Modern China: Post-Mao Reforms, 1978-2016 (381-3-20)
Instructors
Peter J Carroll
847/491-2753
Harris Hall - Room 216
Meeting Info
Harris Hall L06: Mon, Wed 11:00AM - 12:20PM
Overview of class
Since the advent of the Four Modernizations under the aegis of Deng Xiaoping in late 1978, Chinese society, culture, economy—indeed, almost every aspect of life—have been transformed. At the same time, however, the country's Maoist and more distant Republican and Imperial pasts have continued to inform and shape reform. This course examines the complexities of China's reformist period from the late 1970s until ca. 2014. We will highlight key currents, such as the transformation of rural-urban relations, domestic arguments about the unevenness and morality of socio-economic change, the 1989 Spring Democracy Movement, China's "Peaceful Rise," and its growing participation in global affairs, with an eye to understanding new social formations and highlighting the resonance of the past. Topics include The Four Modernizations; the transformation of rural-urban relations and domestic arguments about the unevenness and morality of socio-economic change; "Floating" and otherwise living in the city; SARS, AIDS, and the politics of public health; the Sichuan earthquake and civil society; China in the World; the rise of the popular environmental movement; unemployment and the growth of the new welfare state; and the 2014 Umbrella Movement. At the 19th Congress of the Communist Party in 2017, Xi Jinping, declared that the current "New Era" had dawned. The Reform Era is thus truly the history of present moment.
Learning Objectives
1. Students will gain an understanding of the general pattern of late 20th and early 21st century Chinese history and knowledge of key particular events, concepts, and debates.
2. The course provides opportunities for students to improve their capacity to discuss and analyze key events and course themes in speech and writing. What techniques can make writing more rhetorically powerful? What constitutes a good thesis/argument/point, and how might it be improved?
3. Students will practice working with historical evidence, primary and secondary, to craft arguments, while also considering the evaluation and deployment of sources.
4. Students will consider how a complex understanding of recent Chinese history might alter their received sense of World history and modernity, as well as the histories of China, Taiwan, Japan, the USA, and other countries.
5. The course will underscore the resonance of the past (recent, modern, early modern, and ancient) on late 20th and early 21st century Chinese society, culture, and politics
Evaluation Method
One take-yome midterm exam (6-7 pages, 25%);
One analytical paper (5 pages, 25%);
one final examination (35%);
class participation (discussion and discussion board, 15%).
Class Notes
Concentration: Asia/ Middle East
Class Attributes
Historical Studies Foundational Discipline
Historical Studies Distro Area
Global Perspectives on Power, Justice, and Equity