HISTORY 2301 - China in the Eyes of the West

Institution:

Bard College

Subject:

Description:

Human Rights European Enlightenment thinkers viewed the Qing dynasty as the world's most enlightened despotism, but by the turn of the 20th century most Western thinkers considered China to be the "sick man of Asia." This course reconstructsthe visions of China formulated by Europeans and Americans during the 19th and 20th centuries and also considers how and why those visions changed over time. In particular, it explores how those constructions facilitated Western imperialism toward China, even as imperialism generated the social, cultural, and political contexts in which those constructions were produced. Shared readings in theoretical literature discussing Orientalism, cross-cultural observation, and the politics of modernization theory provide a common framework for study. Readings and discussions focus for the most part on literary texts, popular histories, news reports, travel writing, and academic works. The course culminates in individual research projects on a particular text, film, or depiction analyzed in light of the conceptual frameworks established throughout the semester.

Credits:

4.00

Credit Hours:

Prerequisites:

Corequisites:

Exclusions:

Level:

Instructional Type:

Lecture

Notes:

Additional Information:

Historical Version(s):

Institution Website:

www.bard.edu

Phone Number:

(845) 758-6822

Regional Accreditation:

Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools

Calendar System:

Semester

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