HISTORY OF CONTEMPORARY CHINA

The course will introduce the students to the study of the history of the People's Republic of China (1949-2019). It will provide them with the critical tools to understand the political, cultural and social evolution of China in the second half of the Twentieth-Century.

Through an active participation in the planned learning activities and the individual study of the texts indicated in the bibliography the students are expected to achieve the following learning outcomes:
1. Knowledge and understanding
● To have an accurate knowledge of the political, cultural and social transformations of China since 1949.
2. Ability to apply knowledge and understanding
● To be able to read critically the sources concerning the history of the People's Republic.
3. Ability to judge
● To be able to properly frame the contemporary Chinese political and socio-cultural context in historiccal perspective.
4. Learning skills
● To critically use and discuss the concerned academic literature.

A general knowledge of history of China in the Nineteenth and Twentieth Century and reading knowledge of modern Chinese are required.

The establishment of the People's Republic of China in a global perspective.
The rural reform and its impact.
Changing urban China in the early 1950s.
The impact of industralization strategy on Chinese society.
Intellectuals and the Party-State.
The Great Leap Forward.
The Cultural Revolution: politics, culture and society
The demise of maoism and economic reform. The Tian'anmen protests in 1989.
Political, cultural and social evolution of China in the reform era.

Bibliography and readings will be available on Moodle.

The achievement of the expected learning outcomes will be judged asking the student to submit a written essay to be completed in two hours. The short essay will concern one of the topics discussed in class and in the reading material listed in the bibliography.
The evaluation of the essay will take the following aspects into account:
- the student's knowledge and understanding of the reading material assigned on the subject;
- the student's ability to illustrate and reflect on the topic on the basis of the work done in class with the instructor;
- the clarity of the writing and argumentation.

The 30-hour course will include lectures and class readings of visual and textual sources.

Italian

written