Saul T Thomas

This course is a survey of modern Chinese history from the late imperial Qing dynasty through the 20th century. The purpose of this course is to articulate the ways in which China has dealt with social, political, and economic turmoil since the late imperial period and how this turmoil has related to challenging developments in East Asia, which are a microcosm for globalization. The context of this history includes Western encroachment since the Opium War in 1839, Japanese imperialism, the Cold War confrontation, and China?s rise at the end of the century. Throughout the course, we will examine China?s long 19th- and 20th-century efforts to nationalize global challenges and form cultural and political unity at various levels of the society. The class meets twice a week and will be conducted in a lecture/guided discussion format. Students must attend both the lecture and discussion classes on a regular basis and are expected to actively participate in discussion.

This course aims to approach China today through its various 'cultures' and 'subcultures'--the worlds of meaning constructed along with the establishment (and imposition) of identities of the 'self' and understandings and representations of all manner of internal and external 'others.' Our primary avenues of inquiry will be the broad categories of ethnicity, class, gender, and religion in the broadest senses. We will also discuss the methods and means of acquiring anthropological knowledge of China, and attempt to devise and conduct our own independent inquiries.