Unit information: China: From Empire to State in 2009/10

Unit name	China: From Empire to State
Unit code	CEAS10003
Credit points	20
Level of study	C/4
Teaching block(s)	Teaching Block 1 (weeks 1 - 12)
Unit director	Dr. Chen
Open unit status	Open
Pre-requisites	No prior knowledge of the subject is required
Co-requisites	None
School/department	School of Sociology, Politics and International Studies
Faculty	Faculty of Arts, Law and Social Sciences

Description including Unit Aims

The unit is designed to provide a critical introduction to the political changes in China from an Empire to a state in the nineteenth and the first half of the twentieth century. It lays particular emphasis on how the Chinese responded to the challenges posed by the West, by using a China-centred approach. This course explores the origins of the transformation through topics which includethe bureaucratic monarchy of the Qing Empire; international relations in violence: wars and treaties; the Self-strengthening movements; the role of the literati; the Empress Dowagers constitutional reforms; cosmopolitism, anarchism and utopianism in China; socio-political dynamics on the eve of the 1911 revolution; the struggles of the Republic of China; the development of Chinese nationalism; the communist revolution of 1949; globalisation and the future of the nation-state system. As China has become a key player in the international arena, this unit will provide a foundation for students interested in contemporary China, international relations, globalization, development studies and other China related fields.

This units aims to:

• Investigate Chinas transformation from an empire to a state in the nineteenth and the first half of the twentieth century

• Provide historical depth to students knowledge of contemporary China.

• Develop a well-rounded understanding of the multidimensional nature of Sino-Western relations.

• Explore the impact of globalisation and the historical long view of the modern world.

Intended Learning Outcomes

By the end of the unit, students will have developed their knowledge and critical understanding of:

• How China was transformed from an empire to a state.

• The historical foundations of the modern Chinese state and its socio-political structure.

• The geo-political significance and impact of relations between China and the West.

• The forces of globalisation at work in China since the nineteenth century.

Teaching Information

Lectures, seminars, small group activities, student presentations, and a 1,500 word formative assignment.

Assessment Information

1 x 3,000 word summative assignment (100%), in which students will demonstrate their knowledge and critical understanding of Chinas transformation from an empire to a state.

Reading and References

• Steffi Richter, (2008) ed. Contested Views of a Common Past. Revisions of History in Contemporary East Asia. Frankfurt / New York, Campus Verlag.

• Struve, L. A. (2004) ed. The Qing Formation in World-historical Time. Cambridge, Mass. ; London, Harvard University Asia Center: Distributed by Harvard University Press.

• Brook, T. and G. Blue (1999) eds, China and Historical Capitalism: Genealogies of Sinological Knowledge. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

• Hershatter, G. (1996). Remapping China: Fissures in Historical Terrain. Stanford, Calif: Stanford University Press.

• Spence, J. D. (1999). The Search for Modern China. New York ; London, Norton.

• Fairbank, John K, & Liu Kuang-ching, (1978 & 1980) eds. The Cambridge History of China. Vol. 10 & 11. Vol. 10: Late Ch'ing 1800-1870; Vol. 11: 1800-1911. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.