HISTORY OF CONTEMPORARY CHINA

The course will introduce the students to the study of the history of the People's Republic of China from its founding in 1949 to the end of the 20th century. 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, framing local historical processes in the Cold War global perspective, but also offering insights on the peculiar characteristics of Chinese socialism under Mao and after Mao. At the same time the course will provide students with the conceptual and methodological tools needed for historical research.

Learning outcomes
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 from 1949 to 1999.
2. Ability to apply knowledge and understanding
● To be able to select and read critically various typology of historical sources regarding the People's Republic of China.
3. Ability to judge
● To be able to properly frame sources and information about contemporary Chinese political and socio-cultural reality in a historical-informed perspective.
4. Learning skills
● To critically use the related academic literature and understand some of the peculiarities of Chinese contemporary historical writing; to write a short academic essay in history.

A general knowledge of history of China in the Nineteenth and Twentieth Century as well as knowledge of English and 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 industrialization on Chinese society.
Intellectuals and the Party-State.
The Great Leap Forward and its aftermath.
The Cultural Revolution: politics, culture and society
The Death of Mao but not of Maoism: Reform and Opening up.

Mandatory readings:

Felix Wemheuer, A Social History of Maoist China: Conflict and Change, 1949–1978, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2019

Week 1) Introductions, narratives of PRC history.

“Introduction,” from Qian Liqun, The Mao Zedong Era and the Post-Mao era 1949-2009, Another Historical View .In Cheek, Timothy, David Ownby, and Joshua A. Fogel, eds. Voices from the Chinese Century: Public Intellectual Debate from Contemporary China. Columbia University Press, 2019. Pp. 175-198

Week 2) What is the CCP? Who is Mao Zedong? (1930-1949)

Chapter 10, “Total Centralism at Work,” in, Li, Huaiyin. The Making of the Modern Chinese State 1600-1950. Abingdon (GB): Routledge, 2020.

Week 3) Dilemmas of Victory (1949-1955)

Chapter 2, “New Democracy and the Making of New China (1949–1952).” Wemheuer, Felix. “A Social History of Maoist China by Felix Wemheuer.” Cambridge Core, March 2019.

Week 4) Problems Among the People (1956-1958)

Chapter 3, ““The Transformation to State Socialism (1953– 1957).” Wemheuer, Felix. “A Social History of Maoist China by Felix Wemheuer.” Cambridge Core, March 2019.

Week 5) The Great Leap Forward (1958-1960)

Chapter 4, “The Great Leap Forward and its Aftermath.” Li, Huaiyin. Village China under Socialism and Reform: A Micro History, 1948-2008. Stanford, Calif: Stanford University Press, 2009.

Week 6) Succession? (1960-1965)

Chapter 9, “Toward the Cultural Revolution.” Walder, Andrew G. China under Mao: A Revolution Derailed. Cambridge, Mass: Harvard University Press, 2015.

Week 7) Total Revolution (1966-1968)

Chapter 10, “Fractured Rebellion.” Walder, Andrew G. China under Mao: A Revolution Derailed. Cambridge, Mass: Harvard University Press, 2015.
Or
Chapter 6, “The Cultural Revolution: A Multifaceted Experience.” Li, Huaiyin. Village China under Socialism and Reform: A Micro History, 1948-2008. Stanford, Calif: Stanford University Press, 2009.

Week 8) Taking Back Power (1968-1976)

Chapter 7 “Demobilization and Restoration: The Late Cultural Revolution (1969-76). Wemheuer, Felix. “A Social History of Maoist China by Felix Wemheuer.” Cambridge Core, March 2019.

Week 9) Mao is Dead, Long live Mao (1976-1989)

Chapter 8 “Legacies and Continuities of the Mao Era in the Reform Era.” Wemheuer, Felix. “A Social History of Maoist China by Felix Wemheuer.” Cambridge Core, March 2019.

Final assessment:
The achievement of the expected learning outcomes will be judged asking the student to submit a written essay of 3000-5000 words (in English or Italian). The short essay will concern one of the topics and sources of the reading list and discussed in class.
Students will be required to hand in an essay plan one month prior to the final due date.
The essay should be submitted no less than two weeks before the final exam, which will be a short oral discussion of the handed in essay.
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 chosen topic on the basis of the course's general goals;
- the clarity of the writing and argumentation.

written

The following grading schema will be applied:
28-30 – Outstanding and original application of knowledge obtained during the course; critical use of secondary research; fluently written and convincingly argued.
25-27 – Strong use of knowledge obtained during the course; critical use of secondary research; well written and argued.
22-24- adequate use of knowledge obtained during the course; adequate use of secondary research; adequately written and argued.
18-21- uneven application of knowledge obtained during the course; minimal use of secondary research; some writing problems and unclear argumentation.

The 30-hour course will include lectures and seminars in English.
Each class will include a 45 minute lecture, and 45 minutes for in-class discussion of texts.