HIST 239 - Warfare in Modern China

Semester Offered: Fall
1 unit(s)

(Same as ASIA 239) This course delves into the origins, implications, and ramifications of warfare in China from the nineteenth to the twentieth centuries. The course explores historical events such as the conflicts between the Qing and British Empires, the Taiping Rebellion/Civil War, the Boxer Rebellion, the Second Sino-Japanese War, the involvement of the United States in China during World War II, and the Chinese Civil War between the Nationalist and Communist Parties. In studying these events, we address key questions: How have China’s internal conflicts and wars with other empires and countries driven various political and societal transformations? What was life like during wartime, and how can we understand war as an everyday experience? What roles do memories and narratives of warfare play in contemporary China? We investigate everyday experiences of people, including mass mobilization, displacement, violence, and trauma. Additionally, we look at how warfare shaped gender concepts, nationalism, popular culture, identity, and memory. Students use course materials and archival resources to develop a final project of their choice in either a written or multimedia format. Yu-chi Chang.

Two 75-minute periods.

Course Format: CLS