CHINA TODAY

The course is part of the integrative educational activities related to the Bachelor’s degree courses in “Sustainable Chemistry and Technologies” and “Science and Technology for Cultural Heritage” and is aimed at students who want to deepen their knowledge of contemporary China, where scientific research is increasingly advanced and focused on environmental issues, new technologies and renewable energy sources.

At the end of the course the student will be able to critically understand the political and historical events, the economic changes, the cultural context and the major social phenomena of contemporary China.

There are no pre-requirements

Content of the course will be the diachronic and synchronic description of the politics, economy, culture and society of contemporary China from 1949 to the present. Particular attention will be given to the evolution from the Maoist era to the reform and open-door policy at the end of the 1970s, up to the most recent transformations experienced by contemporary China.
After a first historical and physical-geographical framework, the course will have a thematic development: the main phenomena of contemporary Chinese social life (family, education, work, urban transformations, gender issues, etc.) and the development of science and technology in modern and contemporary China will be investigated.

Robert E. Gamer; Stanley W. Toops (eds) (2017). "Understanding Contemporary China, Fifth Edition". Boulder, CO; London: Lynne Rienner Publishers.

Samarani, Guido (2017). "La Cina contemporanea. Dalla fine dell'Impero a oggi". Nuova edizione aggiornata e ampliata. Torino: Einaudi, pp. 185-439.

Oral examination on the contents of the lessons and of the textbooks

The course will be taught through frontal lessons which integrate the content of the textbooks.

Italian

Recommended text for further reading:

Louie, Kam (2008). "The Cambridge Companion to Modern Chinese Culture". Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Wu Weiping; Frazier, Mark (eds) (2018). "The SAGE Handbook of Contemporary China". London; Thousand Oaks, CA; New Delhi; Singapore: SAGE.

Zang Xiaowei (ed.) (2016). "Understanding Chinese Society". London; New York: Routledge.

Samarani, Guido; Scarpari, Maurizio (a cura di) (2009). "La Cina", vol. 3: "Verso la modernità". Torino: Einaudi.

Vogelsang, Kai (2014). "Cina. Una storia millenaria". Torino: Einaudi, pp. 491-571.

Spence, Jonathan D. (2013). "The Search for Modern China". New York; London: W. W. Norton & Company, pp. 460-707.

Fenby, Jonathan (2008). "The Penguin History of Modern China. The Fall and Rise of a Great Power, 1850-2008". London: Penguin, pp. 421-808.

Dolla, Varaprasad S. (2014). "Science and Technology in Contemporary China: Interrogating Policies and Progress". Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Jing Tsu; Elman, Benjamin A. (2014). "Science and Technology in Modern China, 1880s-1940s". Leiden: Brill.

Elman, Benjamin A. (2006). "A Cultural History of Modern Science in China". Cambridge, MA; London: Harvard University Press.

Reardon-Anderson, James (1991). "The Study of Change. Chemistry in China, 1840-1949". Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

oral

This subject deals with topics related to the macro-area "Climate change and energy" and contributes to the achievement of one or more goals of U. N. Agenda for Sustainable Development