NEW COURSE: Chinese Society & Culture in Transition
Sociology 180A, Spring Quarter
Tuesdays 1:00 pm - 3:50 pm
Instructor: Cheris Shun-ching Chan
Course Description
This course focuses on social and cultural change in China in the past two decades. What provoked China’s dramatic economic reform starting in 1978-79? How did the reform change people’s life in various ways? How did it restructure social inequalities and produce new social conflicts? What new sociocultural phenomena have been emerging? We will examine Chinese society and culture in transition from a socialist to a market economy. To understand the transition, we need to understand the foundations of the Chinese society and travel back to some of the critical historical moments of this country. This course will begin with a glimpse of the historical situation of the pre-revolutionary late imperial China and the pre-reform Communist China to set up the context for understanding the current dramatic changes.
Course Structure
This course will consist of lectures in addition to a lot of class and small group discussions. Reading assignments are to be completed prior to class, which will be demonstrated in your participation in class discussions. Students are expected to participate actively, rather than being passive members of an audience. They can choose to work individually or in groups for some of the writing assignments.
Published: Tuesday, February 27, 2007
