China in the Modern World

China’s rise has reshaped world politics and the global economy. In this seminar-based course, students will become familiar with different approaches to understanding China and its place in the world, critically evaluating the opportunities and challenges for both. We will consider China's relation to the world from eight distinct but overlapping perspectives: politics, place, people, economy, culture, media, foreign policy and intellectual thought. The weekly student-led tutorials will explore key issues including the party-state and its techniques of governance; China’s urban and rural geography and contested territory; Chinese nationalism and ethnicities; the PRC economy and its prospects; traditional and contemporary Chinese culture(s); the implications of the Internet for China’s society, economy and politics; the CCP’s foreign policy and its influence on the outside world; and the emerging 'Chinese school' of International Relations theory.