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Twentieth-Century China

When you'll study it
Semester 2
CATS points
15
ECTS points
7.5
Level
Level 4
Module lead
Elisabeth Forster
Academic year
2024-25

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.

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