Fall 2017 - HIST 254 D100

China to 1800 (3)

Class Number: 2971

Delivery Method: In Person

Overview

  • Course Times + Location:

    Sep 5 – Dec 4, 2017: Tue, 12:30–2:20 p.m.
    Burnaby

  • Exam Times + Location:

    Dec 9, 2017
    Sat, 3:30–6:30 p.m.
    Burnaby

Description

CALENDAR DESCRIPTION:

This course offers a broad survey of the history of China from antiquity to the eve of its modern transformations at the turn of the nineteenth century. It aims to challenge the perception of an unchanging China and to encourage students to develop a critical understanding of the forces integrating and dividing this geo-cultural unit. Breadth-Humanities.

COURSE DETAILS:

This course offers a broad survey of the history of China from antiquity to the eve of its modern transformations at the turn of the nineteenth century. The goal of the course is to help students develop substantial understanding of the foundations of Chinese society and improve their skills in critical historical analysis. Challenging the once prevailing view of imperial China as “static,” “backward,” and “despotic,” this course discusses a wide array of factors and dynamics that shaped and changed the geocultural space that we call “China.” It examines both domestic and global forces behind the formation of Chinese society and explores the complex interactions between socio-political actors within and without China Proper.

A number of important themes will be highlighted in the class, including the formation of “Chinese civilization,” the state-building process, the evolution of bureaucracy, religious beliefs and cultural values, lineages and social organizations, and local governance and social conflict. We will use primary sources, film and other materials to examine how Chinese people experienced and understood their social life throughout the long historical process. We will also use tutorials to improve student’s skills of historical thinking and class discussion. Moreover, by the end of semester, I hope students could learn not only the long history of China but also how it helps us understand our life and the present world.

Grading

  • Tutorial attendance 7.5%
  • Tutorial participation 7.5%
  • Tutorial assignments 10%
  • Four quizzes 30%
  • Mid-term examination 20%
  • Final examination 25%

Materials

REQUIRED READING:

Valerie Hansen, The Open Empire: A History of China to 1800, 2nd edition (New York: W W Norton & Co Inc, 2015).

RECOMMENDED READING:

Patricia Ebrey, The Cambridge Illustrated History of China, 2nd edition (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2010). 

Patricia Ebrey, ed., Chinese Civilization: A Sourcebook  (New York: The Free Press, 1993).

Brian E McKnight and James T C Liu trans., The Enlightened Judgments: Ch'ing-Ming Chi, The Sung Dynasty Collection (Albany: State University of New York Press, 1999).

R. Keith Schoppa, Song Full of Tears: Nine Centuries of Chinese Life Around Xiang Lake (New York: Basic Books, 2002).

Timothy Brook, The Confusions of Pleasure: Commerce and Culture in Ming China (Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press, 1999).

Timothy Brook, Vermeer’s Hat: The Seventeenth Century and the Dawn of the Global World (London: Profile Books, 2009).

Registrar Notes:

SFU’s Academic Integrity web site http://students.sfu.ca/academicintegrity.html is filled with information on what is meant by academic dishonesty, where you can find resources to help with your studies and the consequences of cheating.  Check out the site for more information and videos that help explain the issues in plain English.

Each student is responsible for his or her conduct as it affects the University community.  Academic dishonesty, in whatever form, is ultimately destructive of the values of the University. Furthermore, it is unfair and discouraging to the majority of students who pursue their studies honestly. Scholarly integrity is required of all members of the University. http://www.sfu.ca/policies/gazette/student/s10-01.html

ACADEMIC INTEGRITY: YOUR WORK, YOUR SUCCESS