HIST 352 - History of Modern China

Credit Hours: 4
Frequency of Offering: Offered in alternate years, usually in the spring semester

This course introduces major issues in the history of China from the beginning of the Qing Dynasty in the early 1600s to the present day. We analyze the basis of the Qing “world order” and in what ways it was successful on its own terms. Then we explore the rise of domestic and international challenges to that order, which ultimately led to a series of revolutions that brought new ways of imagining the role of China in the world. From the 1911 Revolution, through the Nationalist Revolution, the Communist Revolution, and the Cultural Revolution, we will see how China was transformed in dramatic and sometimes tragic ways. We will also investigate the successes and challenges that have emerged as China has risen to renewed prominence in the reform era.