HIST2401 - 01 - Modern China: Continuity and Change

(DM) Diversity & Multiculturalism (HI) Historical Inquiry (H) Historical Consciousness

Modern China is a dynamic society changing every year through economic development and social transformation, but at the same time, China is deeply rooted in the philosophical and political traditions that have shaped and supported the largest and oldest bureaucracy of the world. In this course we will study how a 3000 year old civilization has changed from an empire to a republic, from a republic to a Communist state, and under the Communist ideology has turned itself into one of the world's economic powerhouses; all this in a bit more than one century. The history of modern China is the focus of this course; a history of social contradictions and power struggles, of political revolution and economic reconstruction. Understanding the history of the making of modern China is understanding the history of the globalized modern world.