KHID 3050 - The Problem of China: Research Pathways into the Contested Past
This course is as much about general historical research methods and challenges as it is about Chinese history itself. It is designed as a way of exploring problems in methodology for students studying all manner of cultures, places and periods around the world, including Europe; at the same time, it introduces students to issues and events peculiar to modern China since the 18th century. It does this all through the idea of the “problem”: together, we consider problems in historiography on China; problems in how to research (places like) China; and problems in Western understandings and perceptions of China. By the end of the course, students will be familiar with key events in Chinese history; classic studies of Chinese state and society; and recent trends in scholarship on China's late imperial (early modern) and modern/contemporary periods up through the Maoist era. Overall, the course aims to strike a balance between providing an overview of the field of Chinese history and practical research methods for studying challenging, perhaps unfamiliar subjects.