Chinese Culture and Society

Catalog description

This course introduces students to a broad range of topics about Chinese culture and society. We will examine cultural and social institutions such as economic systems, family and marriage, gender roles and ideologies, religion and values, and the state and local power relations within different historical contexts. Through discussions about issues such as the traditional vs. the contemporary, the rural vs. the urban, the poor vs. the rich, and the collective vs. the individual, we aim to better understand the diversity, inequalities and social conflicts in the Chinese society. Students are encouraged to think critically about pre-perceived ideas of Chinese people and culture, and learn to see that social change is a constant factor in human life. We will learn to analyze how social structures and institutions influence personal lives and how individual and collective forms of action may in turn transform institutions and structures.