Western Literature of Chinese History (481-0-20)

Topic

Historiography of Republican China

Instructors

Peter Carroll
847/491-2753
Harris Hall - Room 216

Meeting Info

Harris Hall room 101: Mon 6:00PM - 9:00PM

Overview of class

This seminar examines classic and new scholarship on the political, social, cultural, and economic history of the Republic of China, 1912-1949. We will pay particular attention to the flurry of new work that reconsiders the cultural and social transformations of the 1920s and 30s as it relates to the distillation and development of distinctly republican, modern, and Chinese notions of identify and politics. Major themes will include the possibility and structure of the "public sphere" and the history of the public, conceptions of urban vs. rural modernity and modernization, and the transformation of ideas about the Chinese nation in the face of Japanese imperialism.

Learning Objectives

Students will gain mastery of the historiographic liberature on Republican China. They will be able to assess shifting evaluation of key questions over time and discuss the shifting currency of different themes.

Evaluation Method

three 5-page book reviews (15% each), one 12-15-page bibliographic essay (30%), participation (25%)

Class Notes

History Major Concentration(s): Asia/Middle East