China: Past, Present, and Future

HUM 400.1 China: Past, Present, and Future

students in China

This course is designed for students who have had no China study background. Through lectures, guest speakers, site visits and traveling, you will start your exploration of one of the world's oldest civilizations, its many facets of tradition and culture, its glorious past, its bitter memories of imperial decline and its ongoing struggle with history and modernity. You will travel to Xi'an, the ancient capital of China to get a glimpse of the past; Beijing, the more recent and current political and cultural center; and finally to Shanghai, a city many believe embodies China's aspiration for the future.

While it is impossible to become a China expert during the two-week traveling seminar, you will learn to look at China from unique historical and contemporary perspectives, as well as from distinct American and Chinese viewpoints. Your academic and cultural learning will be gleaned from diverse readings, Chinese guest speakers, those you meet on the street and in restaurants, and from fellow Americans living in China.

The traveling seminar serves as an orientation for your coming semester in Hong Kong and Beijing where you will have a chance to digest the huge amount of information you accumulated through the traveling seminar and pursue further studies on topics of your particular interests. Through your study, internships and contacts with Chinese teachers and friends, you will begin to understand the complexity of China, a country that is no doubt fascinating, but also alien and even disturbing at times, a country where many things are in flux, forces of old and new, domestic and international, east and west are all working to shape its future. No matter what happens, given the size of its population and its growing economic and political power, China itself will be a force to be reckoned with. Some even argue that China will be as important to the 21st century as the U.S. to the 20th century. Thus, equipping yourself with the knowledge about China and what it is becoming could be an important step for your future career. Whether you plan to be a world business executive, a journalist, a scholar or a politician, whether you deal with politics, environment, climate, technology, poverty, national security, or any major field, China will be a factor.

Course requirements:

  1. Completion of required readings (making notes of important arguments in an article, could be very useful for quizzes, travel journals or final essay.)
  2. Two Quizzes (each accounts for 25% of final grade, one hour each, no notes allowed, based on readings, lectures, guest lectures and basic knowledge about China.)
  3. Travel Journals (submit 5 entries, journals account for 25% of the final grade. Not to be a laundry list of what occurs during a day, but designed to evoke self-reflectixivity and thoughtful observation to provide responses to questions such as: Why things are the way they are in China? Why is that different from the U.S.? Is the difference significant? What does this mean? What have I learned?)
  4. One final essay worth 25% of final grade.
  5. Active and informed participation.
  6. Grades: 95-100=A; 90-94=A-; 85-89=B+; 80-84=B
  7. Course Reading: