CHIN 2760 - Contemporary China

This course is an introduction to contemporary Chinese society and culture, and it is also a continuation of CHIN 2750 - Chinese Life and Culture with the focus on traditional China. The course is designed to increase students’ foundational knowledge of the social sciences, humanities, and the arts of contemporary China, with the ability to apply key concepts beyond the course content (in other words, beyond the context of East Asia). This class will examine high points of modern Chinese society and culture while critically analyzing its cultural production (writing, art, film, etc.). Meanwhile, the class will repeatedly return to key themes that apply also outside the Chinese context. These may include factors that accelerate or slow down cultural development, the ways that cultures hybridize and change as the result of intercultural exchange, the ways that events on the world stage shape the life and culture of people at the individual level, and the ways that cultures and nations react during times of crisis. This course satisfies WMU Essential Studies Level 2: Exploration and Discovery – Societies and Cultures Category.

Credits: 3 hours