OSHER 860 - World War II in the Pacific: Before Bataan and After

World War II in the Pacific covered one of the largest and most varied areas ever affected by a single conflict. A third of the world's population, oceans and land-mass were involved, yet it was a war fought almost entirely by two countries, Japan and the United States. Each session we will look at the strategy employed by each side in a specific phase of the conflict, how local people were affected, and what the civilian population in each country thought, or were led to believe, was going on. The first day of the course we will examine the political processes on both sides that led to war in the first place. Subsequent classes follow the strategic and moral actions of each country and its leaders. Class discussions will examine the events that took place, which leaders did the right thing, and the choices they had. If the students were the generals, what would they have done differently? The class will culminate with a discussion of the aftermath of the war in terms of the countries and peoples involved, and what, historically speaking, was actually accomplished.