The Politics of China

Catalog description

This course is a broad introduction to the main issues of contemporary Chinese politics and social changes. While there is a strong focus on the reform period in the People's Republic, we will also spend considerable time and energy on understanding the previous seven decades of China's quest to modernity and the difficulties and challenges it had encountered. The course is roughly divided into two parts. The first part covers the period from the fall of the last imperial dynasty in 1911 to the end of Cultural Revolution in 1976. The second section examines the last forty years of China's economic reform, looking at both how the reforms began and how they were sustained. We investigate the many political and social consequences of reform and the changing landscape of Chinese politics. We will also learn about prominent theories and concepts in authoritarian politics, which can be applied to both explaining China and understanding other countries in the world. Offered as POSC 370D and POSC 470D . Counts as a CAS Global & Cultural Diversity course. Counts as a Understanding Global Perspectives course.