This course explores the history of China from the earliest periods to the disintegration of the Tang empire (618–907). It introduces students to the origins and foundations of Chinese society and initiates them into the language and techniques of historical analysis. Challenging the stereotype of a monolithic and static China, it emphasizes the internal and external forces shaping patterns of integration and division, continuity and change, across this broad geocultural unit. Throughout, students attend to the possibilities and limits of historical evidence.
Course Structure
This is a synchronous online course that meets in real time each week. Students are expected to complete all assigned readings—both primary and secondary sources—before the start of the weekly sessions.
Class meetings combine lecture and discussion. We will examine key themes through a mix of whole-class conversation and small breakout groups, encouraging active engagement with the materials and with one another.
Learning Objectives
By the end of the term, students should be able to:
- identify major organizing themes in early Chinese history;
- analyze patterns of unity and diversity, as well as change and continuity, in early Chinese society;
- demonstrate an understanding of the nature and limits of historical knowledge.
Assessment of Learning
This course follows the grading practices outlined in the Academic Calendar. For details on individual assessment components, please see the Assessment section. No prior knowledge of Chinese history is required. Students are, however, expected to make sustained and serious efforts to develop historical ways of thinking.
| Reading Quizzes | 10% |
| Discussion Posts | 15% |
| Participation | 10% |
| Reflection Essays | 20% |
| Midterm Conversation | 10% |
| Group Virtual Exhibition | 15% |
| Final Exercise | 20% |
| Research Project (optional) | (30%) |
Important Dates
| Jan. 6 | First session |
| Jan. 16 | Last date to withdraw without the “W” standing |
| Feb. 16–20 | Midterm break |
| Feb. 23–27 | Midterm conversations |
| Mar. 6 | Last date to withdraw |
| Apr. 6 | Virtual exhibition due |
| Apr. 9 | Last session |
| April 21 | Final exercise due |
Learning Materials
- Hansen, Valerie. The Open Empire: A History of China to 1800. 2nd ed. New York and London: W. W. Norton, 2015.
- Other required readings are available online or through Canvas.
Office Hours / Learning Lounge
You will likely have questions over the course of the term. Please feel free to contact the instructor (preferred forms of address: Mr., Dr., or Prof. Shin) via email or through Canvas. The usual response time is within 24 hours, excluding weekends and holidays. Please use your UBC email address whenever possible.
Office hours are held by appointment (sign-ups).
A Learning Lounge is also available under Discussions in Canvas for students to post—and respond to—questions. Respectful and constructive netiquette is expected and appreciated.
Acknowledgment
UBC’s Point Grey Campus is located on the traditional, ancestral, and unceded territory of the xwməθkwəy̓əm (Musqueam) people. This land has long been a place of learning, where the Musqueam people have passed on their culture, history, and traditions from one generation to the next.