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Modern China in Global History 1949-1999 (HIST20086)
Undergraduate level 2Points: 12.5Dual-Delivery (Parkville)
Please refer to the return to campus page for more information on these delivery modes and students who can enrol in each mode based on their location.
About this subject
- Overview
- Eligibility and requirements
- Assessment
- Dates and times
- Further information
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Contact information
Semester 1
Overview
Availability | Semester 1 - Dual-Delivery |
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Fees | Look up fees |
“The whole point of writing something down is that your voice will then carry for thousands of miles, whereas in direct conversation it fades at a hundred paces,” said Italian Jesuit Priest and China mission founder Matteo Ricci (1552-1610 CE). And write something memorable he did, with his 1602 world map in Chinese characters introducing the findings of European exploration to East Asia. But China had hardly been in isolation from the world behind its famous “Great Wall” fortifications; rather, Chinese exchanges with and expeditions to far flung kingdoms in Asia and Africa occurred centuries before Ricci’s arrival, and continue with several polities to this very day. Chinese history is inseparable from world history, and one cannot understand either Chinese or world history in isolation from the other.
Accordingly, this 200-level seminar subject analyses the Chinese experience in the wider context of world and global history from the founding of the People’s Republic of China in 1949 to China’s entry into the World Trade Organization at the end of the twentieth century. Its goals are to encourage students to identify and explore the multiple and intricate connections that “China” has forged with the wider world throughout its recent history, and to help students build on their craft skills of critical reading, thinking, and writing about the past, as well as primary source interpretation. The subject also aims to situate China in global and regional contexts, contextualizing China’s experience in adopting ideas and organizations from without, ranging from nationalism, Buddhism, Marxism, and Communism.
Intended learning outcomes
On completion of this subject, students should be able to:
- demonstrate a strong understanding of Chinese History across several periods and identify, examine, and summarize the global connections tied to them;
- analyse of both primary and secondary sources to interpret China's recent past history, organize such sources/interpretations thereof into the production of an essay, and to develop independent thought on China/world history related topics;
- apply a broader understanding of the complex factors behind history and historical research (ie: historiography) to develop a critical analysis of China's global connections in contemporary history;
- demonstrate writing acumen and to illustrate skills development through written work.
Generic skills
- Reasoning and Critical Thinking
- Communication (oral and written)
- Collaboration
- Library and research skills
- Engagement (with real world ideas and problems)
Last updated: 5 December 2023