History 344: China in Revolution

From the late nineteenth century, China underwent major political and social change. Nationalist revolutionaries destroyed the imperial system; amidst the ensuing instability, communist revolutionaries arose. This course explores national and international politics but also pays close attention to the acute social and cultural changes that shook Chinese society in terms of expected familial, social, gender, ethnic, and class roles. Chinese communists attempted to remake society through mass campaigns, to make intellectuals into peasants, and everyone into comrades. Contemporary China has seen the thriving of socialism with “Chinese characteristics.” While many of these themes will be examined at the national and international level, we will also explore a number of the issues at the local level. Work will include several analytical papers, the final one being a research paper.