Chinese Law and Society

Catalog description

This course is an introduction to the study of law and society in China in a comparative and global context. We will begin by considering the tradition of imperial Chinese law and its social and philosophical foundations. We will then turn to the confrontation between the Qing empire and Euro-American imperial powers in the nineteenth century and the attendant collision between European and Chinese notions of sovereignty. Next, we will consider early twentieth-century law reforms as the Qing empire was transformed into the constitutional form of a modern republic, followed by the introduction of socialist law and the establishment of the People’s Republic of China. The course will conclude with post-Mao reforms and their implications for the future of Chinese law and society. Throughout the course, we will pay attention to the use of historical and comparative methods. What are the potentials and liabilities of using law as an analytical category in cross-cultural study? What happens when “Eastern” and “Western” legal cultures come in contact with each other? How is law related to capitalism and socialism? How does law structure political and socio-economic relations globally? How does law produce as well as constrain subjects and identities? What is the relationship between law, gender, and sexuality?