion, all you have to do is ask. 2. Find your materials. The books you review are required to be “scholarly” in nature. Scholarly books are often published by a university press, and are written by academics, history professors, or independent scholars. Try to choose books written in the past five years, if possible, since older books become dated quickly. Newer books include the analysis contained in previous books, as well as access to the most recent government records. There are no limitations on where you may locate your books. Spend some time doing some searches using a major database such as J-Stor (http://www.jstor.org), and Worldcat (http://www.worldcat.org). Once you have identified the three books you would like to review, get them approved by your instructor. This is not an optional step. Reviews based on books that were not approved will receive a lower grade. 3. Acquire your books. If the library does not have a book you need, do not panic. Consider using the inter-library loan (ILL) system, whereby you can borrow them through TAMUCT from other libraries. More information can be found here: http://tamuct.libguides.com/ILL. Simply complete an ILL request and your books will arrive within a few days to a week depending on how far they have to travel. The ILL staff will email you to let you know when they have arrived at the circulation desk. Yet another option is TexShare, which permits you to travel to any public or university library in the state and borrow them directly: http://tamuct.libguides.com/c.php?g=179023&p=1176654. A final option is simply to make a day trip to a large research library like UT-Austin, Baylor, or Texas A&M, and access the books there without checking them out. 4. Analyze your books. Before you start writing, think about the type of story you want to tell. When analyzing your books, you should pay special attention to: 1) the book’s thesis, 2) supporting arguments, 3) uses and types of evidence that support the thesis, 4) layout of the book, and 5) author’s credentials. These are the same elements that you would also cover in a typical book review, and it may be helpful for you to consult the guidelines for that assignment. It goes without saying that you are not permitted to review a book that we are already reading in the class. 5. Constructing your literature review. A good Literature Review lists the books reviewed on the first page as a signpost for your reader. In an introduction, introduce the topic you have chosen. Why is it important for us to know more about that topic? Then, spend some time with each book. Critically review each book as described above in Step 4. After that, in a concluding section, treat the subject you are reviewing as a whole, comparing and contrasting the books. Is one better than the other? Why? What was missing from books? Is it a subject that deserves further research? There are numerous ways you could approach this section of the literature review. Finally, conclude your Literature Review with an appropriate conclusion.
