Modern China
Examines China’s evolution from an imperial state to a revolutionary society dominated by the Chinese Communist Party. Attention is paid to political attitudes and elements of society and culture in contemporary China that reflect links to a past that remained influential both as an inspiration and a stumbling block as China remade itself in the twentieth century. In addition, the course explores discontinuities in modern Chinese history brought about by wars, imperialism, revolution, industrialization, and the other forces that decisively altered the underpinnings of Chinese society. This course’s reading and lectures are built upon five major themes: foundation and success of early Qing dynasty, peasant rebellion and Western imperialism, reform and revolution in the twentieth century, Republican China and its challenges, and the birth and development of the PRC.