China since 1800
A survey of the history of China from the end of the eighteenth century, when traditional Chinese society was arguably at its height of development, to the end of the twentieth century when the social revolutions promised by the Communist regime have clearly failed to materialize. The main objectives are to provide students with vocabularies and tools to understand and interpret the political, social and cultural transformations in modern China and to initiate them in the art and techniques of historical analysis.
Requirement Designation: B-Hum
Prerequisites or Co-requisites
None.
Professor Course Description (Jeremy Brown)
China began the nineteenth century controlled by the Manchus, a non-Han Chinese ethnic group. Manchu rule expanded China’s frontiers and the Chinese economy prospered before 1800. But crisis loomed in the form of population pressure, internal rebellion, and imperialist aggression. In 1911, the Manchu-led dynasty fell and was replaced by a republic that struggled to address the many challenges facing people in China. We will explore the accomplishments and traumas of the twentieth century, including student movements, Communist revolution, Japanese invasion, civil war, industrialization, famine, and the Cultural Revolution. The course will conclude with reflections on how this history has shaped contemporary China.
Upon successful completion of the course you will have (1) gained an appreciation of the magnitude of the problems facing people in China during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries; (2) improved your ability to read and take notes strategically and efficiently; (3) become familiar with how historians practice their craft by reading and analyzing primary and secondary sources.
Textbooks
Ebrey, Patricia Buckley. The Cambridge Illustrated History of China. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1996.Ebrey, Patricia Buckley. Chinese Civilization: A Sourcebook. Second ed. New York: Free Press, 1993.
- Pruitt, Ida. A Daughter of Han: The Autobiography of a Chinese Working Woman. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1967.
- Chan, Anita, Richard Madsen, and Jonathan Unger. Chen Village under Mao and Deng. Expanded and updated edition. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1992.
- HIST 255 custom courseware packet.
