Women and Gender in Modern Chinese History

Catalog description

Examines the historical literature on women and gender in late imperial and twentieth century China. HIST 582 Women and Gender in Modern Chinese History (3) The roles of women and men have undergone major shifts in late imperial and modern China, affecting all aspects of daily life. Just the titles used to describe feminine ideals give an indication of these shifts - from the "talented women" of the late imperial period to the "new women" and "modern girls" of the early twentieth century to the "iron ladies" of the Communist period to the "factory girls" of the new millennia. Masculine ideals, too, have shifted, from the literary scholar-official of late imperial China to the patriotic worker of the Mao years to the entrepreneurial party member of the late twentieth century. But beyond the ideals, the day-to-day lives of Chinese people have been fundamentally altered as well, changing the way people relate to family and to society. This course examines the historical literature on these shifts from the late imperial period to the present. Misperceptions and stereotypes about Chinese gender roles and, in particular, the status of women are widespread. In the past several decades, historians of China have sought to place our understanding of these topics on firmer historical ground by exploring topics from homosexuality and law in imperial China to widowhood and the imperial cult of female chastity to new marriage practices in post-economic reform village China and, in doing so, to undermine the "orientalism" that informed, for instance, investigations of footbinding and the "women's quarters." Through a wide range of readings, this course will introduce students to the major works and topics in the field of Chinese women's and gender history, including: women and family, women's legal history, gender and nationalism, "new women" (xin funü), gender and revolution, gender and demographics, gender and labor, women's liberation, and love and sexuality. Students will be expected to demonstrate their familiarity with the major themes and topics for Chinese women's and gender history through discussion and written work.