These slides shows were first prepared in the late 1970s at the University of California, Santa Barbara, for use in teaching a course entitled "Japanese History Through Art and Literature."  The original format was a slide-tape module, consisting of a carousel tray of about 40 slides and an audio cassette about 30 minutes in length.  A simple beep indicated when the slide was to be changed.  The modules were prepared with a generous summer grant from Instructional Development at UCSB, and were designed for viewing in individual booths set up for this purpose at the Learning Resources Center at that university.  It was a simple and low-tech system that enabled students complete control over the pace at which they viewed the modules.  Handouts with lists of proper names and technical terms were provided for use with the modules.

    These modules have now been converted in a simple and straightforward manner to a Web format, with each slide presented in parallel with the written text, and links backward and forward to other slides in the narrative.  Obvious errors in the text have been corrected, but the scripts basically remain as they were written over two decades ago, and hence are very dated in terms of my own thinking about the various issues raised.  I continue to use the materials, however, in various courses that I teach on the history of Japanese civilization, and the history of buildings and cities in Japan.

    Since I used images from copyrighted materials, it is not possible to make these slide shows available publicly, and I use them myself only with restricted access to students enrolled in courses in which I use the materials as part of the syllabus.  For those who are professional teachers in the field of Japanese history, however, I am happy to make arrangements to see the shows, or parts of them, through limited password access.  If interested, please contact me by email at <hds2@columbia.edu>.