Chinese Culture and Ideology in the 20th Century and Now

Catalog description

This course considers a variety of literary texts from the perspective of the nexus of cultures and societies in Asia, primarily on modern and contemporary China. This course exposes students to cultural and literary expressions and representations of modern China from the beginning of the 20th century to the present. It explores issues of politics and ideology and the formation of Chinese exceptionalism. The class is divided into two parts: 1. the beginning of the 20th century (1900-1949) and the Mao era (1949-1976); 2. contemporary China since the era of reform and opening up (1978-present). The course takes comparative, interdisciplinary approaches of intellectual and cultural history, literary and cultural studies, and political science. It aims at unraveling the complex relationship of political, ideological formations and cultural, intellectual movements in modern China within the global context of Asia and beyond. 001565