Module overview
Few nations had a more dramatic experience of the twentieth century than China. Over the course of this module you will learn about the tumultuous political events of the era - from the fall of the once mighty Qing empire, to China’s descent into chaos during the era of warlord misrule, to the rise of the Communist Party under Mao Zedong, to the resurgence of China as a major world power. Rather than focussing exclusively upon the political and cultural figures who often dominate the history of this period, we will also examine how momentous events shaped the lives of ordinary people. We will read about the beggars and prostitutes who scraped a living on the streets of Republican Shanghai, the idealistic Red Guards who gathered in Beijing during the Cultural Revolution, and the millions of farmers whose innovations sowed the seeds of the Chinese economic miracle.
Aims and Objectives
Learning Outcomes
Subject Specific Intellectual and Research Skills
Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:
- Critically evaluate China in the twentieth century
- assess the ways in which historians working on China present their arguments
- Understand the relationship between primary sources and secondary literature within the study of the history of China
Transferable and Generic Skills
Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:
- Manage your time
- Make good use of library facilities and related on-line collections
- Communicate in writing your research findings convincingly in concise form
Knowledge and Understanding
Having successfully completed this module, you will be able to demonstrate knowledge and understanding of:
- The major political events that have shaped the history of twentieth century China
- The changing social history of modern China
- English language primary source materials relating to modern Chinese history
Syllabus
Topics typically include
- The Great Qing Dynasty
- China Awakened: The Fall of the Qing Empire, 1900-1911
- Students Rebellion and Warlord Misrule, 1912-1927
- The Rise of the Nationalists, 1927-1937
- Neon Lights, Red Lights, and Workhouses: Street Life in Republican China
- Arise China! China in the Second World War, 1937-1945
- The Chinese People Have Stood Up! Early Communist China, 1945-1957
- A Leap to Disaster 1957-1965
- The Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, 1966-1976
- Reform and Reaction, 1976-1989
- An Economic Miracle? China since 1989
Learning and Teaching
Teaching and learning methods
Teaching methods include:
- lectures
- seminars
Learning methods include
- Preparatory reading, including library work and individual research, prior to each class
- Studying primary and secondary source material
| Type | Hours |
|---|---|
| Seminar | 12 |
| Lecture | 12 |
| Wider reading or practice | 26 |
| Preparation for scheduled sessions | 50 |
| Completion of assessment task | 50 |
| Total study time | 150 |
Resources & Reading list
Textbooks
Mitter, Rana (2013). China's War with Japan, 1937-1945 : The Struggle for Survival (also available as Forgotten Ally: China's World War II). London: Allen Lane.
Spence, Jonathan (1999). The Search for Modern China. New York: Norton.
Brown, Jeremy, and Paul Pickowicz (2007). Dilemmas of Victory : The Early Years of the People's Republic of China.. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press.
Harrison, Henrietta (2000). The Making of the Republican Citizen: Political Ceremonies and Symbols in China 1911-1929. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Chen, Janet Y (2012). Guilty of Indigence: The Urban Poor in China, 1900-1953. Princeton: Princeton University Press.
Crossley, Pamela (2010). The Wobbling Pivot - China Since 1800: An Interpretive History. Chichester: Wiley-Blackwell.
Lu Hanchao (2005). Street Criers: A Cultural History of Chinese Beggars. Stanford: Stanford University Press.
Thaxton, Ralph (2008). Catastrophe and Contention in Rural China: Mao's Great Leap Forward Famine and the Origins of Righteous Resistance in Da Fo Village. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
De Bary, William (2000). Sources of Chinese Tradition: From 1600 Through the Twentieth Century. New York: Columbia University Press.
Van de Ven, Hans (2003). War and Nationalism in China, 1925–1945. London: Routledge Curzon.
Assessment
Summative
This is how we’ll formally assess what you have learned in this module.
| Method | Percentage contribution |
|---|---|
| Written assignment | 60% |
| Written assignment | 40% |
Referral
This is how we’ll assess you if you don’t meet the criteria to pass this module.
| Method | Percentage contribution |
|---|---|
| Resubmit assessments | 100% |
Repeat
An internal repeat is where you take all of your modules again, including any you passed. An external repeat is where you only re-take the modules you failed.
| Method | Percentage contribution |
|---|---|
| Written assignment | 60% |
| Written assignment | 40% |
Repeat Information
Repeat type: Internal & External