Politics and Society in 20th Century China

This course will explore China’s efforts to construct a modern and effective political order in the face of powerful demographic and revolutionary challenges. The first half of the course will trace China’s political evolution from the end of the last dynasty through the end of the Mao era. The second half will be organized thematically to focus on the clash between competing ideologies, political and social movements and institutional alternatives in the context of rapid social and economic change will be analyzed.