The Rise of Modern China c. 1840-1949
| Code | School | Level | Credits | Semesters |
| HIST2061 | History | 2 | 20 | Autumn UK |
- Code
- HIST2061
- School
- History
- Level
- 2
- Credits
- 20
- Semesters
- Autumn UK
Summary
This module covers the history of China from the 1840s, through to the Communist Revolution of 1949. It looks at social, cultural, political and economic developments in this period – during which the Qing Dynasty was overthrown, a republic was established, China was invaded by Japan, and a civil war between the Nationalists and Communists was experienced – from a variety of angles and approaches. The module focuses in particular on the ways in which Chinese society responded to the arrival of ‘modernity’ in the form of the Western powers and Japan throughout the period in question, but also how different groups in China tried to remould and redefine China as a ‘modern’ nation-state and society on its own terms.
Seminar topics may cover the following:
1. Was Republican China ‘better’ than what came before or after it?
2. How unequal were the ‘unequal treaties?
3. Was the 1911 revolution inevitable?
4. What was ‘warlordism’ and how did it reshape China politically?
5. Were Republican-era cities such as Shanghai, Beijing and Guangzhou cosmopolitan?
6. Was China under Chiang Kai-shek fascist?
7. The rural origins of Chinese communism
8. Was Manchukuo a legitimate state?
9. Can Chinese ‘collaboration’ with the Japanese under wartime occupation be justified?
10. Why did the Communists win the Chinese Civil War?
Target Students
Students must have taken HIST1001 or HIST1002. Also available to exchange students hosted by the Department of History.
Classes
- One 1-hour seminar each week for 10 weeks
- One 2-hour lecture each week for 10 weeks
At least one of the seminar slots in the module will be dedicated to discussing the coursework.
Assessment
- 50% Coursework: 2,500 word essay
- 50% Presentation: 2500 word Document Analysis.
Assessed by end of autumn semester
Educational Aims
The module aims to: (i) familiarise students with the general contours of social, cultural, political and economic change in China in the period between the 1840s and 1949; (ii) introduce students to the current scholarly debates about this period from a variety of conceptual and methodological angles; and (iii) encourage students to work with primary sources from this period by exploring how scholars use such sources to study the pre-1949 Chinese past.Learning Outcomes
a. Knowledge and understanding. By the end of the module, should be able to:
• explain and interpret the major changes and developments that were experienced in China in the period between the 1840s and 1949
• demonstrate an understanding of the major events in this period
• evaluate the forces of change and continuity at work within the period.
b. Intellectual Skills. By the end of the module students should be able to:
• engage critically with the major and on-going debates in Chinese history from an array of different theoretical perspectives.
• interpret secondary sources on these debates, and understand how different views of it have developed
• construct their own coherent and independent historical arguments about China in the period between the 1840 and 1949.
c. Professional/Practical Skills. The module will develop the ability to:
• select, sift and synthesise information from a wide range of primary and secondary sources
• identify and compare key arguments drawn from those materials
• apply appropriate footnoting and bibliographical skills (including those which are important or unique to the study of Chinese history)
d. Transferable Skills. The module will develop students’ ability to:
• manage a large and diverse body of information, including primary sources
• express themselves clearly, coherently and fluently in written work
• Locate and critically engage with on-line materials (such as digitised sources, Digital Humanities tools, etc).