HIST 392 - China in the Modern World

3 Credit(s)

This course explores China’s often chaotic journey from empire to nation, and China’s ongoing work of being a nation in the modern world. The readings begin with the decline of China’s last dynasty and arrive at China’s hosting of the summer Olympics in 2008. China’s historic path into participation in the modern global and international system has been neither obvious nor inevitable. Over the course of the last century, China has undergone enormous changes, not just in terms of political regimes, but also of the cultural and social fabric and the changing values and identities of its citizens. Though the course is structured to follow chronologically through the major political changes China has faced during the 20th century, our emphasis is on the cultural and social changes affecting the lives of Chinese people and the intersection between state and society.